Their Favorite Things

Riley's new favorite song is "My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music" soundtrack. She especially loves the "When the dog bites, When the bee stings" part. Singing it to her this morning made me think of more of my kid's favorite things right now.

Asher and Riley both loves books. One strategy I've tried to employ lately to get things done without having them underfoot is to have Riley "read" to Asher. It sounds like a fantastic solution, in theory. In reality, Asher seldom sits still for her, Riley doesn't like sharing the chair with a wiggly boy, and her arms aren't long enough to keep him from trying to eat the books. But when it has worked out, it's adorable.

Riley has never been a big fan of bathtime. Her brother, on the other hand, has always loved being in the water. And his enthusiasm is starting to wear off on her. The other night Riley was at the front of the tub and Asher was at the back. She was occupied with a bath toy as Asher crawled toward her and watched her for a second. Then he raised a hand in the air and brought it back into the water, right next to Riley. Then he waited for her reaction. Unfortunately for him, she didn't seem to notice. So he crawled back to his spot and found a toy of his own. A few minutes later Riley had moved closer to Asher. He looked up from where he was sitting, smiled in her direction, and deliberately splashed her with two hands. This time she noticed and laughed. Asher responded by giggling, and it quickly turned into a splash fight, with both of them squealing and laughing.

Lastly, the two of them both really like each other. Riley has lots of pet names for her brother, including "Cute Boy," "Ashee," and "Handsome." And just in the past day or two Asher has started saying her name a lot. When Riley is in preschool or taking a nap, and it's just Asher and I, he'll repeat "Wywee" over and over.