But with my birthday coming up, I remembered something I once said to my brother. He probably doesn't remember it, but I do. I once told him that my birthday was probably the happiest day of his life because that was the day he became a big brother.
Yeah. He should have slapped me. And then pushed me over. And then put me in a choke hold. And finished things off with a pinch. And then, after all that, he maybe should have given me a hug.
Because by watching this big brother with this little sister, I've learned a thing or two.
Oh, they are sweet to each other. The hugs. The kisses. The giggling. From day one, all of it has made me smile. But I know full well that with each hug, kiss, and giggle there are probably smacks, stealing toys, and sometimes not the nicest words said ("stinkwad" for example or just an ear piercing scream of frustration).
In fact, the night before Penny was born, I spent a good fifteen, twenty minutes just crying uncontrollably because I knew all this was coming--the good and the "bad" that comes with a sibling relationship. I knew that in 24 hours, my little boy's world was going to be rocked.
The first 7 or 8 months were fabulous. And then Pen learned to crawl and life was a whole new ballgame (or battlefield in some instances). Reggie got territorial while Pen got adventurous. And with each new milestone for Penny, Reggie seems to have the biggest adjustment to make. They're not just his sippy cups anymore. It's not his carseat anymore. I'm not just his mom.
And it is an adjustment. These two have their good days and their hard moments. They go from wrestling for fun to wrestling for power in split seconds.
March 19th, 2010 might not have been the happiest day in Reggie's life. But when I hear him tell her goodnight, or when I see him help her get her shoes, or when he gets her a snack, or reads her a book, or holds her hand possessively because some new kid is trying to talk to her, I know that March 19th was a pretty good day for him. Because he thinks the world of her.
And she thinks he's pretty great too.
5 comments:
Oh Emm, you made me cry. You really captured the struggle of siblings. The only thing harder than that is being the mother! Cute, cute pictures. As always, thanks for sharing. We would love to see some house pictures!
I LOVE everything about this post? Can I just copy and paste it onto mine? Becuase apparently we are living (or our kids are living) parallel lives. LOVE it!
So cute! What a great post. Thanks for sharing it with us
Well said Em.
I totally know what you mean about crying before the new arrival. Simply for shaking up the reality of your child...or children. :)
I've been meaning to tell you since you posted this, I LOVE this post.
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