Brotherly Love

People always ask how Benny has done with the transition to not being the only child.  I'm happy to say its gone much better than expected.  Benny is a 'mama's boy' so I was concerned that he would be jealous or feel left out when I had to take care of Claire.  Plus, so many moms seemed to say that he was going to have all of these regression issues.  Up to this point, we have not!  His reaction to Claire's birth:  "It came out!"---and he would point to my belly.  He is my side-kick and enjoys being the big brother.  He helps get the diapers and wipes.  He gets her washcloth and towels for baths.  He shakes her rattles and enjoys turning on her swing.  Recently he declared his potty chair was 'for babies' or 'that is Claire's.'  Sounds good to me!  I'd far rather he do 'his business' in the big potty.

The biggest concern: excessive love for Claire.  He has a hard time leaving her alone while she is sleeping.  He will insist that she needs a hug or a kiss.  What's super cute?  He likes to give her a kiss on the lips.  If I suggest that he could just give his sister a kiss on her hand or her cheek, he gets upset and says "No!  On the lips!"  Yes Benny.  At one point in your life, you gave your sister kisses on the lips all the time.

You can't just leave your sister be content in her swing.  She needs some love.

Claire needs a tummy time buddy.

Claire was born during a snow storm they called "The Polar Vortex."  Its March 27, and we still have snow on the ground.  However, we had one day a few weeks ago that made it up to 50-some degrees.  Kevin and I took the kids on a walk.

Claire isn't always that impressed with Benny's signs of affection.

Just cause she's pretty.

Ready for a walk!

I'm sure once Claire is old enough to bother his toys or get in his way, he may think less highly of his sister.  But, for now, we enjoy their happy coexistence!

St. Patrick's Day

Today is Claire's first St. Patty's Day!  To celebrate, I had her wear the same outfit Benny wore on his 1st St. Patty's Day.  Let's do a Claire and Benny comparison in their green attire....

Mommy and Claire

Mommy and Benny

Claire's froggy butt

Benny's froggy butt

 To make the day a little more fun for Benny, we made green pancakes for breakfast.  He was quite pleased with the idea.  I'm going to guess that it will be quite some time before I am ever allowed to make pancakes without adding food coloring to the batter.  Colored pancakes are just more fun!

Baptism

 On Feb. 16, Claire was baptized.  It truly was a joyous occasion.  Lots of family in town for the whole weekend.

The pretty little lady, the day before her baptism.

Cousin Clay came all the way from Minnesota to meet his littlest cousin.  He was kind enough to bring his wonderful mama along too :)

Godparents Cassandra (Kevin's cousin) and Aron (my brother)

A family of four!

Claire shares a baptism day with Faith.  11 years ago on Feb 16 Faith was baptized in this same baptismal gown.

All of Grammie and Grampie's grandchildren

My mom made the cake.

Grammie stealing some extra snuggles at the end of the baptism day.

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  Romans 6:4