I originally started this post in May of 2017 but it never got out of draft. Now that I am where I imaged myself being in this post, I thought it would be fun to publish and reflect.
Last weekend, a friend of mine and his family met us for an afternoon at Sarasota Jungle Gardens. This friend has 2 boys; the eldest being about the same age as Valentina. It was great to see him and his family but even better to get our kids together for some child-bonding.
It took a while for the kids to warm up to each other but once they did, they had a great time walking through the park, holding hands and playing in the dirt. It was not lost on me that, for the first time all day, Valentina wasn’t trying to get me to pick her up and carry her.
Entertainment without parental units.
As I said in my last post, we were starting to see our first slivers of free time since Valentina was born. Maybe, all is not lost. For a few moments at the park, Valentina was off doing her own thing with someone her own age. Baby #2 will be two years younger but is it possible that our kids will have a live-in play mate? Could they…entertain themselves without parents?
Where are we now? (October 2018)
Baby #2 (Victoria) is now a year old. She is strong enough to play with her sister but still wobbly enough that both need to be supervised. As I speculated, they do get lost in each other’s company. Valentina has taken ownership of her big-sister role and Victoria has found endless entertainment in her older sister’s antics. However, I did not anticipate the jealousy. There is a near-constant struggle between the two of them to maintain control of “things”. If one girl has something, the other girls must have it. If one girl takes it, the other girl loses her mind. Yes, they can play with each other but that does not mean the crying has stopped. I am no longer holding a child at all times but I am still running toward the sound of crying, unsure of what I will find.
To answer myself from a year ago: Yes, they can…entertain themselves without parents.
galenhale.com 
Many of my friends absolutely insist that if any of the rest of us ever have kids, we should plan to have at least two of them very close together. Their reason? The kids end up playing with and monitoring one another, allowing the parents a lot more freedom than they would have with one child alone.
I completely agree with that. I see the potential but with Victoria only a year old and Valentina not old enough to completely know right from wrong, the mental distress they cause on each other is overwhelming. One day, they will be able to communicate, play, and share with each other. That will be a great day.
This scenario describes you and your brother.