Naebdy's Bairn

Finlay is experimenting with movement, a lot of it to music, however he has been spotted enjoying the feeling of walking backwards into walls, jumping of the hearth, scooting back on his bum, taking his shoes for a walk on his hands and the funniest one was when I caught him trying to walk with his trousers pulled up to his knees.

He is 19 months and turning into quite the boy, throwing balls and stones, playing with trucks and cars with the sound effects and starting to stand up to is big sister, protecting his toys and his food. Heather is finding it more and more difficult to just take things away from Finlay and although we have been working on the trading game for many months now, she is finally seeing the benefit that it can produce. We have been trying to work on the little pushes and shoves that she sometimes delivers to Finlay, and telling her that one day Finlay will do the same back to her....
Well today was that day. This morning Finlay went up to Heather and gave her a little push, she didn't fall but she knew what he was trying to do. This made her stop and think and said. " I need to teach Finlay to do nice things !!"
She is now aware that he is copying her. At the table banging the cutlery or the cup, laughing, playing peek-a-boo behind the sippy cup, dropping food and shouting and screaming when they are done. Sometimes this encourages her to do all the mischievous things so that Finlay will copy her.

They are now playing well together and enjoy jumping off the hearth, chasing each other round the couch, round the kitchen bin, hiding in the den, dancing to music, climbing up and down the stairs, playing in the sand pit and racing down the slides.They do get on well most of the time and we can see the companionship building.

However it doesn't take long sometimes, when they are sharing the same space for too long, that things get fraught, sharing is hard and being the younger brother can be troublesome. But Finlay is beginning to figure Heather out, he protect his space when he can, protecting his toys is hard but he has learned to protect his food and will go into a corner and hunch his shoulders round whatever snack he has!!!!