Preparing for Little Brother

Cambrie is very excited about the coming addition to our family. Granted, she only has a two-and-a-half-year-old's level of comprehension, but she has already asked a number of times, "Is my little brother done growing yet?" I guess she expects me to say, "Yup!" and magically produce him, but unfortunately that's not the way things work. It's certainly a lesson in patience.

A few days ago we learned more about how she views her own role in the coming older-sibling-younger-sibling setup. Patrick and I were in the living room when we started to hear Cambrie waking up from her nap. Usually, she’ll make some small noises then come out to see us on her own ("Mommy, daddy, all-done sleeping!!"). But this time I heard a very urgent and rather shrill “Mooommmmyyy!!!” Patrick and I looked at each other, then we heard it again. “Moooommmyyyy!!!” We rushed to her room.

We got to the door and opened it just as she was starting to open the door herself. Almost without waiting for us to say anything, she turned around and started sauntering back to her bed. Very matter-of-factly (no sense of shrillness or urgency now), she informed us, “When my little brother get born, we can do lots of things.”

This shows a bit of excitement you may not have seen in the initial announcement.

We both looked at her, bewildered, as she climbed back onto her bed and plopped down to look at us and tell us again, “When he get born, can… can do LOTS of things.” By now, we were cracking up, but she was already moving on.

“I can teach him lots of things, and I can teach him…” she looked around her bed, “…my blanket,” (she picked up her precious pink blankie), “and Baby Maggie,” (she picked up her doll, then continued pointing out everything on the bed), “and I can teach him this monkey, and this monkey, and…and this little doggie!”

That swing is a rocket ship; I've traveled to the moon and back with her many times. She reminds me to put on and buckle my helmet, and sometimes she'll say, "Little brother coming to moon with us!" She knows he hangs out in my tummy, and therefore goes where we go.

I picked her up to take her out of the room, but she kept going. “And I’ll teach him jumping, and my books, and can read The Cat in the Hat, too, you can read to him just like me, and….” and it kept going.

A little while later, she walked down the stairs in a pair of blue shoes that are still too big for her, saying, “When my little brother get born, he can wear these shoes. His feet be big enough.”

She cracks me up, but at the same time I'm really touched. If I could pick any type of older sibling for a brand new little boy to have, I would absolutely pick a little girl with a love for laughter, silliness and the world around her, and a desire to share that with those she loves. Mommy and Daddy can teach him about safety, security, and being loved, sure, but if he's going to learn about the magic of stuffed animals, the love for small things like shoes and precious blankets, and the joy of spinning and jumping on the bed, well I'm sure glad we have an expert on hand for that.

Now there's a real smile! It takes a spin on Uncle Rob's four-wheeler to get her to give me one of those for the camera. Maybe she'll teach little brother about recreational vehicles, too.