At Least He Went Down Smiling

Max and his brother have been playing some rough-and-tumble games together lately. It's kind of hard to watch, because for so many years it just didn't work, and I still find myself generally doubtful. Max was always too fragile or totally unprepared or clearly over-powered...but the tides are slowly turning, and now when those two get wild our reprimands are sometimes aimed at Max for being too rough & wild with his older brother!

Though the ball-tossing, chasing, screaming, tackling, hootin' & hollerin' rowdiness doesn't look like fun to me, the boys seem to generally enjoy it. Max had a particularly abrupt fall (aka TACKLE?) recently and I ran towards the crying with both barrels loaded, firing off zingers and accusations and warnings and loud, angry I-Told-You-Sos...

...but when his tears ended, it was readily apparent that the boy had indeed gone down smiling. The rug-burn around his eye indicates a ginormous squinty grin was present right up to the bitter end, even as he was skidding face-first across the floor; the scab forms a perfect outline of his smiling eyes. Yowza.
But EVEN SO, guys, can't I interest you in a nice, quiet round of Dolls & Diapers? Or Fake Napping? Counting Your Moles? Practicing ASL?!?

Cause it's only 5:15 but it's already dark outside and it's only the first day of December but there's already snow on the ground and you're only having fun but MOMMY'S HEAD ALREADY HURTS!!

*****

What do I file this under? Frustrations? Or Favorite Things? ...perhaps Milestones, in a bizarre sort of way? hmm.