I was working on the couch one afternoon as my girls sat on the floor. Vivi had just learned to sit up and Addie had just gone to her first gymnastics class, which meant Addie’s gymnastic skills were pretty equal to Vivi’s sitting skills, wobbly at best.
Addie attempted a cartwheel and landed in a lump of gangly limbs on the floor, Vivi began to laugh from so deep inside her plump little belly she sounded like an old man gasping for breath. Upon seeing the power Addie had upon her baby sister, she began to fall all over herself on purpose, only now with ridiculous sound effects and dramatic drops to the floor. Vivi giggled so hard on several occasions she literally fell to the ground laughing.
I abandoned my work and watched those two little girls play together until one or the other got hungry or bored.
No one ever told me how spectacular it is to see your two kids play together. I began to wonder if it was the large gap in their ages that made their relationship so unique, but it turns out every mom that I’ve met treasures the time their children are playing together (and not trying to kill each other.)
Addie’s excitement over her baby sister could only be bridled by my husband’s warnings of “HOLD HER HEAD! NOT SO FAST! SHH! THE BABY’S SLEEPING!” She wanted to hold that tiny baby every chance she got and even now as Vivi weighs half as much as Addie, she still tries to pick her up to dance with her. Last week Addie and her dad actually got into a fight over who was guilty of stealing the baby away from the other.
Poor baby, she’s so loved she actually has people fighting over who loves her more.
Nothing made my firstborn seem so huge and grown up as the first time she held her baby sister. Well, that and comparing their feet for the first time, seriously, the kid may as well have had flippers. Addie is officially the best big sister to ever exist on the planet and while other moms have challenged me on the title, I know for a fact that Addie wins.
Confucius said “There is only one beautiful child in the world, and every mother has it.”
Only I got lucky and ended up with two.
What have been the most magical moments you’ve witnessed between your kids?
About the Author
Heather is mom to four, born within 40 months (single, twins, single). She writes transparently about her chaotic household to encourage others through the twists and turns of parenting.
Comments
4 Comments
Thank you so much for this post I have a 6 1/2 year old daughter who will be 7 next month and she’s pretty mature. Her baby brother is also due next month and I was kind of wondering what the age difference might be like for the two of them.
I switch between being really excited for moments like these and mildly terrified at the thought of having two kids under the age of two. Thanks for the reminder that the good moments will far outshine the bad ones. 🙂
Thank you for this post! I am due with #2 in about a month and am quite anxious about adding another. This post made me smile!
My infant son was in his swing crying. His 23 month old brother walked up to him, shushed him and wiped away his tears. The baby stopped and stared in admiration at his brother, until both of them started smiling and laughing. I thought, could this be real? I couldn’t believe I was so lucky to witness it, much less call those beautiful boys mine.