You beautiful, compassionate soul you! I cannot believe I was ever worried or concerned that you would be jealous or envious of the arrival of your new little brother. I actually find it hysterical that my brain would have even considered it as a possibility. You have been such a big helper to me these past few weeks as I adjust to being a mom of two. While I’ll be the first to admit there have been several blow outs and temper tantrums because let’s face it, no one is perfect; you truly have shocked me with just how much you’ve grown up in such a short amount of time. For so long you were the ‘baby’ and for so long we babied you more than maybe we should have but in truth, why wouldn’t we? Why would we have wanted you to act older than your age? You’re our first baby and I think we wanted to hold onto that for as long as possible. But now I’m witnessing you growing up and maturing right before my eyes and as hard as it is to accept that you’re no longer completely dependent on me; watching you find ways to help out more and more is something that brings me immense pride and joy.

I’ve watched you comfort Eli when he’s inconsolable; whispering to him “What wrong E-I? You no happy? It OK E-I. It ok.” I’ve seen you try your hardest to give him back his soother when he pops it out of his little mouth. And I can’t even begin to count the amount of times I’ve asked you to grab me the wet wipes because Eli has spit up after I’ve fed him. It’s been so many times now that you don’t even hesitate to look for them. You know exactly where Mommy has stashed the wipes in every room of the house. You will gladly dispose of a dirty diaper for me when I’m struggling to get Eli into a fresh one and you constantly check on him when he’s asleep in his swing. If we’re out running errands, you love to keep me informed that “E-I sweeping Mom. He sweeping.” so I know that he’s OK in his car seat. Every day it seems that I catch you kissing him or holding his hand about a hundred times. It’s like you literally cannot get enough of him. “I hold his finger Mom!” I hear you say with such excitement. “He awake! Mom! E-I awake! I hold him? Natey hold him?” is also frequently asked by you. Although there have been times, especially in those very first few days at home, where we had to remind you to be nice or gentle with your brother, we rarely need to tell you that now.

Slowly, you’re becoming less and less reliant on me which is both thrilling and depressing. We were struggling for what seemed like months with potty training and within the last few weeks, it seems like everything has finally clicked. You’re actually at the point where you’ll just take yourself to the potty and then tell me afterwards that you’ve gone. You love to open the fridge and try your hardest to get yourself a drink of chocolate milk and if you were just a little bit taller, you would definitely be able to do so. You’ve become content playing with your toys without needing or wanting me sitting directly beside you. If Eli is being especially fussy, you’ll go up to the playroom and entertain yourself for a little while while I work on calming your baby brother down.

How could I have ever doubted just how amazing you would be as a big brother? You have proven to me time and time again that you have the kindest, most gentle soul of any little boy I’ve ever met. And I’m not just saying that because I’m your Mom and it’s my duty to brag about you. No. I’m saying that because I, myself, have been told time and time again just how sweet and wonderful you are. It is an absolute pleasure and honour to be your mom and I hope you’ll always know that.