My Valentines

My sweet little valentines do not seem so little anymore!

 They look so old in these photos!

 Jackson's shirt and this photo below make me smile. His powerful, energetic, creative imagination has him being silly quite often. And then little Em is quick to follow his lead. 

sweetness

Jackson and I continued the Valentine's date tradition! It was so wonderful to spend some quality one on one time with my little man.

they do love each other

Morning Conversation

While they were in the same room it wasn't long after one woke up before I would hear the other. Often I would hear Jackson be silly and Emerson laugh. Then Jackson would call for Mom and Emerson would make a scream too. 

When I would go pick Emerson up she would immediately wave and smile at Jackson. I would set her in his bed and despite some bickering of a stolen stuffed animal they would usually feed off each other for morning laughs and smiles. 

Now in their own rooms, their happiness  when reunited in the morning is so cute. Emerson shakes her head and wiggles her body with excitement when we go say good morning to J. Emerson loves grabbing all Jackson's animals and J loves making silly noises and faces to make her laugh. 

I want to freeze time right here. Sweet and innocent, happy in the morning, full of love. 

Siblings

We can talk up becoming a big sibling, but lets face it, no two year old is ever fully prepared for the life change of adding a new born to the family. 

Even though I went through it myself at his age , I can only imagine how different it is to go from having all your parents undivided attention to having to learn to be more independent, both in routine and in play. 

Overall Jackson has been an amazing big brother. But every toddler has their moments, especially very honest ones. So in light of National Sibling Day and his raw thought, I had to document it.

Grandma was with Jackson and Emerson late this week when Jackson spoke the words that seem like a bit of a right of passage for a first time big sibling. Out of the blue, very matter-of-fact, Jackson asked Grandma, "When will Emmer be gone?"

Emmer just looked at him and smiled.

Grandma's response to this first time for everything comment was a lesson for me that I will continue to use (aside from how much they love each other). She asked Jackson if he knew who else was a little sister and a big brother. She helped Jackson to lean that one day Daddy became a big brother too, and Aunt Megan has made one wonderful baby sister. 

Sibling Love

What he has is his. What she has is his. What he has she wants. 

The beginning of many. 

She loves him

She loves him. 

Fast forward two plus years and I'm sure all I'll be doing is playing referee and bribing for cooperative behavior. Now fast forward twenty years though and I hope they both share this same caring look to each other. I hope they admire each other. I hope they support each other. I hope they share inside jokes and talk about how mom worries too much. I hope they share broken hearts and laughs all the same. I hope they treasure this bond they are already starting to build. 

I hope she always looks up to her brother. I hope he never looks down on her. I hope she always goes to him and he listens better than he does now. I hope he continues to care for her, and teaches her to care for others. 

I hope he sees that longing to join that she has in her eyes, and continues to let her in.