Big Brother

Eli is so cool. No really. He warms my heart a lot these days. He's become very cuddly and 'lovey', as of late, and he even includes his sister in that sometimes. There have been several weekend mornings that have found the two of them playing REALLY nicely; one in particular the day my parents were coming to town. Lehr and I were trying to get some last minute things done around the house and the kids played together, HAPPILY for over an hour before we had to intervene and help.

Recently Lehr pulled out a bike he'd purchased for Eli that wasn't needed. He and Eli put it together so Maddux could use it. When she woke up from her nap, I brought her outside to see what they'd been working on and Eli go so excited. "Congratulations!" he yelled at her when she saw the bike. Not sure where he got that, but it was so sweet and funny at the same time.

My favorite moment lately surrounded Maddux's holiday concert. It took place at noon on a school day. I didn't hype it up too much at home, but from the moment Eli heard about it, he wanted to go. I told him it would be during the school day; he insisted I come take him out of school so he could see his sister perform. Never before have we seen this type of love or loyalty from Eli.... I planned to follow through, pulling Eli out of school, until I found out that his class was making gingerbread houses on the same day at the same exact time as the concert. I was crushed, but I wanted to give him the choice. The gingerbread was a big deal too, and it was planned to be a neat class activity. When I first asked Eli, his face fell, but then he said, "Well, I'll just make another gingerbread house at home, Mommy." I almost cried when I realized what he was willing to skip in order to see Maddux. I really wanted him to have fun with his class though, so I told him to think on it for a few days, and I also reminded him that I'd videotape her concert. In the end he did choose the gingerbread activity, but what a heart on that kid!