Brother and Sister

A couple months ago I started noticing a change in Andres' and Celia's relationship: they actually wanted to be together most of the time, even if they hadn't mastered the fine art of not bugging the crap out of the person you wanted to hang out with.

This has been a fun change to witness. And during weekends (like this one) where we spend a lot of time at home, they certainly get their fill of each other...for better or worse.

For his part, Andres largely sees himself as an entertainer. He likes doing things that (he thinks) will elicit laughs from Celia--and when he successfully makes her laugh, he keeps doing whatever he is doing at a steadily decreasing rate of self-control until either Celia decides that it is no longer funny or (as is usually the case) he does something that makes her cry.

This morning he decided that he wanted to sing "Pop Goes the Weasel." Celia seemed an attentive audience, and I had my camera, which meant multiple takes.

Take 1 was pretty straightforward.



Take 2 was a bit more crazy.



As we move on to take 3, notice the ever-expanding crowd of giant bears.



This was actually one of those instances where peace was preserved despite the increasing levels of silliness...which I think was a result of them both being more interested in seeing themselves on video than continuing to get crazy.

(As a side note, both kids love to see themselves on video--especially if they are doing something funny. This video of Celia yelling in the bath has gone viral at our house; both Andres and Celia love to watch it over and over, and they crack up in unison when Celia starts her cackling.)

Sometimes they parallel play--Andres will start doing something, and then Celia will mimic him. This morning, recovering from the nuttiness of the earlier concert, they decided to pretend that they had a couple of puppies.



And then sometimes they decide that they enjoy playing on the brink of disaster.



This new phase of mutual acknowledgement/friendship has made it possible to leave both kids in the same room, unsupervised, for a maximum of 5 minutes. Note I said "possible"--we have achieved 5 minutes, but 2-3 is the normal amount of time before someone starts crying (usually Celia) or I hear a thump (again, usually Celia). But every so often I will walk by their bedroom, peek in, and see them in some state of sibling happiness, Andres reading to his sister, or Celia playing hide and seek with her brother. In those moments they both seem so independent, and I think I can glimpse how they will be 2, 5, 10 years in the future, long after they have left diapers and cribs behind.

But these instances do pass quickly. Before long I am reminded that at this point in time I have a 15-month old and a 44-month old who are quite dependent on Natalia and me, and that though they are finally able to play together, they are not submitting college applications anytime soon.