Oh Brother

So there I was, the center of attention, the very axis upon which my parent's world did spin. Every part of every day was all about ME...cute, adorable, trying-to-sneak-toys-into-the-toilet little me!

Then something happened.

I began to sense a change in the air. Mommy and daddy began to act different. They would talk about things I did not understand. They kept telling me that I was going to be the big boy now. Now what? What was making me into a big boy? I like me just the way I was...their BABY.

Then my mommy got a big tummy....and it would move in funny ways! She told me about this thing called a "brother"...and she told me it was in her tummy! I would sit with my cat in our special window and wonder about this "brother-thing." Is it a toy? Could I eat it? When would it come? But there were no clear answers to these deep questions, so I would finally forget thinking and go back to playing.

Every night I would kiss my "brother" in my mommy's tummy goodnight. This seemed like an odd ritual, because no matter how much I would kiss it, it would never come out...only poke at me and make mommy's tummy move funny.

Then one day daddy came home all excited and moving very fast. He took mommy's suitcase and pillow outside to the Jeep. Mommy was getting stuff ready...ready for what? Then she would stop and hold her tummy with and make a strange face. Suddenly my auntie Rachel came and said she was going to take care of me for a little while...before she was even all the way through the door, daddy was rushing mommy out...a quick hug and kiss and they were gone.

Daddy came home the next day, but mommy wasn't with him. He gave me a hug and said my brother had come. But I was confused because I didn't see any brother OR any mommy of mine! More days passed, and yet mommy didn't come. Then finally after 4 days daddy told me he was going to bring mommy home...and my brother too!

Before I knew it they were walking through the door...mommy was moving very slow, but she reached down and she gave me a big hug. Then I noticed my dad carrying something funny...it was a little seat, and there was something moving inside it! He put the seat on the kitchen table, and I could hardly scramble up on a chair fast enough. I wanted to peek at this curious thing for myself.

There he was: my brother. So this is what all the excitement had been about. So THIS is a brother: a squirmy little thing with tiny hands and feet, and a face all scrunched up with a plug in its mouth. Well, to tell you the truth, it was kindof a let down at first. This brother thing seemed awfully boring. I couldn't eat it, and it didn't have any flashing lights or make neat sounds. And I had to be "GENTLE" with it. No fun, cuz I like play rough!

But now three weeks have gone by, and I have quite changed my mind about my brother. First of all he is MY brother, and I have learned that he needs me! He is always dropping his plug (we call it his paci)...and I have to crawl under the desk or into the corner to get it for him so that he won't cry. And if he does cry I have to go find my mom so that she can get him. I LOVE to kiss my brother, and I think kisses help him grow, because every time I give him a kiss I see him getting bigger. I can even hold him now...but mom has to help me because sometimes I get too excited and forget to be gentle. Oops! Plus my brother comes with all kinds of cool accessories...little shoes that I put on my fingers and tiny diapers that I can stack up, and some musical things over his crib that I can't touch.

I just love my brother...what more can I say?