When I was growing up, I often wondered what it would have been like to have had a sibling. That's not to say my childhood was bad. On the contrary, there were definitely a lot of good things about being an only child. However, there were definitely times a playmate would have been nice. Also, it's fun to hear stories from Bethany and her siblings about their many adventures from childhood (both good and bad).
Taking all of those things into account, it's understandable why Bethany and I decided early on that we didn't want Ellie to be an only child. In fact, we wanted her to have a sibling so that she might always have a constant companion. We also hoped that Ellie and her future sibling would be best friends. Lucky for us, that has certainly been the case for Ellie and Ethan up to this point. While there are certainly the occasional squabbles, the two really do seem to be each other's best friend and they genuinely love being together.
As Ethan has gotten older, it's become more and more common for the two siblings to engage in playtime by themselves. What's also cool is that those playtimes often end up being pretty creative and imaginative due in no small part to Ellie. She's always coming up with activities that the two of them can engage in together. Ethan, more often than not, is more than willing to go alone with what Ellie's grand idea of the moment is.
Late last week, the grand idea of the moment happened to be fort building. While Ellie and Ethan have been known to rearrange our kitchen chairs and/or living room furniture on occasion to make a fort, she certainly raised the bar with her fort-related adventures last week. Instead of repurposing our living areas, she instead decided to turn their bunk beds into a fort.
Ellie, started up on the top bunk with a couple of blankets and meticulously started tying them together before attaching them to the railing of her bed. Then, Ethan helped out by bringing some more blankets up the ladder for Ellie to use. Once the blankets were properly attached, Ellie began tossing them over the railing, effectively creating an enclosure around Ethan's bottom bunk. Then, with the fort properly constructed, the two could start the next stage of their adventures.
The next stage of their adventure consisted of several phases. In phase one, the two worked together to load Ethan's bed with every stuffed animal in the room. Then, they added any and all blankets and pillows left in the room. Finally, the two managed to find room to snuggle together in Ethan's bunk while Ellie read books aloud to Ethan. In case you're wondering, this entire activity took place after Ellie got home from school one evening and lasted until dinner time.
While the fort didn't last long that night, it didn't take long for it to return the next morning. In fact, Ellie took great strides to ensure that the fort was bigger and better than before. Ethan, for his part, was again more than willing to serve as the Troy to Ellie's Abed (That's a Community reference for those in the know). Now, I can't guarantee how long he'll be happy in that subservient role. However, the current phase that the two are currently engaged in is pretty fun to watch. Here's hoping it doesn't pass too fast! #DaddyWrite
 |
| Troy and Abed in a fort!!! |
No comments:
Post a Comment