Connor, four years old. Ethan, four minutes old.
What can I say? They’re brothers.
Morning
November 8, 2012 by ·
He doesn’t sleep in the morning. He seems to absorb his older brother’s relentless early-to-rise energy and there’s just too much of everything – too much excitement, too much noise, too much daylight.
I’ve turned off the lights this morning. With big brother out of the house it’s quiet. There is snow falling.
He lies in my arms now, head in the crook of my elbow. My left wrist and forearm are numb, but I won’t put him down. Not yet. His eyes are closed and ringed by soft, pale lashes. His sweet mouth is open. Babies’ lips are beautiful.
His tummy is pressed to mine, and he sleeps.
Ironman Says…
October 31, 2012 by ·
Happy Halloween!
Don’t worry – he’s still cute behind the mask.
Our little lion isn’t in his costume yet (and frankly, it’s going to swim on him so we may have to improvise).
Hope you all have a great Halloween!
UPDATED:
And here’s the little lion.
Pride and Potential
October 19, 2012 by ·
Honour your children, they suggested. Share how they make you proud.
Easy peasy, as Connor likes to say. (He stole my expression.)
He’s always up for anything involving construction paper and crayons.
“What are you good at?” I asked.
He didn’t hesitate in his answer.
I’m good at building LEGO.
He’s so good at LEGO it actually freaks me out a little bit. He’s going to be smarter than I am. He might be already. He’s good at a lot of things, but the confidence he gets from LEGO is a joy to see. He can do it well and he knows it. And I’m glad he knows it.
“What else are you good at?”
I thought his answer might be painting. (“I have paint all over my hands because I’m an artist like my dad,” he told me the other day.) Or baking. There are lots of things he could have chosen.
I’m good at cleaning up my toys.
But he chose this. It’s his job and he does it (though he occasionally complains about it, and fair enough). But he does a darn good job of cleaning up his toys.
“What’s something about you that makes you really nice?” Last question.
I help you change the baby.
He thought for a split second. Helping change the baby is not just something he likes to do, it’s something he does because he wants to be helpful. And I so admire that about him. He’s a really good big brother.
And then there’s the baby. What to say about the one I’ve only known for a couple of weeks but who has changed my worldview? If life is made up of a series of steps along a path leading us to who we are meant to be, he is a significant one in mine. In him lies so much potential.
I’m brand new and full of potential.
Both for him and for me.
Grace in Small Things: #8
October 11, 2012 by ·
I need to write, but I’ve been choosing sleep.
I don’t know what to say anyway.
I need to write about Ethan’s birth, because I think it’s a story that needs to be shared. I need to write about this first week, because I need to make some sense of it. I need to remember all this by writing about it here, but that will have to wait.
For now, a gratitude list:
- Newborn smell.
- Little boys who have become big brothers and really, really like helping.
- Sisters who never fail to step up.
- Husbands who get it.
- Peri bottles. (What? Whoever invented these deserves an award.)
***
In other news, I’ve got a post up at Just.Be.Enough today. It’s about feeling like I’m not as much of a mom as those who take care of two kids on their own. I wrote it before Ethan was born and I’m not sure how I feel about this now, but it’s still something I’m pondering. Come read.
