When I was a kid, I remember my parents telling me, seemingly constantly, that I was not my siblings’ mother. I remember wanting to take care of them (when I wasn’t convincing them to trade me their favorite toys) and yelling at them when they did something wrong.
Well here we are, nearly 30 years later, and I am constantly yelling, “You are not his mom!” and my favorite “Worry about yourself!” Little Miss is my little mimic, which is adorable, frustrating, and eye opening (Do I sound that shrill when I reprimand the kids?).
While I can’t stand when she yells at her brother, four-year-old Little Miss really is a big help in a lot of ways. Let’s use going to the bathroom as an example. I know that if I leave the kids in the gated in family room and kitchen area while I run down the hall to the bathroom for a few minutes to pee and check Instagram, she will immediately report if Mr. Man is doing something he shouldn’t or needs something. And it will be at airplane level decibels, so there’s no chance I’ll miss it.
If I am busy cooking or washing dishes, I can always rely on Little Miss to help Mr. Man open a Ziplock of toys, and while she usually goes about it all wrong, she tries her best to keep him out of harms way. She knows the activities that we play during his nap (Legos, Cupcake Race, Squinkies) and she is never hesitant to clean them up when he wakes up, even if she does yell at him not to touch them while she does it.
Their relationship is growing, and they honestly seem to like each other. It is so sweet to see Little Miss appreciate the cute things that her brother is learning. Tonight, after a day of chasing each other around and tickling each other’s bellies, I did our nightly countdown to turn off her lights. I said three and Mr. Man suddenly yelled “Twoooooo!” Little Miss and I both cracked up and I loved that we could share in his funny moment.
The most touching thing by far happened today when Mr. Man fell down. The kid is rarely on his feet and always has one injury or another, but more often than not he cries for me or his paci. Today I was taking a shower so I closed Mr. Man in the bathroom with me to minimize the trouble he could get into and had Little Miss watching Disney Jr. on our bed. While I was drying off, Mr. Man somehow managed to fall off the stepstool and hook his feet under the vanity, causing him to arch his back, butt on the stool, suspended inches above the tile floor. It was actually pretty impressive.
While I comforted him, the most amazing thing happened. He started asking for Little Miss. I opened the door and he ran to her crying so I told her he had fallen down and wanted to see her. She said, “Where did he hit?” I told her he just sort of fell down and I picked him up and put him on the bed in front of her. She kissed him on the head and wrapped him in a hug, just like she has seen me do a million times before.
It was so sweet to see her be so nurturing and to know that he can now look to her for comfort. Her kiss and hug worked wonders, stopping his cries in their tracks while I looked at the two of them, so in love and grateful for such wonderful little people.
Well here we are, nearly 30 years later, and I am constantly yelling, “You are not his mom!” and my favorite “Worry about yourself!” Little Miss is my little mimic, which is adorable, frustrating, and eye opening (Do I sound that shrill when I reprimand the kids?).
While I can’t stand when she yells at her brother, four-year-old Little Miss really is a big help in a lot of ways. Let’s use going to the bathroom as an example. I know that if I leave the kids in the gated in family room and kitchen area while I run down the hall to the bathroom for a few minutes to pee and check Instagram, she will immediately report if Mr. Man is doing something he shouldn’t or needs something. And it will be at airplane level decibels, so there’s no chance I’ll miss it.
If I am busy cooking or washing dishes, I can always rely on Little Miss to help Mr. Man open a Ziplock of toys, and while she usually goes about it all wrong, she tries her best to keep him out of harms way. She knows the activities that we play during his nap (Legos, Cupcake Race, Squinkies) and she is never hesitant to clean them up when he wakes up, even if she does yell at him not to touch them while she does it.
Their relationship is growing, and they honestly seem to like each other. It is so sweet to see Little Miss appreciate the cute things that her brother is learning. Tonight, after a day of chasing each other around and tickling each other’s bellies, I did our nightly countdown to turn off her lights. I said three and Mr. Man suddenly yelled “Twoooooo!” Little Miss and I both cracked up and I loved that we could share in his funny moment.
The most touching thing by far happened today when Mr. Man fell down. The kid is rarely on his feet and always has one injury or another, but more often than not he cries for me or his paci. Today I was taking a shower so I closed Mr. Man in the bathroom with me to minimize the trouble he could get into and had Little Miss watching Disney Jr. on our bed. While I was drying off, Mr. Man somehow managed to fall off the stepstool and hook his feet under the vanity, causing him to arch his back, butt on the stool, suspended inches above the tile floor. It was actually pretty impressive.
While I comforted him, the most amazing thing happened. He started asking for Little Miss. I opened the door and he ran to her crying so I told her he had fallen down and wanted to see her. She said, “Where did he hit?” I told her he just sort of fell down and I picked him up and put him on the bed in front of her. She kissed him on the head and wrapped him in a hug, just like she has seen me do a million times before.
It was so sweet to see her be so nurturing and to know that he can now look to her for comfort. Her kiss and hug worked wonders, stopping his cries in their tracks while I looked at the two of them, so in love and grateful for such wonderful little people.