Killing me softly

Any parent of more than one infant/toddler can tell you that there are one of two ways that the older sibling will act towards the younger and more vulnerable sibling. The humorous part of the two methods of sibling interaction result in the same end: injury.

The first type of elder to younger sibling interaction is that of the jealous and subtle type. This sibling is the one that puts the pillow over the face of the new baby while pretending to show it the pattern on the pillow. This is also the one that punches the sibling or gives it little head butts in the name of kisses. Thankfully this is not Anna towards Owen.

Anna is the other dynamic in the sphere of sibship psychology. Anna is the sibling that wants to always hold Owen, count with Owen, name all of the orifices on Owen's head, and most definitely kiss him all the time!

I guess that I would rather have children that are overly affectionate towards one another than ones that have violent rages in the name of jealousy.

Here is Anna playing a lazy version of name that body part. Sometimes for fun she will point using the digital portion of the lower limb. This of course is much more exciting than using her index finger. Here she is saying, "head". Owen is saying, "ridiculous"!

This is one of Anna's favorite moves. This is referred to as "drop, hug, and roll". This move always ends with us saying, "Be gentle Anna, he is a baby"! She will usually give him a kiss and roll off.
But these are the times when it is all worth while. These pictures were during the Sunday nap. Anna woke up and decided that it was not time for her terrorize the home yet, so she cuddled in next to Owen, covered herself with his blanket, gave him a couple of soft kisses on the cheek and fell asleep next to him.


I love these times. It is amazing how this little family that began less than four years ago is growing and developing into a loving home. This is Life on Union Avenue.