She enjoyed their world

“Don’t lick the baby.”
The baby doesn’t mind being licked on the top of his fuzzy head but the adults in the household disapprove. Two-year-old Jacob will come up and lick the top of his brother’s head whenever he gets the chance. At least he doesn’t try to spit on the baby, which is currently his other bad habit.
Nicholas is only a month old and has no bad habits so far. He is referred to as either baby or the baby. I’m not sure why they even bothered giving him a name. It will probably come in handy in a year or so when he will be the one learning to spit and lick babies.
Don’t lick the baby is just one of the surprises I have had recently. Both of Nicky’s siblings like to hold him. The fact that he sometimes screams bloody murder at their attempts at loving him is irrelevant. They will hold him until they suddenly decide they are finished; at which point they scoot out from under the baby and leave him lying on the couch wondering what happened.
Both Emma and Jacob like to kiss the baby. They prefer to kiss him on the cheek and if his cheek isn’t readily available they will turn his head with both hands until it is.
They usually time this so that the baby, who has just fallen asleep, will wake up. If he doesn’t wake up at the first kiss they will keep kissing him until he does. I think it is some weird version of Sleeping Beauty caused by watching far too many Disney princess movies.
Emma lives in princess dresses or her swimming suit. For such a little girl she loves playing in the swimming pool. She was good all year in preschool and as a result was allowed to choose any present she wanted. She chose a swimming baby.
No, not the baby. This is a battery-operated doll that floats. Its arms and legs move and propel it through the water. As I write this it is swimming in the backyard pool, along with Emma, Jacob and two of their cousins. Baby Nicky is not swimming. He is trying to see how many diapers he can fill and how many times he can spit up before any of the other kids come in.
Later today we will help all the children except the baby paint the stepping-stones we cast earlier in the week. We may even see a play. Yesterday I watched a silent production of Sleeping Beauty. Jacob got to be the prince who woke up a sleeping Princess Emma with a kiss. His older cousin played the wicked witch and held him while he kissed the princess.
It has been quite an experience to be submersed into the world of small children these last couple of weeks. We are waved at in the morning when Jacob first wakes up. I have changed lots and lots of diapers.
My husband and I both enjoy the heavy feeling of a sleeping baby on our chests as we rock him. Neither of us likes the resultant spit up but it is the price we pay for the privilege of holding him.
We had forgotten how intense feelings are when you are only 2 or 5. Meltdowns are frequent. Naps are not a luxury but a necessity; for adults as well as children. The future doesn’t exist. The only important thing is now.
Pointing and crying are a sure fire way to get adults to respond if you are 2 months or 2 years old. If you are 5 then words are to be used nonstop. Mommy is the ultimate authority and if she uses your middle name then you are in trouble.
These are the rules of the house that even the youngest members understand. It had been wonderful to live only in the present and to leave the rest of the world to take care of itself.
Sometimes I think that if we spent more time living in the present and less time worrying about the rest of the world we would all be a lot better off. Even if we aren’t supposed to lick the baby.[[In-content Ad]]