The Adventure Begins

So how is Mason enjoying his new little brother? That is probably one of the questions we hear most often lately and something I wondered a lot about prior to Kellen joining our family.

When we found out baby #2 was joining our family, I began dreaming about the moment when Mason would get to meet his little brother or sister for the first time. I was of course super (no pun intended… ok maybe pun intended) excited about the prospect of being mommy to two little people, but I was also super excited that Mason would have a sibling. To have a buddy to stay up late at night laughing with, to race around the house with, to wear matching sweaters to church with, to get into trouble with, and to be his best friend. I wanted that for him so much. Spencer and I are very close with our siblings and we so hoped that Mason could have that kind of forever friendship someday.

When we came home from the hospital I could not wait for the boys to meet each other for the first time. Mason was actually really sick the day we got home, so my plans for a cuddly home coming had to be delayed since we didn’t want Mason getting Kellen sick. But the look on Mason’s face when he saw his little brother for the first time was priceless. He yelled, “Hi Buddy!” before running right up to the carseat, stretching out his arms, and chanting, “Cuddee Cuddee” (cuddle). Though he had to wait a few days to get in a good cuddle, Mason asked several times a day (still does actually) to “cuddee” with Kellen. We find it especially adorable that Mason gave Kellen a nickname all on his own. We’ve never called Kellen “Buddy,” so that Mason decided that that was what he was going to call Brother melts my heart

The same afternoon of our homecoming, my mom was holding Kellen and Mason ran up to him and planted a big kiss on the top of his head before we could stop him. It was so sweet I nearly died right then and there.

Mason has decided that his big brother duties include: offering Kellen stuffed animals (which we have to keep telling him Kellen can’t have, but it’s cute that he wants to share), telling us when Kellen is crying (he comes running up to us yelling, “Sad! Sad! Sad!” until we reassure him that Kellen will be ok), and running up to the side of his bassinet first thing every morning to shout, “Hi Buddy!” at the top of his lungs. He takes these responsibilities very seriously and does all of them quite well.

So to make a short answer long, I would say that Mason loves and enjoys his brother very much.

But of course, it’s been a time of transition in our house and there were a few particularly rough days at the beginning, which I think can be partially attributed to Mason’s sickness which made him terribly cranky. He is still adjusting to not having 100% of Mom and Dad’s attention all the time, and usually asks to be held and loved the moment we pick Kellen up to feed him. Overall, however, I think we are slowly, slowly getting into more of a routine and learning how to be a family of four.

In some ways this adjustment has been harder than I thought, in other ways it’s a little easier (It helps that Kellen’s such a mellow baby). If I’m being honest, sometimes I feel terribly inadequate for the task at hand; how will I raise these two perfect little boys in the way they deserve? I am learning how to divide my time between the two in the way that is best for both (but I have to admit that I feel guilty some of the time that I’m not doing it as well as I would like). But I am trying my hardest, and I know with all my heart that Heavenly Father meant for these little boys to be brothers. I know it.

And there’s those little moments along the way that make the hard parts worth it. Like tonight when Mason told Kellen all oh his own, “Uv Ooh” (love you). In those times, I can see a future for them of games of basketball in the driveway, hide and seek in the dark, campouts with daddy, and wrestling matches in the living room. I just know it’s going to be good.