This guy gets a lot of attention. He is the baby of the family, and he wears it well. But recently I realized that while he gets a lot of attention, much of what we do isn't for him. Rather, he is along for the ride. I think that is classic third (or second or fourth) child syndrome -- living in the car on the way to activities for the older kids. And because he is so little, I fell into the trap of thinking that it wasn't that big of a deal and that there wasn't much for him to do, anyway.
But lately, I've been trying to do more just for him. It started when I realized he was behind with speech. We joined a music class, and he seemed to like it while it lasted. But what he really loves is playing with other kids. Like, cries when we drive past church instead of turning in b/c he loves playing with the other kids there so much. Luckily, we have been able to have playdates with his cousin Harry, and he has really flourished. He is talking more, and sort of learning to share. Seeing him light up when he sees Harry is the sweetest thing. We have also had a few playdates with church friends, which has been great.
One of the biggies was the playground. Because of mine and Tim's work schedules, I am often home alone with the kids. So either everyone goes to the playground, or nobody does. So nobody does. But lately, I've been finding pockets of time, when the kids are at taekwondo or basketball, when he can play. Seeing how much he loves it makes me feel guilty that I haven't taken him more.
This bub is the most amazing little guy. I love him so much! With the needs and demands of the older two, it is so easy to assume that he is fine with tagging along. While his *adventurous spirit* guarantees he won't [can't] be ignored, I want to make sure that we continue to create opportunities just for him.
v
