My husband and I have often joked that our children came in pairs. The first two were bald…and then strawberry-headed, both complete with freckles and green eyes. The second two were both born with very dark brown {almost black} hair which faded, over time, to a dirty blond, attendant blue eyes and, thus far, no freckles.
Too bad no one inherited Si’s dimples, but I digress.
I was convinced the older two wouldn’t be very close to one another because they were so far apart–almost three years. However, A. made up for the age gap by learning to crawl at four months of age. And she’s kept up with E. ever since. She also keeps him in line and helps him loosen up, and I figure when he’s old enough to marry he’ll have to find someone pretty much exactly like her.
When Q. was born, she became the metaphorical third wheel. They are good enough to her, of course, but they had their projects and their fun and she was often considered “in the way.” Now, they take her outside, but they often treat her more like a baby than a peer.
I’ve been watching Q. and O. for some time now. I wondered if they’d be a matched pair the way the older two were. I started to second-guess it the way I did the first two. Q. was still a baby {nineteen months} when O. was born, and a bit of competition set in. Would this last forever? Would they become friends, or always be competing for me?
I think I am seeing the glimmers of another matched pair, and I am thrilled.
A few months ago, Q. and O. began holding hands during car rides. Their carseats are right together, and they reach for each other once we’re settled in the car. Q. gets a kick out of it and always announces it to everyone. But I really knew I was seeing the makings of something special the other night when I was giving O. his bottle. Both of his sisters had climbed up into the oversized chair with us. O. started batting the air, and I thought he was motioning for them to get down and give him his space. But Q. knew what he wanted. She settled in right close and held his hand through his whole bottle, just the way he wanted.
5 Comments
That’s sweet. 🙂 I’m curious to see what dynamic works out with Ilse and 3 boys. The first two boys are 21 months apart and do everything together. Ilse is 2 3/4 years younger than Jaeger, and she tags along with the boys because she doesn’t want to be left out. At this point they mostly let her tag along, but they get upset when she “ruins their things.” Now the next boy will be 2 years younger than her, and I’ll be interested to see how the pairing works out. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like her personality is going to be content playing by herself much.
My 2 boys used to hold hands often in the car as well. Not so much now, but they hug often and one can see and sense that there is a very strong and caring (amidst the occasional fights and disagreements) bond between the 2 of them.
This recollection brought a tear to my pregnant eyes : ) I love family! May the Lord give yours many sweet years of stories like this.
Oh, that is so adorable. My three are so far apart in age that I can’t relate to any of my friends who are raising several – or even just two – at the same time. Cherish these moments! 🙂
So cute! In our house we have a pack of three boys- 6,3 and 1. They do things together, although I suspect the oldest one is the glue that holds everyone in :).