Reality Check

 I felt I should waste no time following up my "How They Play" post with a "How They Fight" entry, lest anyone thinks it's all rainbows and butterflies over here.  Rainbows and butterflies are for liars...and hippies.  

The boys are great at finding creative ways to play.  This is also true for fighting.  Anyone who scoffs at the "boys will be boys" line, has clearly never tried parenting brothers.  Although, sisters are pretty physically aggressive in their own right.  Case in point, we had to transition the twins from baby jail yesterday to baby jail cells.  Too much fighting and to be more specific, biting, was taking place.  

I don't think the boys have ever bitten each other, but pretty much anything else you can think of and probably a few things you can't, have taken place and we are only a couple of years in.  We don't condone or encourage them to physically hurt one another, and they most definitely do receive consequences for fighting, but.... But every once in a while, I'm kind of secretly cheering for the aggressor.  Don't shame me.  I do it well enough myself.  

Just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about here are a couple of recent scenarios:

 In the back of the car the big guy was harassing his little brother to no end.  It went on and on until Fischer had finally had enough.  His retribution was to turn his water bottle upside down on his big brother's lap.  And nothing I could have done or said would have gotten such perfect results as that maneuver.  His brother was shocked and speechless...until he started crying, but the harassing came to a very abrupt end.

On another occasion, Sawyer was taking the full abuse of Fischer's anger.  He did the right thing and just turned his back to him while Fischer pummeled him with his fists.  Finally, he had enough, and gave Fischer one solid whack back (they now call it a whacker backer), and a stunned Fisch learned to leave his brother alone...at least for a while.  

If it was me, it would take days for my anger to subside.  But these guys are usually back to playing together before I'm done doling out punishments.  In fact, I'm usually far more upset with them at their fighting than they are with each other.  

And that, my friends, is our reality.  Play hard, fight hard, repeat.  

And apologize to the neighbors because whatever we are doing, we are doing it loud.