Poor Lily

Lily just doesn't get it sometimes. Saturday we put Campbell on the trampoline for the first time. The girls and I sat around the edges and kept Campbell from walking off the side. He ran from me to Ella and back again over and over, laughing and screeching every time he plopped down on his bottom. I have video of him doing it with B and the girls, and if I can figure out how to load it I will.

Anyway, when I was on the trampoline with them, Lily got very upset because Campbell was only running to me and to Ella. Lily desperately wanted him to run to her. So instead of just sitting back and waiting for him to come to her, Lily would grab at him and tackle him. Of course, Campbell would protest, pushing her away and crying, which hurt her feelings more.

When I got Campbell off the trampoline, and while Ella was having her turn bouncing, I tried to explain to Lily that perhaps Campbell doesn't run up and hug her as often as he does Ella because every time he does, she flattens him with a tackle. Lily just loves, loves, loves Campbell, and that's the problem - she is very aggressive in her affections. She just can't leave him alone. If he walks too close to Lily, she grabs him. She picks him up and totes him around, even though he inevitably screams and yells and goes limp.

And it's just heartbreaking to see. She will come to me in tears saying, "I want to hold Campbell, but he won't let me." Or, "I want to carry Campbell, but he keeps walking away." B and I have explained to her so many times that Campbell isn't a baby anymore and that he has his own little mind now and knows what he likes and doesn't like, but it just doesn't work. She insists on lugging him around or tackling him to give Campbell hugs. As a result, he tends to run the other way when she comes near him.

Anyone have any suggestions? Or should we just ride this out and hope that Lily eventually figures out what she needs to do?