There is a three-and-a-half-year-old, a two-year-old, and a six-month-old in my house. There is also a sheet of paper or two (or six) lying around with scribbles of routines, daily occurrences–wake-ups, meals, naps, feedings, etc.–and the times at which they generally take place. It’s a never-ending tweaking as the needs of those three boys change and grow, as the boys themselves change and grow. I write all this down so I can see where everyone is at, and to see what I need to finagle to guarantee simultaneous naps/quiet time in the afternoon.* This is for the benefit of not only the children, but the thirty-year-old in the house, as well. (That’s me.)

Clive takes the longest nap of the three, since he only gets one. Ephraim, who rarely naps but still takes a quiet/rest time on the sofa, has the shortest time allotted. Anselm is right in the middle–more than Ephraim, less than Clive–so there is always a time where Clive is still asleep and Anselm and Ephraim are awake together.

I call this The Remy-Anselm Hour.

It took a long time for Ephraim to be very interested in Clive–he was just seventeen months old when Clive was born. He liked to poke him, to look at him, but that was it. Clive, in the same fashion, is only so interested in Anselm. (They are nineteen months apart.)  He also likes to poke and look at Anselm. But Ephraim–Ephraim adores Anselm. And Anselm, in turn, is enthralled with Ephraim.

When he gets up from his rest, he asks right away to see “his baby”. Ephraim talks to Anselm, tells him stories, “reads” to him for a bit, and then they just play quietly near each other.

The Remy-Anselm Hour is a happy time.

*Right now, this means baby gets up at 6 a.m. to make sure his eat/wake/sleep cycles coincide with C’s nap. E is the most flexible of the three.