A Friend (or a Dozen) For Life

Big Sister, Little Brother (April 1997)

Another sibling day! This time it is Aria and Mike. :) Btw, there is a two-year age difference – Aria is turning 7, and Mike is turning 5.

Enjoy! :)

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April 13th, 1997 

*Montgomery household, 10:00 a.m.*

Today is Aria and Mike's sibling day. They made pancakes with Byron for breakfast, and are now doing a sensory project.

They will make colored moon sand. Pam told Ella it was a big hit for Emily and her cousin Jacob, so Ella has decided to it with Mike and Aria since it is easy enough for both to help.

"Okay, Aria, Mikey, listen up. We need 8 cups of flour and two cups of baby oil." Ella starts out as soon as she has the needed ingredients.

"Aria, you can help Daddy measure out the flour for your bowl. And Mike, you can help me measure out the flour for your bowl."

"Okay, Mamma! Can I stir it? I'm good at that!"

"You can as soon as we get the flour in there."

Once both bowls have flour and the oil, Ella shows Aria how to mix them together. Mike tries to copy his sister, getting a little messy so Ella slows him down a bit.

"Stir slowly, Mike. So you don't make a mess, all right?"

Once the bowls are mixed, Aria has a pretty light shade of purple sand while Mike has dark green sand.

"Mikey, watch me." Aria takes some sand and spreads it on a cookie sheet. She then pats it down and then writes her name. "See? It A-r-i-a, which spells my name."

"Oh, can I do it, Mamma? I wanna write my name!" And Ella hands him an unsharpened pencil, letting him use it to make the letters.

"Watch, Mikey," Aria covers his hand with hers. "M...i...c...h...a...e...l...That spells Michael! That's your name."

"Nuh-uh. My name is Mike!"

"No," Aria shakes her head. She goes back to her own sand and presses some of it in her hand to make a soft, purple ball. "that's your nickname. But your name is Michael.

Mike huffs and crosses his hands. "No, Aria. My name is Mike." This time Aria huffs, turning to her parents.

"Bud," Ella ruffles his hair. "Sister is right; your name is Michael, but people call you Mike as a nickname."

"Oh," Mike giggles. He squishes some sand between his fingers. "And Vincent."

"Yes, mommy and daddy call you Michael Vincent when you are trouble, don't we?"

"Uh-huh. You and daddy say 'Michael Vincent Montgomerwy!'" He says making Ella and Byron laugh.

"Can you write your whole name, Mikey? Like this..." Aria carefully uses her finger to make out her middle and last name next to Aria. "Can you read that?"

"Uh-huh! It says Aria Mawie Montgomerwy."

"That's right, Mikey! Now, let's do your name. Do you want mommy or me to help you?"

"You!" Aria covers his hand again and together they spell out: Vincent and Montgomery." Then Aria turns back to her own sand.

"Mikey, watch me." Aria says. Mike watches intently as Aria pats down some sand and then presses her hand into it, making a handprint.

"You do it now, Mikey. Get some sand on the pan, like this...then pat it gently. Like when you pet Daisy."

"I hafta pet Daisy softly," He informs them. "So I don't hurt the puppy."

"That's right, bud. You have to be gentle with Daisy."

"Okay, Mikey, now take your hand and press down, like this." Aria shows him, helping him out a little. "Now, lift your hand up."

"Oooo," Mike says in awe. "Look, Mamma! My...my uh...-"

"-handprint, Mikey."

"My handpwint. It's gween."

"Yep! And what color is my print, Mikey?"

"Um...purple!" Aria praises him. She draws some shapes in her sand, and then in his, asking what it is each time.

"A twiangle....square...um, circle!...a star!"

"Let's make some letters. Do an A, Mikey. Like this. Make a line, and another line, and then one more...good job!

Now, make a little circle, like this, and give it a tail. And that's called a lowercase A. The other one is an uppercase A."

"I did it, Mammy! Mamma, Daddy, look!"

"You did do it. You're such a big boy." Ella kisses his forehead. "Now, Daddy and I are going to be in the living if you need us, okay?"

"Let's make a B, Mikey. Make a line, like this...then make a curve and then another curve." Mike copies her almost perfectly. "Yes! Good job, Mikey."

The two play for a few more minutes.

"Look, Aria," Mike grins. "I made a ball."

He takes the cookie cutter -a snowman- and pats down a spot, making it smooth. Then he presses the cutter to it.

"And I made a snowman. It's a gween snowman." He giggles.

"You're silly, Mikey," Aria says. "Can you give your snowman some eyes and a smile? Use the pencil Mammy gave you."

Mike picks it up, positioning it over the cut-out.

"How many eyes does a snowman have, Mikey?"

"Two! One... two. And a smile." He draws a line best he can with an unsharpened pencil. "It's a happy snowman!"

"Nice job, Mikey." Mike beams at his sister's praise. "It looks wonderful."

For next hour or so, Mike and Aria play with their sand. Aria helps Mike make some more letters, numbers, and shapes, and then they just mess around with their own sand.

Around 11:30, Ella comes back to the kitchen to make lunch while Byron finds some containers and helps them clear the table off.

After lunch, Mike is sent for nap, and Aria is allowed some 'quiet time' where she plays with her stuffed animals and toys quietly in her room.

All in all, Aria and Mike's first sibling day where they were both able to completely participated has gone pretty well.

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Please review! Let me know what you thought of this and if you want another Sibling Day soon.