It's the Circle of Life

Thomas and Jack have made friends. Two of them, in fact: another set of twin boys one week younger than themselves. Their names are H and J, and they have a mouse ear-wearing, puzzle-loving older brother S who is a couple of months younger than Anna.

S has also readily agreed to call Anna Ming-Ming. From Anna's point of view, he's the perfect man.

At any rate, we have had several "Brady Bunch"-esque playdates with all the kids and both the babysitters (how did Alice manage it on her own?). And of course both lovely ladies, aka us moms.

Playdates are an interesting thing, especially with two sets of twin boys. It's survival of the fittest; eat or be eaten. It is just these sorts of times when laws of nature show themselves as particularly ugly, and my 1-year olds as particularly rude.

Example 1
H, Thomas & Jack are sitting together in the kitchen, each munching on a different large black plastic kitchen utensil. H has a ladel, Thomas has spatula, and Jack has a slotted spoon. Somehow, Jack loses his slotted spoon. He looks around. But not for the spoon, evidently--Thomas is next to him, and Jack snatches his spatula.

Thomas realizes his spatula has been swiped. He looks to his left at Jack happily muching on it. He's dealt with Jack before; Jack is quick and Jack is fast. Thomas turns to his right and spots H and his ladel. Ah-ha! An easier mark, perhaps, and certainly an unsuspecting one. Without a second thought, he rips the ladel out of H's hands.

H, thoroughly victimized, immediately starts screaming. Thomas and Jack continue munching and trying to look innocent. J hears his brother and starts crawling over to get his back.

Example 2
Thomas evidently remembers J's support of his brother. Halfway through the next playdate, he gives J's hair a good yank.

So... it's official. I'm the parent of kids who make other kids cry. Sigh.

I suppose it really was unrealistic of me to expect to have three kids who spend all their time diapering Sesame Street characters. I mean, really.