Playing at Being an Only Child

This week my daughter is in Washington D.C. with her Grammy, Grampa, Aunt Melina and cousin Kali.  She left on Sunday and is not due back until tomorrow.  This is quite a trip for her.  It is the longest she has ever been away from her mother and I.

It is also the longest our two kids have ever been apart.  So far Caleb is making the most of it.

He adores his big sister.  There will be no one more excited about her return than him, but I think Caleb is enjoying playing at being an only child this week.  He has the house to himself.  He has full access to all the toys even the Barbies and princesses.  And he has mommy and daddy without having to compete with his boisterous older sister.

All this has added up to a much less volatile child.  In a previous post I wrote about how difficult and destructive my son can be.  I attributed it to his age.  This week has me wondering how much of it is his age and how much of it is trying to compete with his sister for attention.

Don't get me wrong, he is still a two year old boy and time out is a daily occurrence but there is a lot more down time for him.  He is using the time he would normally be pulling his sister's hair to play with his cars. 

And of course his sister is not here to antagonize him.  If he picks up a Barbie, it's not the one his sister absolutely had to have.  She does have a way of pushing his buttons and vice versa.

Normally there is a lot of activity going on around here.  Caelyn is usually bounding around the house and Caleb wants to be a part of it. Or Caelyn needs to be taken to school, or camp, or another class of some sort. It's all quite hectic. This leaves Caleb in constant motion and never in charge of his own schedule.

But for now, without his sister, he has the run of the house leaving him more relaxed than usual. Yesterday he took the first nap he has taken without just passing out on the floor in a long time.

Soon though, his sister will return and I expect the volatility will as well.  But at least now I know that some of it is an attempt to get attention and maybe, just maybe, that will help me bring him back to a calmer state.