I wish I’d started this blog a couple of years ago so all my Leo and Owen stories could have been documented. As it is now, other people seem to remember them more than I do. I remember after Owen was born, Leo was actually very gentle—I never had to worry about leaving him along with Baby Owen. He did like to come up with plans however. One of his favorites was “Let’s throw Baby Owen in the trash” to which I would reply, “we don’t throw members of this family in the trash” prompting one of those ‘I can’t believe that just came out of my mouth’ moments. He also used to suggest that we just cook Baby Owen. I told him that I didn’t think he would taste good and Leo thought about it and then said, “well, we’ll just cook him longer then”. I must admit I thought that was brilliant as that’s just what you do with a tough cut of meat…..braise it or barbecue it a little longer….
One night not long after Owen was born, Leo started crying after I’d already put him to bed. I started to walk back into his room to see what was wrong but made the mistake of carrying Owen with me. Leo popped up in the middle of his crib and held out his palm in front of him yelling “BACK, BABY OWEN, BACK” just like a little anti-sibling super-hero. BACK, BABY OWEN, BACK was actually a catchphrase around our house for awhile….
I also remember, when they were a little older, trying to stop a battle over the sandbox one day. I calmly explained that they had to share, that half the sandbox could be Leo’s and half could be Owen’s. I walked away feeling confident in my mothering skills only to return later and find that Leo had moved all the sand to his side of the sandbox…..after all I hadn’t told him that he had to share the SAND!