Let the sibling rivalry love blossom.
And indeed it has. Now that Bryce is coming up on one year and Beatrice is almost three, their playful interaction has increased dramatically.
What at first was an alien fascination with the new baby (like, "What the heck is that?") has now turned into a rag-tag-team sister act.
Bryce wants to be everywhere her big sister is, wanting to touch everything she touches (well, not touch, more like eat everything she touches), and wanting to share the Mama constantly (well, not share, more like steal Mama away from her sister). Bea's pink "fuzzys" are off limits (her blankets) though, and fortunately Bryce's soft yellow blankets offset her fuzzy coveting.
Then there's the game of crib bumper pinball. That's when Bea wants the baby in her bed with her. To play. At first. However, aggressive emotions eventually take over Bea and she begins to pummel the baby with light kicks and hits. It's fine as long as Bryce is laughing along.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
But, once the crying starts, the pinball game is over.
Speaking of being everywhere her sister is, Bryce has been crawling like a madwoman all over the house. Something Bea never did. In fact, Bea never crawled until around 17 months, although she was walking at 11 months. And now Bryce is standing, cruising and a stone's throw from walking. Just yesterday she took 1.75 steps on her own. Didn't get it on video yet, but you know we will.
I'm no soothsayer and have no idea what'll happen with their relationship throughout childhood, teenage-land (God help us) and into adulthood.
But for a Daddy who lives in the now of mindful presence, the B-hive's got each other's back. And each other's ice cream.
I couldn't ask for more than that. Except, can we skip teenage-land?
