Puzzles

Little One has fallen in love with puzzles. He can spend an hour working through his 35 and 60 piece puzzles. He gets them out one at a time, puts it together on our front entry floor and then gets another one. When he is done we have 4 or 5 puzzles decorating our entry. It is actually quite amazing to watch because he can do them all by himself. I even recently caught him and Middle Man working together on a 100 piece puzzle. They found a shared love of puzzles and for a few minutes the friction between them ceases. The same thing happens when I get the marble run out for them to build. Figuring out how things go together seems to be something they both enjoy and can do together. Maybe not together but side by side and that is a huge step forward. Middle Man and Little One have not really bonded a lot in life. Both feel very connected to Hockey Boy and the rest of the family but Middle Man is not really interested in Little One joining in the fun because he wrecks things. And Little One does not like being left out of the fun so he gets mad at Middle Man. So to see them finding a shared passion, one that Hockey Boy does not share, is so fun.

Hockey Boy and Middle Man have discovered the joys of card games. They started playing Uno at Fun Club at the YMCA. When I picked them up after my workout that day they did not want to leave. We have a pack of Uno Cards and one day when I came down after showering I found them playing Uno all together. It is funny to hear them explain the rules to Little One. I think they have most of the them right but who knows. It was just so nice to see them all playing together. Last week they spent some time at their Uncle and Aunt's house where they were taught Ruckus, another card game that they really liked. I am so glad we are finally entering the ages where we can play games beyond Candyland and Snails Pace Race. Though it makes me realize they are really growing up and I am starting to think that might not be a good idea. I have been counting down the days until they were in school all summer but now that the first day of school is fast approaching I am not sure I am ready to let them go. If I tell them to stop growing, do you think that will work?