Siblings

As a mother, I was a little worried about how Madeleine and Harrison would react when Charlotte joined our family. They have had to adjust to having much much MUCH less of my time and attention. And, while I know that eventually it will even out, for now Charlotte gets more than her fair share of my time. And, so I was concerned with how that was going to work out.

I always knew that I had amazing children. I knew that they were loving, sweet, caring kids. But, after these past few weeks I'm even more in awe of them! They have welcomed her into our home and into their hearts fully. They were instantly protective of her. They wanted to hold her, love on her, kiss her all the time. And, while some of the newness of having a baby has worn off, I am proud to say that never, not one single time, have I heard or seen any type of jealousy. In fact, it's been much the opposite. Madeleine went through a period of NOT wanting to go to school because she wanted to be home with me and Charlotte. Harrison cannot stand for her to cry. The first couple of weeks he would cry when she cried because he was so bothered by it! He'd keep asking me over and over to fix it....how sweet! (Thankfully, he' finally realized that that's just how she "talks" and now I only have one crying baby at a time). :) And while there hasn't been any jealousy of Charlotte, they have had their moments when learning that I can't do "that" "right now!" is hard. It's especially been challenging on those nights when Matt's not home until after bedtime. I think it's probably harder on me than them, though! :)

The times that I love the most are when the three of them are "playing." They love to watch her smile and talk to them. They fight over who she's smiling at and who gets to be right in front of her. I love it! Ohh, how it warms this mother's heart.

One night last week, we spent some time playing before bedtime. I tried out putting Charlotte in the bumbo since her head control is just amazing! She loooooved it! She thought she was hot stuff sitting up like her big brother and sister. Ha!

I love how Charlotte is looking at Madeleine! It's like she's already looking up to her. One thing I've noticed about miss Charlotte recently is that she only smiles for people she recognizes. She will not smile for strange faces, which makes it even more special, I think.