Sweet Brothers

Just a few words about these sweet brothers.  They have not always loved.  They have sometimes hated.  Son #1 was insanely jealous of Son #2 when he (Son #2) was born.  Son #1 had a hard time giving up "only child" status after three and a half years of being an only.

I took Son #1 to gymnastics when Son #2 was two weeks old.  Son #1 participated in class.  He skipped off the floor, grabbed Son #2's arm and bit it as hard as he could.  I wanted to scream.  Instead, I calmly sat him down in timeout and told him "no."  The first year of Son #2's life was all about saving him from Son #1's wrath.

When I look at the photo above of them being so loving, it reminds me how far they have come from those first days.  In those first days, I wondered if I had done the right thing for Son #1 by having another child.  I felt so sorry for Son #2, because he was just an innocent baby.  Son #1 was, of course, jealous of the attention that I was giving Son #2, and he didn't know how to verbalize it.

Today, as we were sitting in the den after dinner talking and laughing, Daddy told the boys that we were all going to his soccer game on Sunday.  Son #2 flew off the couch, so excited, cheering and Son #1 joined him.

Son #2 went up to Son #1 and said, "I want to give you a hug."  Son #1 turned towards #2 obligingly.  They hugged.

Then Son #1 said, "I want to give you a kiss," and he kissed his brother squarely on his head.

Moments like these make parenting so worth it.