Friends, Friends, Friends

Yesterday Owen had two play dates: one with Myah (one month older) and one with Silas (two months older). And for the first time, Owen actually responded to them! In the past, he's either slept through the encounter or looked over their heads at the light fixtures.

During his play date with Myah, they laughed and played patty-cake (with help from Myah's mom, Dina) and pretty much got a kick out of each other. When Dave arrived to pick Owen up, Owen cried, just like when you were a kid and Mom said it was time to go home, and you'd reply, "But I just got here!" That's pretty much how Owen felt about leaving.

Then, when Silas and dad Jason came over for dinner later that night, the two kids went wild when they spotted each other! Owen, who was straddling my leg, started jumping up and down, laughing and smiling at Silas. Silas, who at 5 1/2 months is tall and lean and sturdy, reached out for Owen and planted a big old kiss on his forehead/nose/eye. Then they bumped heads, as I imagine they will do many times in the future. It was amazing to watch them interact! Then we put them down on the carpet to play, and Owen kept a keen eye on Silas, documenting his every move. Hopefully he'll learn a thing or two, like rolling over and scooting around on his belly.

We've just enrolled Owen in part-time day care for the Fall, and we've been wondering how he'll respond to a room full of babies. Based on my impression from the interactions yesterday, the answer is: fine. As I've been told many times before, it's harder on the parents than the kids. (A perfect example of this happened two hours ago, when I sat Owen up and loosely supported him by pulling him forward with his arms. Then with a powerful jerk, he fell back and hit his head on the carpeted floor. It startled him more than anything and he started crying, so I started crying, and Owen stopped crying, but I kept crying because I felt so bad. Sigh...)