Brotherly Love

Two and a half weeks in, we are starting to fall into a routine and even introducing new traditions. The boys have been getting along great and Dean seems to be a source of fun rather than irritation to Morgan. For our bedtime routine, we have started to read to the boys together in Morgan's bed. They each get to pick a book from the bookshelf and take turns with who's book is read first. Sometimes Dean gets antsy listening to the long ones and they start to push each other, but for the most part, they are able to sit through both books peacefully. Last night, when I suggested that I read to Morgan in his room while Ed read to Dean (since it was getting late), Morgan protested because he wanted Dean to be next to him. I had to do a double take -- Morgan preferred Dean to read with him? That was news to me.

Another bedtime necessity of getting dressed has developed into a regular game the boys created called "di-di" where I sit in the middle of the living room while Dean runs around the house chanting "di-di" in a high pitched voice. Morgan follows him everywhere and every time they pass me, I capture them and remove an article of clothing, replacing it with pj's until they are both all dressed. It has made getting ready for bed more fun and Morgan loves emulating Dean.

It's easy to smile around Dean - he's always finding ways to amuse himself like kissing the couch or spinning in circles or burying his head in pillows or hiding under the sheets. His laugh is infectious. At almost 2, he's become our little boy now, no more "Baby Dean." He is starting to talk, calling strawberries "happy" and "meow" for music. Whenever we put on his shoes, he claims "I ready!" and points to things all around him saying "mommy, this" to have me tell him the names of things. I can't believe how quickly he's growing.

Morgan has become quite interested in drawing cars, bridges and race tracks, as well as sounding out words to spell out things on paper. We are going through lots of pads of construction paper as a result. He even wrote a few (early) birthday cards for Dean, which was another welcome sign of affection for his brother. Hopefully the idea of Dean being his permanent playmate has sunk in and the brotherly love will continue...