The Sound I Love

I'm sitting at the computer in the dining room, listening to my children talking out in the living room.  They're talking about sippy cups.  But really, it's not the topic of conversation that gives me a smile.  It's the quality of the conversation.

Peter worships his older brother.  For all that he's the one to jump on Teddy and try to bite him, he really does think he's playing rather than trying to be mean.  He hasn't quite realized that it's unacceptable, no matter how many times we tell him.  But Pete has to always be like Teddy.  This morning, Teddy brought a craft he'd made at church yesterday to me to be fixed.  It had a little tear in it.  Right behind him came Pete, saying "Fix my snake!"  There was nothing wrong with it, but I put a little tape on it to make him happy.  A little while later, after Teddy had taken his shirt off, Pete came to me wanting his shirt off. Like I said, if Big Brother does it, Little Brother needs to follow.

Teddy loves Peter just as much as Pete loves Teddy.  When Pete is doing something and get frustrated because he can't do it, Teddy will step in and say, "You do it like this, Peter."  He loves sharing his knowledge and experience.  That's what this morning's conversation was about.  Pete was saying, "Sippy cup!"  Teddy calmly said, "Yeah, that's a sippy cup.  Now what's this, Peter?"  I don't know what he showed him, but I'm suspecting a cup because that's the answer Pete gave.  And a little while ago, while Pete was sitting on his potty (I still have hope that he'll be potty trained before he turns three), Teddy was right there next to him, telling him what a big boy he was, sitting on the potty.

I hope this relationship stays as they get older.  I don't expect them to get along all the time - they don't now - but I do hope that they'll be close and able to talk to each other about anything.  I want them to be brothers of the heart as well as brothers of the flesh.  And if the early days are anything to go by, I'll get my wish.