Miles--the Cuddler!

I saw a different side of my boy today. We had some one-on-one play time while Ruby was sleeping this afternoon. We started with play-doh, which he enjoyed for a long time, and without much interaction from me. The fact that the play-doh implements ended up being vacuum vehicles was pretty typical of his play, but the fact that he did so much by himself for so long was a change. Then we switched gears to animal rescuing, with his Diego gear (thanks Aunt Kris!). He wore his vest, carried his binoculars, and sought out animals in danger. We used his favorite blanket as a parachute so they could fall safely from whatever dangerous spot they were trapped in. Then, and this was my favorite, I became the hurt animal and he came to my rescue. This involved running into my lap (I had to catch him so he wouldn't launch himself into the coffee table) and hugging me and cuddling. He'd curl up in my lap, nurse my boo-boo with his "soft band-aid" (that trusty blanket again) and offer some reassurance that I would feel better soon. Then he'd race off to his starting line and we'd repeat with a new ailment. He is now 3 years, 6 mos, and 2 days old, so I'm guessing all this nurturing is a sign of his new level of maturity!

He also used his blanket yesterday to help Ruby learn to climb the stairs. He "escaped the baby monster" and took refuge on the stairs. She was stuck at the bottom, but with his help (he threw one end of his blanket down for her to hold on to, and pulled on the other end) and my spotting her to make sure she didn't fall, she eventually joined him on the first landing. He then returned to escape mode and scampered up the next flight. It will be interesting to see if Ruby ever decides to climb the stairs when her brother is not coaxing her along!