Let's Hear It For The Boys!
Over the past few months I have been struck by how developed Owen's friendships are. He has formed genuine bonds with several incredibly sweet boys (not all are featured in this post)and they keep one another genuinely entertained for hours at a time without adult intervention. He has always had friends and kids he played well with, but the shift from having good playmates to forming strong bonds has been a joy to watch. Here are some of Owen's best buddies.
Towards the end of the year Owen talked about Samuel constantly. I had the pleasure of getting to know Samuel during early morning drop offs. He is a very funny, and very kind little boy with a smile that could light a room. While they were friendly all year, Owen started talking about Samuel a lot after Ellis was born. They were going through lot of the same things (Samuel's baby brother Lucas was born 5 weeks ago)and their faces would light up when they greeted each other on school days.
On Monday an awesome, sticker-covered letter arrived in the mail from Samuel addressed to Owen and requesting a playdate. The letter had been narrated by Samuel to his mom,who transcribed the document. In addition to a playdate, The letter also asked Owen invite Samuel to his birthday party because "I know you have to turn four." I called for a playdate right away and we got these two goons together the next day.
They played so sweetly together. I assume that Owen is rapidly approaching an age where holding hands, sharing towels and constantly hugging his male friends will become a lot less frequent.
For right now, however, Owen is physically affectionate with many of his friends. He is brimming with cuddles and affection for his buds. Thankfully his friends seem to all be really sweet and tenderhearted little boys who also enjoy snuggles....
and making ridiculous faces for the camera.
One such snuggler is Matteo. Matteo's mother has babysat Owen since we moved to Riverdale. 3 days a week for over a year these two would spend 10 hours together and they never seemed to tire of one another.
That's not to say that they don't have moments of utter exasperation.
The boys have had many adventures together and continue to see each other regularly to explore the world...or at least the Bronx.
When Owen sees Matteo, whether it has been a day or a week, he runs to Matteo for hugs. They get such happiness out of being together.
Owen became close with Benjamin at the same time he and Matteo were becoming best friends. Benjamin gos to Owen's school and the three boys often had after school playdates at Benjamin's house.
Matteo and O can make a game out of anything and anything into a game.
Here they sit on the tram at the Bronx Botanical Gardens. I like this picture and have no clever caption for it. I will be schmaltz and say "I have a feeling these two will be friends for life." Seriously though, I think they will.
Callum and Owen have been buddies since they were
2 weeks old (Callum is the sleeping peapod). He has made multiple appearances on the blog....and strangely enough he has
been disguised (the lion!) in most
of them (the king!)!!
Since we have moved we see less of Callum. We love the whole family so we keep in touch regularly, but playdates are really special. After a meeting of the minds, Owen talks about Callum for weeks.
Excuse the really shoddy camera work here. Apparently I can't hold a baby, direct Owen on how to play a classic children's game and shoot a straight video at the same time. It is worth watching as Callum and Owen reinvent the game of Duck, Duck Goose.
With all these friends you think Owen would have no time for a little brother who can't walk yet (or talk or roll over or sit up or even give a "heads up" when he is about to poop himself). Owen and Ellis bond more every day. Ellis has endured some hard hugs from his big brother, but mostly Owen is gentle, loving and protective of his 11 week old baby. I hope that the love he has for Ellis continues to grow and he becomes ones of Owen's very best friends. Who knew having 2 boys would be so mushy-gushy and great?
1 comment:
what a sweet wonderful post...these bonds (friends and sibs) are indeed heart-filling.
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