Sometimes I feel as though my girl gets the raw end of the deal. As the older child she is often relied upon to take care of her own needs, if not sometimes her brothers. I try really hard not to use her as an in house sitter, but Otter is fascinated with his big sis and really follows her around everywhere.

Luckily for all of us, she is pleased with his attention and her increasingly responsible role as the much older sib.

Yesterday Otter reached out and held her hand. She was instantly teary-eyed, awed that he was holding her hand. When he let go she said “Now I can’t ever wash this hand again, or the baby love with wash off.” It was pretty sweet.

Amazingly, she has been able to sing him to sleep when there is a baby sitter, get him breakfast in the morning sometimes so we can sleep in a little more, and get him to try new foods by simply eating them in front of him. She has also taught him several new games, and given him some basic piano lessons. All in all she is a font of information for this young man.

This morning, as I attempted to snooze on the couch to recover from a late night and very early morning, Monkey woke me up with a peanut butter and honey sandwich. She had made me breakfast! I thanked her profusely for such a nice gesture, and ate a filling and delicious sandwhich. Of course, Otter helped me out by eating one half himself, a proud smile on his face all the while.

I am feeling pretty lucky to have kids with such a great personality. There are so many other ways this could have gone, but happily they are forming strong bonds and becoming friends.