Todd and I took him aside and told him being the older brother of 3 sisters is a huge responsibility and he will have to protect them. The tears stopped, the shoulders were thrown back, and the chest puffed out. Now we were speaking his language. Later I overheard him tell Anna Cate, "I'm in charge of you because I'm your big brother."
Fast forward to this past August, when Lyla James and Mary Connor arrived. I'm not sure what Brian expected, but the babies clearly fell short. The first night we were all home from the hospital I was tucking Brian in and he said his prayers, "God thank you for my sisters. Please help them to be smart." When he was finished I asked why he prayed for them to be smart. "They can't really do anything."
Over the next few weeks I would ask him if he wanted to hold one of them, he would shrug and say, "No, thanks. They puke." Just to be clear, he didn't seem angry or jealous, I think he just expected them to be a little bit more interesting....and a bit less in the department of spitting up and leaky diapers.
I don't know if it's that he has gotten comfortable with them or because the girls are more interactive and less fragile, but I have seen a big difference over Christmas break. He loves to make them laugh and he's been working hard to get Lyla James to roll over. She just grins at him with adoring eyes while he coos, "Roll over, sweet pie." Yes, Sweet pie is what he calls her. Did I mention he has inherited my knack for getting expressions confused?
Now to deal with him thinking he is in charge of his sisters.........
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