My Sidekick Helper

[CrazyFeathers]

The temperature here today is well above 80! After 5 days of rain it's a nice break. Had to come in and feed the troop so I figured I would share some cute photos of my Sidekick. I was mulching my tomato plants so to keep him occupied I gave him my vegetable basket. He proceeded to pick dandelions and put them in his basket then as he and G-ma do everyday he decided the "little" chicks would like them for a treat so he would open the mini coop door and feed them. I just thought it was cute. My sidekicks name is Bentley and he is the love of my life 20 months old!

 

[CrazyFeathers]

Don't mind the bare grass, "Midnight" the potbellied pig likes to roam the yard and sometimes does some rooting!

 

[ninnymary]

He is so cute and that coop is just his size! Hadn't noticed the bare grass until you mentioned it. Love how everything is green there. I'm tired of seeing brown over here.

Mary

 

[so lucky]

Those are great pictures, CrazyFeathers! He is a doll.
This is going to sound like I don't love my grand kids, (and I do) but when there is just one, they are so much fun, so easily entertained and such. But it seems when they have siblings, there is so much bickering going on, so much competition and hostility, that a grandparent, or a parent, for that matter, doesn't get the chance to bond as well. It just kind of aggravated me when my kids had second---and third---kids. Having the grandkids over just becomes a big hassle. Do I sound frustrated?
Of course, I have never gone through the tragedy of losing a child or grandchild, so I speak with ignorance of that powerful loss. And I hope you will forgive me for that.
But still, sibling rivalry is a PITA.

 

[ninnymary]

so lucky, I have to agree with you. When we have only Olivia (who will be 5 in June) she is an angel and we can easily have her all day. When we also have her brother (who will be 2 in June) they are ok for a couple of hours. After that they start fighting/bickering. We have it timed so that we will take them out for breakfast, return to our home so they can be in the yard for 2 hours, then home they go. It doesn't help that the grandson is approaching his "terrible 2s".

Mary

 

[Carol Dee]

@CrazyFeathers he is PERFECTLY ADORABLE! What fun. I love the look of your place there. Your coop is Perfect for him. We have two Grandsons 4 and 7. Both are great alone as others have mentioned. The 4 year old is the best. Always has been. #1 Grandson has been needier. Grandma, Grandma, Grandma. Very short attention spam. Easily frustrated. Poor guy. So we try to keep things even or have them at separate times. Special *Just You* days. Still they are truly our biggest loves. Nothing beats having one run Yelling GRANDMA and leaping on you when he sees you. And they give the best HUGS. Enjoy every minute, they seem to grow even faster than there parents did.

 

[AMKuska]

Oooh, so cute

 

[baymule]

The things you teach him now will last his lifetime. At some point in his life, he might decide to have a garden just like his Grandma!

 

[Smart Red]

How perfectly precious your little person is. I understand the feelings of playing policeman rather than grandparent when the grands come in sets. One child is almost always a treat. Two can be testy at times, but can be distracted or split up between grandparents. Three seems to me to be the worst. It is hard for three little ones to get along. Usually it is two ganging up against the odd one out.

I spent the first two years of Marissa's life baby-sitting each summer. We had so much fun. One child can be taken anywhere. When Tristan came along, I still sat for the two, but we seldom were able to go out into public like we did with just one grand.

By the time Trey came around, the time for one on one fun was pretty much history. About the only time we took all three out in public was for Saturday breakfast. They were always well-behaved, but we kept the time short, were well prepared, and relied upon the first two years of 'training' the older ones to see the others through.

The rest of the time -- Friday night until Sunday evening every other weekend -- was frustrating because of the constant bickering between them. Still, we all had adventures outside, did (messy) crafts, and learned to cook...all things that they didn't do at home.

I find that I am closer to the eldest. I remember lots of funny and exciting things the second one did. And find it hard to remember stories of the third to share with him. Rather like photographs. The first child is in hundreds of pictures, the second not so much, and the third is always a part of the trio and seldom alone in a photo.

One positive I can leave you with is that they get better and easier to care for as they get older. The 12 and 13 year olds have their own interests and leave each other along or we do activities that they both like to do with grandma.

All too soon, there will be other things to take their attention away from visiting grandparents and today's times will be the things memories are made of.

 

[CrazyFeathers]

I had only 1 child and she was such an easy child, I tended to spoil her as she was my one and only, now at (20) is a spoiled, lazy brat lol. Right now I have 1 Grandchild and learned the first time that spoiling them only leads to trouble. I would agree that the more kids there are the harder it gets. My sidekick entertains himself very well, at this age he tends to be patient but on the other hand get easily frustrated (like if he gets his power wheel stuck). I am not the spoiler Grandpa is LOL!! Ha! If I'm pulling weeds, he is right there not always pulling the right "weeds" but trying, If I'm feeding the chickens he is right there in the pen with me asking for treats to throw, filling water now that is a blast, mud puddles EVEN better lol. He is pretty well behaved but we keep him entertained as we have a lot of critters, toys, and things for him to do. He even helps G-pa fix things (well he tries). Thanks for enjoying my sidekick.