"Put Baby Sophia in the play gym?"

It's been a big month of change for our routine-oriented Joshua.  First he gets a baby sister, and starts to get used to having her around.  Then she and Mama are whisked off to the hospital and are gone from the house for two and a half weeks.  Then everyone is finally home, and it would appear that baby sister is in fact not going anywhere, and takes up a lot more of Mama's time than he's willing to give...  So we're definitely still dealing with all of these transitions, and trying to find our bearings as a family of four.  And Joshua is having to learn how to express his frustrations in more constructive ways -- lately, he's taken to demanding that we "put Baby Sophia in the crib!!"  Which is at least better than wordless screaming tantrums, especially when he remembers to tack on "pleeeeeease!!!" at the end.  :)

But there have also been many moments of sibling love.  Though Joshua gets impatient with the amount of time we now devote to Sophia rather than solely to him, I think it's fair to say that he really does love his baby sister.  He continuously asks to "see Baby Sophia's forehead" (i.e., "kiss" her by touching his cheek to her forehead), and wants to see her first thing in the morning and right before his nap and bedtime.  And any time she cries, he stops what he's doing and rushes over to her, saying "shhh, it's okay, Baby Sophia!"  So incredibly cute!

We've pulled out Joshua's old play gym for Sophia, to use as a station for her tummy time.  (And Emily and Brian, it's safe to say that ALL of our kids love your gift!)  Joshua seems to have fond memories of playing in the play gym -- he was really excited when we set it up again, and squeezed himself into it again.  :)  But what he loves most of all is playing with his sister in it.  He'll plop himself into the play gym, then look up at me and ask, "put Baby Sophia in the play gym?  Right here?  Next to Joshua?"  Then he'll turn the music on for her, and try to show her how to play with the various hanging stuffed animals.  I can see glimpses of their future -- I can't wait until Sophia is old enough to really play with Joshua!  And Joshua clearly feels the same way.  :)








(As an aside: look at how strong Sophia's neck is already!  Such a thriving and growing wee girl!)

All told, our little guy has been handling all the big changes in his life really well.  Please pray that we would be able to foster his love for his sister (and her love for him!) as we continue to navigate through this season of transition!