To say that Molly loves being a big sister is a bit of an understatement. She adores her baby brother and showers him with kisses all day long. I'm starting to get a bit jealous. She never offers kisses to me or Eric. If she's leaving one of us for naptime or a trip to the store, she offers a quick bye-bye wave and off she goes, but Ian gets the royal treatment of kiss after kiss, gentle pats on the head, and endless conversations in her "Molly language".
However, she is also a very active toddler that loves to play outside, so Ian spends a fair amount of time chilling in his bouncy seat while Molly burns off energy in the yard. But she never gets too far before she needs to run back and offer another kiss, just to make sure he hasn't forgotten that she's his awesome big sister.
Molly now thinks that, "Let's take a walk" means "Molly gets to push Ian in the stroller." She obviously can't reach the handle, so she pushes him around backwards. We don't get very far, but that's okay. Ian's entertained and as long as I stay nice and close to prevent any spills, no one get's hurt, and Molly feels like a super awesome big sister.
She even invited him in on some swing action, her absolute favorite outdoor activity. (Don't worry--he didn't actually swing with her and I kept a firm hand on him while Daddy snapped the photo ;-)
Molly doesn't quite understand that Ian can't do all the same things she does. You can tell that she really wants him to join in on her daily activities. The other day I discovered her snack cup of goldfish in his seat with him.
And then I saw that she just wanted to share with him. Too cute!
She also doesn't quite get that Ian isn't big enough to play with her, but that doesn't stop her from trying! While I was preparing dinner, I looked over to see Ian's swing filled with Molly's toys...AND Ian. She just wanted to make sure that he was thoroughly entertained. Ian could care less about dolls and stuffed animals, but I'm sure listening to his big sister jabber on about her toys while piling them all around him is plenty entertaining.
Where's Ian??? This reminds me of that scene in E.T. where he's hiding in the closet with all the stuffed animals. The little toes sticking up at the bottom just crack me up :-D
One of Molly's absolute FAVORITE things to do is to help change Ian. As soon as I lay him on the changing table, she's immediately pushing a chair over to stand on. Eric has coined the term "watchtower" to describe her little observation deck. She could be completely engrossed in a different activity, but she'll drop everything for changing time.
She likes to point out all of Ian's body parts while he's laying on the table. She'll point to his nose and shout, "Dat" (Translation: "What is that?"). "That's his nose," I'll reply. "Where's your nose?" And she'll point to her own nose. This continues until she's pointed out all the parts she knows. Dat! Ears. Dat! Head. Dat! Mouth. Dat! Bellybutton. And so on. 
Molly doesn't quite understand that Ian can't do all the same things she does. You can tell that she really wants him to join in on her daily activities. The other day I discovered her snack cup of goldfish in his seat with him. And then I saw that she just wanted to share with him. Too cute!
She also doesn't quite get that Ian isn't big enough to play with her, but that doesn't stop her from trying! While I was preparing dinner, I looked over to see Ian's swing filled with Molly's toys...AND Ian. She just wanted to make sure that he was thoroughly entertained. Ian could care less about dolls and stuffed animals, but I'm sure listening to his big sister jabber on about her toys while piling them all around him is plenty entertaining. 
Where's Ian??? This reminds me of that scene in E.T. where he's hiding in the closet with all the stuffed animals. The little toes sticking up at the bottom just crack me up :-D 
One of Molly's absolute FAVORITE things to do is to help change Ian. As soon as I lay him on the changing table, she's immediately pushing a chair over to stand on. Eric has coined the term "watchtower" to describe her little observation deck. She could be completely engrossed in a different activity, but she'll drop everything for changing time.She likes to point out all of Ian's body parts while he's laying on the table. She'll point to his nose and shout, "Dat" (Translation: "What is that?"). "That's his nose," I'll reply. "Where's your nose?" And she'll point to her own nose. This continues until she's pointed out all the parts she knows. Dat! Ears. Dat! Head. Dat! Mouth. Dat! Bellybutton. And so on. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I started to freak out a little bit about the prospect of caring for two babies under the age of two. I worried about giving each of them enough love and attention. I worried about compromising my relationship with Molly. Would I have enough time for her? Is she going to feel abandoned? How am I going to care for a newborn with such an active toddler? As usual, my worries were for nothing because things couldn't be going any better. 7 weeks in, I really feel that a younger sibling is one of the best gifts we've been able to give Molly. There's more than enough love to go around and now she has someone else to love on too. They entertain each other, learn from each other, and love one another. I couldn't ask for anything more.
Playing in the gravel driveway. If we're outside, that's the first thing she goes for. She could sit on the hard gravel forever just sifting the stones back and forth between her hands...
...and studying the details on the most "interesting" pieces of gravel. I guess what toddlers find "interesting" is relative.
Beads--Beads--Beads! Because she's ALL girl, she loves to dress up. She received a big sister gift of a crown, tutu, and mardi gras beads when Ian was born. She and those beads have been inseparable ever since. She was willing to share one strand at a time with her cousin, Isaiah...
...but once he got his hands on two necklaces, she was itching to get them back. Look at that toddler grab! You can almost hear her little brain thinking, 'MINE! MINE! MINE!'
Getting the mail. This is definitely one of her favorite daily activities and it's twice as fun when her cousin, Isaiah, is here to help. She loves mailboxes in general. This means our neighborhood walks have become a lot shorter and a lot slower because she wants to walk up and study every mailbox we walk past.
Multi-tasking her play. She can play tunes on her music table, ride her pony, and love on her baby at the same time. Some day it will be prepare dinner, fold laundry, and love on her baby at the same time, just like Mommy. 
Clothes and Ian's swing. Any new clothing item that enters the house (regardless of whose it is) must be inspected and carried around the house for an hour or so. It is especially desirable if it's on a hanger and still has the price tag on it. Molly sat in this swing for all of 15 minutes during her colicky infancy and hated every one of those 15 minutes. But now that the swing belongs to Ian and is technically "off-limits", it is the most desired seat in the house.
Her little brother. It's not just the softness that she loves. Molly really and truly loves her little brother. I just love to watch them together! I worried that she would be jealous or unaccepting of a new baby, but she has been sweet to him from the moment they met. Of course there have been a few moments of sibling rivalry, which I'm sure there will be much more of in the years to come, but Ian has definitely become one of her new favorite things. 
