Brother and Sister

It makes me so happy to see my two sweet children become friends. When I watch them together I can almost envision what they will be like in one, five, eight years. The friends that they will be. Elliot already recognizes and reacts to Charlotte differently than he does to us. His eyes light up when she talks to him. He quiets down when she is playing near him. He truly enjoys her company. And Charlotte really does love her brother. She loves to bring him
toys, lay down next to him for diaper changes, talk to him in her baby-voice, and yells "Emmy up!" with delight when he wakes up from naps because she knows she will get to see him.

Some mornings Elliot wakes up before Charlotte so I bring him into her room when she wakes up and calls for me. Her little face lights up when she sees him, even as she is still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

As I sat balancing two kids and a book in the rocking chair this afternoon, my heart was so full. "See? Butterpye. Emmy, see?" Charlotte excitedly pointed out the animals and insects in the garden book to her little brother. Using that high-pitched loving voice that she reserves just for Elliot, her delight at being able to show and teach him was visibly apparent. Apparent in her body language as she leaned toward him trying to make eye contact and then in her words: "See Buddy? Hi buddy!"

I thought I had experienced all the joys of early motherhood: the "firsts," the precious kisses, the way your heart melts when you hear that sweet voice exclaim "I yuv yoo, Mommy!", and the countless other little things that only a mom would delight in.

But I didn't, couldn't, begin to understand the way it feels to see my children love each other.