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Moms and Dads
Carver must have different perceptions of Kira and me. We saw the same pattern with Avey, but for some reason it is most apparent when they get around Carver’s age. Mom equals comfort, and Dad equals playtime. The man cub has been in an annoying phase where he gets up between 5 and 6 a.m. every morning. Kira and I take turns getting up with him, and we’ve noticed that when I get up with him, he rolls around gleefully on the couch as if it were a trampoline. When Kira gets up with him, he’ll cuddle up in her lap or on her shoulder, and sometimes go to sleep for a few minutes at a time. It can’t be how we react to him in the morning, because we are both equally lethargic. I certainly don’t encourage him to have a blast at 5:20, so it must be related to his expectations of us.
We got the same thing with Avey around this age. For a very long time, every morning when she woke up she would call out from her crib, “Daddy, it’s time to get up and play!” Kira and I have both come to terms with our roles, though. Even though she can be fun, and I can be warm, we are glad that we are both predictable and dependable enough in our behavior that our children get the sense of stability.
Carver seems to have taken an interest in our social rituals lately. As you’ll note in the video, when he sees a picture of a baby come up on our screen saver, he usually reacts with an “Awww…” as if to say, “How cute!” Over the last week he started finding crumbs on the floor and saying, “Uh oh…” then picking them up and handing them to us. Just about any time he collides with something, even when clearly not injured, he will hold out whatever part made contact, with a sad look on his face, until Kira or I kiss it. Then he laughs and continues whatever he was doing.
We can’t wait to see what new developments July brings!