Jordan, Silas and I are all guilty. We break and bend the rules far too often. We really can't help ourselves. She is way too cute, far too snuggly, much too squishy, irresistibly cuddly, ever so smooshy, really, really squeezy, and amazingly enduring. We just can't get enough.
I have been bringing a blanket in my diaper bag wherever we go for quite some time. It isn't one of her original special ones (we have almost lost the original more than once...I try to leave them at home all the time now), but a totally cute dark pink one my friend Lisa sent to her when we were in Arizona. Recently I was in Costco with the kids and I was pushing nap time. They were both sitting in the front of the cart and as Jewel was losing control I took out her blanket at gave it to Silas, along with her pacifier. Without direction from me, he put it over his shoulder, reached one arm around her, and with the other he softly patted the blanket. She immediately put the binky in her mouth and rested her head on his shoulder. I was melting at the scene. A very sweet elderly woman in the line next to me reached over and touched my arm. She said, "You are doing a good job with them. They don't just learn that on their own, it has to be modeled." It was a vulnerable moment for me and I found myself blinking back tears as I watched her snuggle into him and the precious look he had on his face as he comforted her. She's right, it is modeled. In fact, she has no idea exactly how much...but it felt really, really good to hear.
I don't know that we'll ever take away the pacifier and the blankets. Anyone who is holding them has the ticket to a long, warm, snuggle session. When her first one started to get a little ratty, Grammy got her a matching 2nd for Christmas. I started putting it in her bed to get her used to it, hoping that if something ever happened to the first little pink square that she would accept the substitute. Now she wants them both...plus the binky. We give them to her. Of course we scoff all along, promising that we won't go looking for them the next time, and she is such a little stinker...but of course we would all three scour the house for her, secretly hoping we are the lucky one to find it and present it to her, receiving her unhindered love and delight in return.
I tend to be the sweet talker. I put her blanket over my shoulder, she snuggles in, I tell her how much I love her and how wonderful she is. She gently hums in response.
Jordan shamelessly finds a blanket when he is in need of her full attention. After scooping her up he is overcome with the strong emotion for her and what starts as gentle squeezing inevitably turns into a wrestling match of tickling, smothering, and squealing.
After the kids were in bed the other night, Jordan and I were chuckling as we recalled Jewel's crazy antics during dinner that night. He said to me, "Sommer, we let Jewel get away with WAY more than we let Silas get away with at that age. We really need to start cracking down on disciplining her. And by 'we' I mean 'you'. I just can't. I can't bring myself to discipline her. I worked really hard with Silas, but I just can't do it with her, she is too cute and sweet. I can't handle it." Oh Boy. I just laughed. We are in trouble.
Silas is a hysterical combination of the two of us. When she is having a tough day, he takes my roll of comforter and calmer. When they are playing and getting silly together I often hear him repeating Jordan's phrases to her... "Oh Jewel, you are so cute I just want to bite you! and squeeze you! and punch you!" All said while gritting his teeth and about 2 inches from her face. I sometimes have to ask him (and Jordan) to tone it down. I remind them that if she is fussing, they are taking it too far. It's not for her pleasure anymore, it's just for theirs. Silas will always dispute, "But Mom, I just love her so much that I want to talk to her all day long, and be by her all the time, and hug her so much!"
It's hard to argue...we just can't get enough.
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