The past few days, little Jasper has been trying very hard to get his big brother’s attention.
Now this is an old reference, but on a “Seinfeld” episode years ago, Judge Reinhold was a guest actor and portrayed a “close talker.” In other words, he got too comfortable in your personal space.
This is my 1-year-old’s current phase. But it makes a lot of sense that he would do this. His verbal skills aren’t fully developed so he tries to get his point across in a more physical way. Plus, throughout his entire life, Mom and Dad have been putting their face in his — I like to try to make him smile, Mom goes in for lots of cuddles.
Jude copies his parents and also tries to make Jasper smile. I guess we’re pretty much an in-your-face family.
But for the little one, it’s clear to me that he just wants to play with his 3-year-old brother. Earlier this week, Jude was on the floor playing with a toy and Jasper walked up, crouched down and got in his face. It usually makes Jude laugh, but sometimes he rebuffs this invasion of his personal space and fears that the little brother will run off with his toy.
It’s a valid fear. Jasper occasionally does this seemingly just to torment his brother because he usually has a big grin. In all honesty, this face-to-face stage is pretty cute.
I think these two boys will be great friends growing up together. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if things evolve to the point of Jasper punching his brother’s face — each child blaming the other. Lots of fun times ahead.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News and spends what little free time he has with his wife and two young sons. Do you have a fun story to share about your kids or grandkids? Email it to me at news@philomathnews.com and it just might end up in a future post).