Brothers playing together

Jim is in Australia for the month and I’m settling into a routine with the kids at my Mom’s house for the time being. L1 and L2 are used to being in daycare with lots of other children and activities. I think L1 has been missing the play with other kids because his constant refrain has been, “Do you want to play with me?” It is the first thing he says in the morning, and the last thing at night. He wants his grandma or me to play with him, while L2 is usually the antagonist who messes up his train track or takes his cars. To be fair, sometimes L2 seems to deliberately provoke L1, as by grabbing a car and running to the closet to hide with L1 crying in pursuit. Lately, however, L2 is becoming a desired playmate and I’m so happy to see the brothers having fun together. Previously, there were occasions when they would play well together, but these golden moments were rare. Today, however, L1 asked me when L2 would wake up from his nap so they could play. Hooray!  They play together best when the activity doesn’t involve toys to share. But give them a box to jump off of or a bush to hide in, and they will play happily, if noisily, together. Their current favorite activity is to ride L1's trike around the neighborhood; L1 peddles and L2 rides behind. My hope is that this sabbatical time together will establish a great friendship between the two.