Sisterly Love

I shared in a post shortly after Andrew's birth that I thought there would be something special between Andrew and Bethani. It has been so much fun to watch everyone in the family forge their own unique relationships with each other as our family grows and changes and it has been a lot of fun this time to watch Bethani, little more than a baby herself, adapt to the changes a new baby has brought. She was really going through kind of a needy phase leading up to his birth and we all worried a tiny bit how she would be able to cope but she seemed to mature a bit overnight and it has been so beautiful to see the "little mommy" a 19 month old can be :). She runs to bring diapers or burp clothes and is quick to alert someone if she notices he has a need...like a burp cloth ;)...before anyone else does. She will gently wipe his little face when he spits...with a not-so-discreet exclamation of "ewww!" ;)...and she loves to "hold" him. She pats his little back when he's upset and says, "It's O.K. baby" and when he's in a playful mood she likes to play beep-the-nose or just get as face-to-face as possible and say, "Hi baby!!!". It surprises me how gentle she is with him because she's not a gentle child by nature ;). But the other day she did something that melted my heart beyond a mere "aren't you cute?". Andrew was having some floor time and Bethani came up to him and started talking to him in her own little language and then she took his little hand, closed her eyes, babbled a little prayer complete with an "amen", gave him a little kiss and said, "nigh-night". I got some of it on camera after I figured out what she was doing.

What special perks come with the title of "Mother"!

"Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. ~Psalm 148:11-13