Unobserved watching

Right now Remy is playing "boxing" with a helium-filled balloon. He thinks no one is watching him... little does he know...

There are many things that I love about being a parent and it's hard to say which is number one on that list. But I can say that watching my children is high on that list. I'm not talking about the type of watching were you know that they are there and what they are doing, but the kind where you take in every detail of the moment. I observe the way their bodies move, facial expressions, how they figure out a task, what words they use, how they interact with other living things around them (i.e. my husband, siblings and pets), I take in everything really. I've been a mother for 5 years now and I am always amazed with the things they come up with.

When Remy was about 2 1/2 years-old we bought him one of those big metal Tonka dump trucks. One day I just happened to be a silent observer as he played. I don't know where he got the idea, but I saw him attempting to stand up in the back of the dump truck. I didn't immediately intervene, because I wanted to be sure he was doing what I thought he was doing. When I saw him try to put one foot on the ground, I knew my assumptions were correct and I stopped him. When I asked what he was doing he said "skateboarding." 

That wasn't the first time that Remy had attempted something potentially dangerous and I'm positive it won't be the last. When the situation isn't going to result in serious injuries I keep my distance and let him take those falls, because how else will he learn not to do something. I know now how my mother must have felt when we climbed trees too high or figured out how to get onto our two story roof.

When Remy was my only child I would spend hours playing with him, showing him how something worked and watching to see could he repeat it. Sometimes he got the hang of it really quick, while other times it would take weeks. Now with Jackie it has been completely different, not that I don't play with her or try to teach her things, but it's very obvious that she has learned the most from Remy. Where some things may have taken him longer to learn, Jackie has picked up quite quickly. For example on Sunday mornings I let my husband sleep in, but I usually always allow the kids to wake him up. Remy starts it by jumping on the bed and soon after Jackie joins in. For some reason my kids love to jump on everything, but it was Remy that showed Jackie how to do this. He would jump on the bed while she could only sit just to get her to laugh. It's not that Remy didn't jump when he was smaller, but I think he was closer to 2 when he really figured it out, where Jackie had the hang of it at about 12 months.


One morning after getting both kids dressed, Remy decided he wanted to play in his room until it was time to leave for school. I said ok and asked if it was ok if Jackie stayed to play with him. He said yes and began playing with his cars on his city rug. I stood in the doorway for a few minutes just watching the two of them interacting together. Remy was stretched out on his stomach and Jackie like-wise. He was busy "parking" his cars in the designated areas and Jackie was content with just watching. Later that day I went into Remy's room to put something away while he was at school, and of course Jackie followed behind. She played with a couple of his cars but before we left his room she made sure that the cars were exactly how Remy left them.


I can remember being a girl and wanting to play with my older brother's G.I. Joes. He kept them in a metal army green tackle box at the top of his closet. Sometimes he would let me and my little brother play with them, but more often than not we would have to sneak them out when he wasn't home. Now that I'm a parent I get to see these same scenarios play out through my children and it always makes me chuckle. To think that I thought my mom didn't know what went on...

I know that everyone thinks their child is the best, and honestly what parent wouldn't when they are such a big part of who you and your partner are. From the time I held my child in my arms I began to dissect them; my husband's nose, my lips and on down the list. But what becomes the most fun to see emerge are their personalities and mannerisms. Will they be easy going like Bryan or impatient like me? Will they forget to close their mouth when breathing or constantly fidget like Bryan? These are some of the things I look for sometimes, and for the most part they are a great combination of the two of us with their own individual spin on it.

Now that Remy has gotten older it has become harder to watch without being seen. When he catches me he usually just smiles and asks, "What?" Which I usually respond with, "Oh nothing, I just love you." For me there is nothing better than seeing the love my husband and I have for each other reflected in my children's eyes.