Soldiering On

Hi everyone,
Well, I THOUGHT one of the advantages of being a big bro would be a little relief from the writing assignments! I know, you thought I waxed witty of my own accord, but it's all been due to mommy's insistent prodding. Well, it's out there now... Anyway, no help from the little nipper; all he does is eat, sleep and poop. Oh, and fuss if any of those things are not done in the most expedient fashion. So you're now subscribed to the big brother chronicles (PLEASE let me know if you are tired of me clogging your mailbox!!).

So here is how it went down: Mom and dad woke me up obnoxiously early one winter morning a few weeks ago. Nana & Papa swooped in and took me to their house for the whole weekend. That ROCKED! Our lovely visit was interrupted by a trip to the hospital where mom and dad were (???). They looked okay, tired but happy, but I knew something was up when everyone started oooh-ing and aaah-ing over a little tiny stranger. I couldn't figure out who he belonged to...everybody was talking at once and I heard mommy sweetly say something about a new baby brother, but I got the point: there was a smaller, cuter, higher maintenance sheriff in town. It was time to throw a fit!

A couple days later Nana and Aunt Jael brought me home. I was pretty pumped to see mom and dad; and since we were at home I assumed all was back to normal. Then I saw him. He was snuggled up in a frilly little bed in my living room. And really that would have been okay, but then mommy took him out and I realized it was the same little impostor from the hospital incident! That was too much for me: I hadn't had a nap yet, I really wanted everything to be back to normal...I am ashamed to admit to you that I dissolved into tears and the strongest thing I could think to say was "Put it back!!" I know those sound like fightin' words, but coming from a helpless emotional toddler, it just made my parents sad and it didn't impact that tiny new creature whatsoever.

Fast forward a few days and things are going much better. I've resigned myself to this new standard of living, but I'm voting for Hillary just in case there is a chance I could be the center of the universe again. In the mean time I'm acting up a bit less and taking a few minutes each day to sit next to my baby brother and make sure he still has two eyes, a mouth, cheeks, fingers and toes, etc. I really don't mind him too much, in fact I'm starting to like him; I just don't want to share much mom/dad time with him. Unfortunately, there is no negotiating with a 3-week old.

Aside from all that commotion, I'm still in memorization mode. Songs are a good option for when mom doesn't have a hand free (feeding Elliot). And they are also daddy's speciality, so I practice with mom and perfect with dad :o). Someone suggested teaching me the bones and muscles of the human body (look out med school), and I'm game, but that would mean mommy would have to learn something new, too. Not sure how well that will work out. And after learning the sounds letters make at Nana's house, I think I've almost convinced mom to teach me how to read. She keeps protesting she's on some sort of maternity leave (???). Doesn't she know that doesn't apply to moms? ...Maybe I shouldn't vote for Hillary after all.

The update on Elliot is that he's getting fat & sassy. ...Who wouldn't after eating 10X per day? He weighed over 9 pounds at his 2-week check up and all the possible concerns (pylectasis, beta strep, hyperthyroidism, etc.) checked out fine. He still has his head full of fuzzy dark brown hair, so he might not end up as bald as I was, and it appears his eyes may stay blue, just like mine. He's not even close to sleeping through the night (altho he goes 5 hours every now and then), but that only bothers mom and dad because I sleep right through nighttime feedings.

Okay, well I'd better get back to being a big brother. Hope you all are doing well.

Gav