Brotherly Love

"Mom! Nathan's touching me!"

Patrick seems to finally have accepted that his little brother is around to stay. As much as possible, he still ignores him, but every so often I've noticed him show that at some point in the future he might care for this screaming thing who takes all his attention. Patrick shows lots of curiosity about things like how Nathan eats and Nathan's pacifier. Sometimes he'll bring me the pacifier when Nathan is crying, even though he hasn't quite figured out yet how to get it in his mouth.

The cutest thing I've seen Patrick do for his brother, though, was the other day when I was getting Nathan out of his swing (the swing he's already used more than Patrick ever did). I was on the phone at the time, so after I unlatched Nathan, I was adjusting the phone on my shoulder briefly before lifting him out of the swing. Patrick thought I must be taking too long and reached out his arms like he was going to try to rescue Nathan if I wasn't. I'm glad I got there before Patrick tried to lift him, but it was sweet to see.

On the other hand, though, Nathan seems to annoy Patrick more of the time. The crying in particular can draw several different reactions from Patrick. If he's in a funny mood, he'll yell right back at Nathan. It's always done in a silly way so that it's not quite as annoying and can actually relieve the tension when I can't get Nathan to stop crying. If Patrick's not being silly, though, he lets me know he's annoyed by the crying by sticking his fingers in my ears. He may not mean to be funny, but it relieves the tension just as well. I just wish I could do the same thing sometimes!