That would be Preston. He is the current title holder, and hopefully won't have to relinquish his title for indecent behavior! Seriously, he is so great with Brooks... better than I ever imagined he would be. Of course it's taken us 4 months to get to this point... and I am definitely not saying that we are in the clear, but let me just give you an example of what it was compared to what it is now...
When P first met B, I really thought everything was going to be great. He LOVED him... he even wanted to see his toes and count them! When Brooks cried, Preston cried... he just didn't want anything to be wrong with his baby brother. Then, we left the hospital...
And the temper tantrums ensued... and the potty training reverted... and the back talk started. Someone told me about 2 weeks after I had B that the worst possible time to bring a new baby into a child's life is at age 3. Well, guess what? P is 3. He threw a temper tantrum if we looked at him the wrong way. He totally ignored me because I was spending so much time with the baby, and if I wanted to spend time with just me and P, he snubbed me. Needless to say, I was heart broken. Then the reverting started. He had been in school for the first couple of weeks and started coming home with his "back up" pants on. Understand, he had been potty trained for a minimum of 6 months at the time. He definitely knew the "feeling" of when he needed to go. This going in our pants lasted until he got a good spanking and then it stopped... proof that he knew what he was doing. And the back talk, well, some say that could just be because he's 3 (and let me say, 3 is way worse than 2 ever thought about being. Not even sure why they call it the terrible 2's... maybe because 3 is so bad that there is no word in the English language to describe it). Saying no to everything... and I mean EVERYTHING, and not only saying no, but defiantly telling us he will not do things and physically trying to keep from doing things and then we physically have to make him do things. And these are not hard things! It's not like I'm asking him to create world peace or solve the government's budget issues... I'm simply wanting him to wash his hands after he tt's and put on his pants. Ridiculous. Let me give you the most specific example of how he showed out because he was having to share Mommy's (among others) attention.
It was the first and last time Justin would have to travel with the state (thank you, God, for a new job!). So, he was gone to Jackson, and I was still breast feeding. It was time for Brooks to eat, and as usual, we (me, P, and B) piled up in our bed for me to feed the baby. While I'm feeding him, Preston gave me this awful look... a mean look. He said he had to tt and asked if he could use our bathroom. I said, "sure". So he goes in our "toilet closet" and shuts the door. I hear the toilet flush and flush and flush... I don't know how many times I heard it flush. Well, after he had been in there entirely too long, I called for him and asked him to open the door. Of course he didn't, so I had to unlatch B, situate him, and then headed to open the door. When I did, there was P with his hands on two bottles down in the toilet. He had taken the squirt bottles I was ordered to use by the doctor, filling them up with toilet water, and squirting them on the floor. When the toilet ran out of water, no problem, he just flushed it and filled the bowl back up and repeated the squirting again. There was literally a quarter of an inch of water ( if not more) all over the floor. After that, I stopped breast feeding, and after that, things got better.
Fast forward 4 months... even less... let's say 3. About a month ago, I was cleaning the hall bathroom, and I heard Preston cooing at Brooks... saying the exact same things I say to get B to smile and interact and laugh with me. I peeked around the corner to see my precious 3 year old laying on the jungle gym mat next to his baby brother cooing at him and rubbing his face (the same way I do). When he was done, he moved over and gave B a kiss on the head and told him he loved him. Talk about melting a mother's heart! Then, just this week, I was walking by B's bed (he was napping) and there was a blanket on him... a blanket I hadn't put on him. I asked P if he had put the blanket on his brother. He said, "Yeah. Brook cold." So sweet. He's also been helping feed him more, talking to him when no one is watching, kissing him when no one is watching, and making sure his mobile is on. He's such a great big brother. He's so protective of him... only letting people he deems acceptable to touch his baby brother. It's an answered prayer... truly.
I've got to go now... doing laundry. Will try to most more soon... but really, you should be proud. What is this, like 3 posts in the same month... in the same week? It's a record!
When P first met B, I really thought everything was going to be great. He LOVED him... he even wanted to see his toes and count them! When Brooks cried, Preston cried... he just didn't want anything to be wrong with his baby brother. Then, we left the hospital...
And the temper tantrums ensued... and the potty training reverted... and the back talk started. Someone told me about 2 weeks after I had B that the worst possible time to bring a new baby into a child's life is at age 3. Well, guess what? P is 3. He threw a temper tantrum if we looked at him the wrong way. He totally ignored me because I was spending so much time with the baby, and if I wanted to spend time with just me and P, he snubbed me. Needless to say, I was heart broken. Then the reverting started. He had been in school for the first couple of weeks and started coming home with his "back up" pants on. Understand, he had been potty trained for a minimum of 6 months at the time. He definitely knew the "feeling" of when he needed to go. This going in our pants lasted until he got a good spanking and then it stopped... proof that he knew what he was doing. And the back talk, well, some say that could just be because he's 3 (and let me say, 3 is way worse than 2 ever thought about being. Not even sure why they call it the terrible 2's... maybe because 3 is so bad that there is no word in the English language to describe it). Saying no to everything... and I mean EVERYTHING, and not only saying no, but defiantly telling us he will not do things and physically trying to keep from doing things and then we physically have to make him do things. And these are not hard things! It's not like I'm asking him to create world peace or solve the government's budget issues... I'm simply wanting him to wash his hands after he tt's and put on his pants. Ridiculous. Let me give you the most specific example of how he showed out because he was having to share Mommy's (among others) attention.
It was the first and last time Justin would have to travel with the state (thank you, God, for a new job!). So, he was gone to Jackson, and I was still breast feeding. It was time for Brooks to eat, and as usual, we (me, P, and B) piled up in our bed for me to feed the baby. While I'm feeding him, Preston gave me this awful look... a mean look. He said he had to tt and asked if he could use our bathroom. I said, "sure". So he goes in our "toilet closet" and shuts the door. I hear the toilet flush and flush and flush... I don't know how many times I heard it flush. Well, after he had been in there entirely too long, I called for him and asked him to open the door. Of course he didn't, so I had to unlatch B, situate him, and then headed to open the door. When I did, there was P with his hands on two bottles down in the toilet. He had taken the squirt bottles I was ordered to use by the doctor, filling them up with toilet water, and squirting them on the floor. When the toilet ran out of water, no problem, he just flushed it and filled the bowl back up and repeated the squirting again. There was literally a quarter of an inch of water ( if not more) all over the floor. After that, I stopped breast feeding, and after that, things got better.
Fast forward 4 months... even less... let's say 3. About a month ago, I was cleaning the hall bathroom, and I heard Preston cooing at Brooks... saying the exact same things I say to get B to smile and interact and laugh with me. I peeked around the corner to see my precious 3 year old laying on the jungle gym mat next to his baby brother cooing at him and rubbing his face (the same way I do). When he was done, he moved over and gave B a kiss on the head and told him he loved him. Talk about melting a mother's heart! Then, just this week, I was walking by B's bed (he was napping) and there was a blanket on him... a blanket I hadn't put on him. I asked P if he had put the blanket on his brother. He said, "Yeah. Brook cold." So sweet. He's also been helping feed him more, talking to him when no one is watching, kissing him when no one is watching, and making sure his mobile is on. He's such a great big brother. He's so protective of him... only letting people he deems acceptable to touch his baby brother. It's an answered prayer... truly.
I've got to go now... doing laundry. Will try to most more soon... but really, you should be proud. What is this, like 3 posts in the same month... in the same week? It's a record!