Getting to Know You

Already these pictures look outdated to me. Emil grows and grows and grows. His little legs are chubby-ing up nicely, and the wrinkles on his forehead are smoothing out as he lays down layers of baby fat that will soon make his cheeks the size of ripe peaches. So this above picture, taken over a week ago, no longer even looks like him. But still, I have to post it. It was the one time he actually sucked his thumb, leaving me hopeful that he might be the one baby of ours to self-soothe, leaving Milo to dub him “Old Sucker-Thumb.” For an hour.

Yes, Oliver was naked again. It was 103 degrees outside. Cut the kid some slack.

Milo and Oliver both seem fond of their new baby brother, but Milo is absolutely smitten. The first day we brought Emil home, I explained to Milo that everything was new to him. The house, all the faces he would see, everything. Milo looked thoughtful, then roared into action. He raced to his toy box and grabbed a superhero. Then, he held up the plastic figure of Batman in front of his baby brother’s basically blind eyes, and said sweetly, “This is a super hero, Emil! You’ve never seen one of these before! Don’t worry, he’s not a bad guy. You don’t have to be scared, little buddy!” Then, “And this is a race car! Train! Book! Dog! Bedpan!” (Okay, kidding about that last one).

Milo is more than thrilled to have a new brother. It’s amazing to see how gentle and compassionate he is with Emil, kissing the top of his head, singing songs to him, encouraging him to hold his head up, cheering him on when he does. I guess when you already have one brother to torment, you find some room in your heart for tenderness towards the next.

And the good news? Oliver watches and mimics every single move Milo makes, so this baby is starting to get some major lovin’. That is, when I’m not hogging him to myself.