Growing up, I never knew what it was like to have a sister. My two older brothers liked to wrestle me and pin me to the ground. Then mercilessly hover their hands over my stomach and pretend they were going to tickle me, to death. As a kid I hated this more than anything. But we were brothers and we still loved each other. We really didn’t fight that much as far as I can remember although my parents might tell a different story.
When my daughter was born I was forced to dive head first into this world of little girls. Painting flowers and butterflies on her nursery walls. Now she resides in a royal palace painted in bright pink, her Barbie castle tent taking permanent residence next to her bed. I have to say, that I did imagine a little girl being a certain way. But Ella continues to surprise me by her likes and dislikes. For one, her favorite color is blue, not pink. She has also gone through many different phases of things she likes to collect, they have included cars, trains, and dinosaurs. Her favorite game to play on the Wii is the boxing. She bucks the mold. There are flashes of moments where I see her as the delicate flower I have always envisioned. But not usually when she is around her little brother.
A hug? or the windup to a body slam?
The older sister/younger brother dynamic has been very interesting to watch. She likes to boss him around. But she also enjoys teaching him how to do things (even if he isn’t the slightest bit interested in them). He, for the most part, is mesmerized by whatever she does. Unless of course it is annoying him, then he starts to whine. And Ella now has learned how to switch her hearing aids on and off whenever she finds it convenient. So, at the first sounds of a whimper from her brother she reaches up and, click!
Tonight I watched as Ella would constantly take things from Pax. ”No no no no” she says and hands him some random toy laying nearby only to pull the “Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark” swap for the toy he currently holds in his hands. This usually ends with Pax crying and then Ella taking both toys from him and going into the other room to play, hearing aids off.
She’s a sweet little thing who still has her daddy’s heart wrapped around her little finger, and I love her for all of her uniqueness and fire! We are still working on the sharing though…
Update: Pax and I are now on page 124 in the Chronicles of Narnia series. It’s been great rocking him to sleep and reading to him at night and I think this has really gone a long way in helping me feel closer to him. So a big thank you to everyone who encouraged me to hang in there and not worry, that the bonding with him will come, because I’m already noticing a difference.
Why do I always wait to blog until midnight?
and i as a mother of 3 boys, had no idea how to raise all three of you is it a fight? when do i stop it? should i let it fight to the end? Do boys always have to share? not easy from either side. sigh…