Today, I was playing with Alex in the (thank goodness) air-conditioned living room when Julia came up to me, weepy and frustrated. When I put Alex on the couch and sat and listened to Julia, I mentioned to Alex with concern: "Look. Julia's sad. Julia's crying." (Trying to get him to recognize emotions properly, plus the English words). I immediately noticed Alex pulling her shirt. Then he made his kissing sound to the air. When I realized he was trying to kiss her, I explained that to the still weepy Julia and she bent her face down for a kiss, which he gave her. Then, since she was closer to him, he began gently patting her shirt.
Oh. My. Gosh. I teared up. And praised Alex and told Julia what a great gift she received--I do believe she is the first person he has tried to comfort.
Later tonight, I was putting him to bed, and he wanted kisses--me to kiss him. It was so sweet. And a first. We've kissed him goodnight but it hasn't usually seemed to click. I'm not saying it seems to click all the time now, but he seems to have crossed a hurdle that way.
--Susan
