Charlie and Miles

When you tell a two year old that they are getting a baby brother or sister it's hard to know how much they understand. You know they see your belly growing and that you point to that belly and say it's a baby...but how much does that really mean to them? I would occasionally catch Charlie waving or blowing kisses at my belly but that was about it. 

I've wondered how much Charlie would be interested in this little brother once he came. I assumed that Charlie wouldn't really care about the brother, especially since he's all about doing his own thing and doesn't even seem that attached to Max or myself. We imagined that Charlie would come to the hospital and be more enthralled with the doctor's tools than his brother...

So this is what really happened. Grandma (my mom) was able to bring Charlie to visit us in the hospital. It took them awhile to get to our room because Charlie needed to stop and play with every little button and lever he saw. 

When he got to our room we hugged him and Max picked him up to show him his baby brother. Charlie seemed so excited. He kept pointing and smiling and saying baby or brother. When we asked if he wanted to hold his brother he looked at us with a big smile and wide eyes and gave us an enthusiastic nod. 

He enjoyed holding him and checking out his little feet and hands.

Yes this is kind of blurry but Charlie really seemed the most fascinated with Miles' feet. 

After holding him for a little bit, Charlie decided that he was done and ready to explore the hospital room just as we predictied and once he got too into his exploring we decided to give him his special gift from Miles. (His Buzz Lightyear) He was excited about that for a little while!

Since being home Charlie has been somewhat indifferent about his new sibling for the most part however he will get excited about helping him drink a bottle or holding his hand. He hasn't acted in anyway that would lead us to believe he is jealous of his brother. We've even caught him blowing unprompted kisses to him and checking on him in his bed.  

And now I'm kind of obsessed with getting pictures of them together. 

Madeleine came over and when we asked if Madeleine wanted to hold baby Miles, Charlie got right in there and showed her how it was done. 

For such a strong kid, Charlie really has been gentle with his brother...so far!

And then there was the time that Charlie had a late nap on the couch so Max thought Miles should nap there too.

And Charlie was pretty excited about helping with Miles' bath.

When Miles was 5 days old I attempted to get some good photos of him. I had tried to do some practice photo shoots with Charlie before Miles was born but Charlie would never be still or cooperate. Once I started taking pictures of Miles, Charlie actually wanted to get in on the action. I hope this happens in the future as I will be trying to take lots of photos of them.

Once again Charlie was excited about Miles' toes.

This was a favorite moment...Charlie counted Miles' toes then did the "This little piggy" rhyme.

When I'm feeling more like myself I hope to get more pictures of my boys together! I love that Charlie seems to be adapting well to having a baby brother.