But I do know having a baby brings a whole new meaning to the word Charity, the pure love of Christ. How His love for each of us made His suffering of the cross bearable and how God can love all His children so perfectly well.
And there’s nothing sweeter than witnessing that same love spread to Tanner and Brooke with Rylee. It melts my heart, every time, over and over again!
But then there are those times where the *love* manifests itself it many forms… like trying to feed Rylee a graham cracker or launch her to outer space by rocking her so hard in her bouncer chair. So yes, there are still times that are challenging.
We were all thrilled to bring baby Rylee home from the hospital!
Tanner
Tanner was especially so excited to tell everyone, he's such a proud big brother. And was so excited to be close to her. And was so sweet. It was like he was getting all the lines from a movie, saying the sweetest, most loving lines towards her, “Oh, you’re so precious. You’re going to be my little princess. I’m going to hold you forever and always” He is perfectly gentle and perfectly sweet.
Tanner gets a kick out of everything she does, especially the power punches! When she’s wide awake, her hands are always moving – and he’s knick-named them power punches. In his world, she’s already a super hero :)
And such a big helper! He’ll always get be exactly what I need and when she begins to cry, he’s oftentimes the first to respond – giving her a pacifier, rocking her back and forth, or whisper sweet words of comfort.
And he’ll even share his beloved “bean bag” chair with her. Except when she had a total blow out – he was NOT happy about getting pee and/or poop or some combination of both on it. Thankfully, there’s washers.
Heart Beater
The hospital gave us a bag full of stuff to take home with us – extra diapers, wipes, etc. And even thought I’m pretty sure it was suppose to stay at the hospital, Rylee’s teeny tiny stethoscope. Let me tell you, this is the kids new favorite toy! It’s kid size and they LOVE checking everything out with it.
Tanner calls it his “heart beater” and got the idea that if he ran around the house fast, his heart beat faster too. Well – he tested his idea and according to Uncle Lance – it was beating so fast that he told Tanner he must have 2 hearts! Tanner was so proud :)
Brooke
And then there’s Brooke. The question I keep getting asked over and over – How is Brooke adjusting to her new baby sister??
And surprisingly, perfectly well!
So far, she hasn’t gotten jealous of any time I’ve had to spend with Rylee. Brooke would much rather play and chase Tanner around all day that sit on the couch and cuddle. So as long as Tanner is around, Brooke is right behind him. She barely notices the baby…and when she does, she comes to give her some quick kisses, hugs, or cuddles, and then runs along.
One day I was cleaning Rylee’s umbilical cord with an alcohol swab, and I put it down next to the dirty diaper. Next minute I look up, Brooke is cleaning out her belly button with the same swab. Sooo cute!!!
She also likes to help, best she can. She loves to get me diapers, wipes, and throws it all away in the trash afterwards. But she can still be a stinker too. She LOVES to steal Rylee’s green soothie pacifier and blop it in her mouth.
Occasionally, she’ll try to share her cheerios or food with her, so I definitely have to be on the look out. Or when she’s in her bouncer chair, you’d think Brooke was trying to rock Rylee to the moon and back -- it’s anything but gentle. So I don’t leave those two alone in the same room…
And then there was the time I was on the phone with the pediatrician for a quick moment—and Brooke had found a marker and was coloring on her. Awesome! Luckily, it was just her onesie that got the blue white eraser on it…but still.
And the next day, Brooke tried to make up for her mishap by “helping” clean up. A whole box of wipes, completely empty. Brooke was putting them to good use, ‘mopping’ the floor as best she could.
And with Scarlett around, Brooke’s gotten used to not being the ultimate baby around here. Scarlett, on the other hand, did have a hard time. When I was feeding the baby, she got so MAD! While Scarlett was fine with Katelynn holding the baby, it was a different story when Nanny came around. She got so jealous! It’s hard not being the little baby anymore :)
Rylee – wisely covering her face!
