Brother and Sister

We weren't sure how Ezra would take the news that a new baby was coming to live with us. At first, he seemed interested and managed to be pretty nice and helpful around the house. After three or four days, however, we distinctly remember him looking at Anika and saying to his mom, "Okay, baby all done. Baby go bye-bye now." From that time until about 4 months, it was a constant struggle to keep him away from her. Ezra had attached somewhat to his dad (which is natural, given all the time mom gave to feeding and caring for Anika). When dad would pick up Anika, Ezra would go nuts. He had staked a claim to his dad. The last few months we've witnessed an extraordinary change. Not only has Ezra gotten used to having Anika around, he really enjoys her. He always wants to "go see baby sister" in the morning when he wakes up. And, when he gets up from a nap, the first thing he does is run over to Anika and say, "Baby sister, Ezra's awake!" Perhaps what is more interesting, however, is Anika's reaction to her older brother. She absolutely adores him. She lights up every time he comes by, and she loves to give him "sloppy kisses" (he puts his cheek on her mouth and she sucks and slobbers all over him). They've really become close in the last few months, and we've loved every minute of it. We can only hope that they continue to stay close as they grow older.