Brotherly Love

Alex and Nathan are so cute together already! Alex has done fantastic with the transition and just LOVES his baby brother! Gary and I were so nervous about how Alex would do and were so worried that he'd start regressing and would be super jealous... this has not been the case at all so far! Alex has been happy and excited with Nathan from the start!!

Favorite things:

*Alex calls Nathan "NayNay"... when he actually says his name... but mostly he calls him "baby brother" - if you ask him what his brother's name is he will say "baby"

*Alex will tell us Nathan is "my baby" or he'll say "I want my baby"

*When people come to visit, Alex runs to introduce them to Nathan right away, it is so cute! He is proud for sure :)

*He tries to give Nathan toys... we've tried to explain that his hands are too little to hold them though. We showed him that Nathan can hold little links though sometimes and Alex thinks that is very cool :)

*He doesn't like that Nathan sleeps most of the time... he'll often say "wake up!" or when he notices Nathan IS awake, he'll say "he's awake mommy!!!"

*Alex LOVES to hold Nathan... he asks often

*He randomly gives Nathan kisses (without being prompted) - this is so sweet!

*He also asks to hold him... he'll tell us "my turn" when we have Nathan in our arms

*He goes to "check the baby" for me... not really sure what he thinks he's checking for, but it is very cute! He'll announce "he ok mommy" when he returns.

*The first thing he'll ask when he wakes up is "where's my baby?"

*Alex will tickle Nathan's feet (the only part he's allowed to tickle) and say "tickle, tickle!" he thinks this is so funny. We usually have to make him stop after a minute or so... he's not super great with being "gentle" yet...

*Nathan is wide-eyed when Alex is close by - so alert and just watching everything! It is so cute - they will lay under the baby play gym together (per Alex's request) to "play". Nathan will just watch and watch his big brother. You can tell he already looks up to Alex!

*Alex is always looking for ways to help mommy and daddy with Nathan. He goes to get diapers, blankets, wipes, etc. for us often! It really is helpful!

*Alex always thanks Jesus for his baby brother when he prays before nap and bed :)

*The sweet, tender look that Alex has when looking at his baby brother, it really melts my heart!

*The way Alex will say "awww" when Nathan does something cute!

It has been so fun to already see the two brothers developing a little relationship of their own! I worry about sibling rivalry and competitiveness with boys that are just two years apart. I pray that we can help foster a positive and loving relationship and that they will be real buddies!


In other news...
We have been so blessed to have so much help these past couple of weeks! My mom drove up from Alabama as soon as Nathan was born to help with Alex. She stayed from Saturday until Friday doing everything from cooking to laundry and vacuuming and holding Nathan while I napped each afternoon! Thanks mom!!! :D Gary and I also had the luxury of going on FOUR dates while my parents were in town!!! It's funny that we were able to go on more dates with a newborn than we'd typically go on - but hey, the key to a healthy family is a great marriage! We had a few days to ourselves in between visits. Our wonderful small group provided dinners for us those days - It has been two and a half weeks and I have only cooked one meal (hamburger helper - ha!). My mom and sister returned on their way back to AL from PA on Wednesday this past week. Then my dad came up for the weekend. Everyone was headed back Sunday. We've got two weeks now before Gary's family will visit, which we are really looking forward to :) We feel so blessed to have friends and family that are so generous and giving!