A Year of Gratitude #55

 

A Year of Gratitude #55: Seeing Gus As A Big Brother

So yesterday, Michelle, Josh, Josh's sister Sandi, and baby June came over for a visit and photo-shoot. They arrived just minutes after I put Gus down for a nap, and it gave me a solid two hours to take pictures and visit without having to worry about Gus at the same time.

When Gus did wake, I went up to get him and told him that we had some guests in the livingroom. I don't know if he knew what I was telling him, but I felt it was important for him to not be surprised when we got downstairs. I told him that we were going to see a baby and he was instantly excited.

He was as excited to go see a baby as he is when I ask him if he wants to watch Chuggington. That's pretty damn excited.

So when we first got downstairs, he was a bit shy. He wouldn't come into the livingroom, but eventually I brought him in and he was mesmerized by June. He was so curious about her and wanted to talk to her and be near her.

It absolutely melted my heart. We're obviously hoping to adopt again and are planning on newborn adoption, so we'll hopefully someday have a baby to bring into our home. I was never sure how Gus would be with a baby. He's only been around Charlie and she was three months when he was near her. AND... he was so excited to be reunited with his cousin Lily (Charlie's older sister), that he didn't pay much attention to Charlie.

Gus was so tender, cautious, and careful around June. He wanted to talk to her, and was sort of whispering to her. He was so incredibly sweet with her. He shared his stuffed frog with her.

Here are a few pictures of Gus with June:

 

Checking June out

 

So curious

 

"Let's see..."

 

Sharing his frog with her

 

"Do you like my frog?"

 

 

:-)

 

He also shared his spatula with her :-)

 

So amazed by her

 

Helping Josh buckle her into her car seat 

 

Gus wanted to help Josh carry the car seat

 

Standing guard over June before she left...

While we're not ready just yet, I'm so grateful to know that Gus will make an extraordinary big brother. Until it's time, we'll keep savoring the time as a family of three and really loving the one-on-one attention that Gus gets. I think as much as he'll love being a big brother, he'll miss the attention. 

I'm thankful to have been given a chance to see Gus interact with a newborn. And while I'm not surprised (he's got the softest heart), it's nice to know that he at least LIKED her. He could have been jealous and nasty... so I'm thankful that he was his typical, loving, sweet, tender little self.