Brotherly Love

or something like that!
Doesn't Sam look surprisingly calm in these pictures?

Well, three weeks into this, I think we can safely say that Tyler does indeed love Sam. He has to know where he is at all times and always asks me "where's Baby Sam"? He constantly wants to hold him, touch him, talk to him, rub his head (or "pet him" as Tyler says, but I'm trying to teach him that Sam is not a dog and we don't pet him), and pretty much be in his face at all waking (and even non-waking) moments of Sam's day. He is so quick and happy to help whenever I need him to. He has fetched a diaper for me on more than one occasion and even thrown dirty ones in the garbage for me. He loves to be the helper and is very proud of himself for doing things for Sam. I'm glad that he can do something to feel a part of it all. He has not shown one bit of jealousy (yet, anyways) and is honestly so proud and happy to have Sam here.

Here are a few fun things Tyler has said in the past few weeks that I always want to remember:

• I got Sam dressed one morning and Tyler took one look at him and said "lookin' good, Baby Sam. Lookin' good!" And he continued to tell him that throughout the day.

• When Tyler was holding Sam one time, he looked at me and said "Mommy, me and Baby Sam are a great family." I think I have to agree with that.

• I love when he walks into my room in the morning (me still snoozing away, of course) and he says hi to me and then immediately asks where Sam is and I say he is sleeping in his little bed (the Pack 'n Play in our room) and he goes right over and looks at Sam and says "Baby Sam cuuuuute."
  
• When we were eating lunch Tyler turned to me and said "Mommy, I have an idea. After I eat all lunch, I go sit on couch and hold Baby Sam one minute. That be good?" Great idea, Tyler.

• He said "Mom, I please hold Baby Sam on your bed again and be great, great family? Please?"

• And I love the way he looks at Sam when he wakes up (at any time of the day) and says "Baby Sam awake!! Goooooood moooooorning, Baby Sam!" He loves it when Sam has his eyes open and always tells me "Mom, look, TWO eyes open!" (because when Sam was first born and super sleepy, he was often found just peeping one eye open, so seeing two little peepers is an exciting moment!)

• "Mom, Baby Sam borrowed MY puppy! Yay!" And I go find poor Baby Sam with Tyler's puppy sitting smack dab in the middle of his face. OK, can we say suffocation danger here??

• And you'll often find Tyler saying "Baby Sam cuuuuuute. Baby Sam tiny. Baby Sam yittle (little)."

• And I'm sure the list could go on...

OK, and of course, I absolutely love that Tyler loves Sam and am so glad he's not jealous of him or acting out because of him, but I must say that all of this "LOVE" is what exhausts me day in and day out! I know it's all done with great intentions, so it's hard to know exactly how to handle it. And of course, some days, it's just hard to be patient! I get so worn out saying things like: "Tyler, be soft. Tyler, we don't poke Sam's ______(fill in the blank, i.e. eyes, nose, ears, mouth, etc.). Tyler, we have to be soft when we touch Baby Sam's head. Tyler, please just let Sam swing in his swing by himself, you don't need to push it for him (for fear that Sam will go flying to the ceiling). Tyler, Sam is sleeping, let's just let him sleep and leave him alone for a little while. Tyler, don't lay on top of Sam, please. Tyler, you can't pick up Sam and walk across the room all by yourself." And again, this list could go on. I'm sure the newness will wear off over time and he'll calm down with it all a little bit and of course Sam will also grow and become more 'sturdy', but it'll be amazing if Sam survives his infant-ness without a head injury or suffering from suffocation from the love of a proud older brother!