Mommy's Project 52:7 Selfless

 Shortly before Charlie's arrival, Beau began demonstrating all the characteristics of the "Terrible Twos."  All.of.them.  I guess he didn't want us to feel left out if he, say, decided not to let out a blood-curdling scream enthuastic yell when he wanted something; throw himself on the ground pounding his fists in rage; use the word, "no" more frequently than "eat" - truly unheard of at the time. 

So I began to get a little anxious about how Beau who had been not only an only child, but an only grandchild at that point would handle the new addition.  I prepped him as best I could. I told him how much fun it was to be the big brother.  We sang songs to the new baby, in utero, of course.  He kissed my belly good-night.  We got him a new "Big Brother" t-shirt.  We did all we knew how. 

When Charlie arrived to say we were pleasantly surprised was an understatement.  Beau loved him...immediately, unconditionally, selflessly.  From the moment Charlie arrived all he wanted to do was hug him, kiss him, love him. 

He began offering Charlie bites or "tastes" of his food.  And if you know Beau (or his daddy, for that matter), sharing of his food is right at the top of selfless acts.  Despite the fact this has kept me on my toes (I mean, how many times have I narrowly avoided Beau feeding Charlie a Cheerio or a raisin!) it warms my heart each time because I know how much it means to Beau. 

Then there were the toys.  At first Beau was not so sure that having Charlie play in his old toys was such a good thing.  But then he realized that he needed to "teach" Charlie how to properly play with them.  Toy Story took a back seat if Charlie needed Beau's help to reach something, push a button, or pull a string. 

Next up Beau started to vocalize how much he loved Charlie. When Beau first came to visit us at the hospital we said, "Meet Charlie."  His reply, "Charlie."  Keep in mind this is five months ago - months before he would even say my name...but that's a whole different post.  Also, it was Charlie who was the subject of his first multi-word sentence - "Mommy, check on Charlie!" 

But my favorite way in which Beau shows his selfless love of his baby brother is how he loves to hug and kiss him.  He tells him, "Love you, Charlie" and lays a big wet one on him. 

We knew becoming parents that there is a level of selflessness that just transpires.  You don't think, you just do.  But we never knew that another child, a small, young boy, would be able to remind us how to truly love selflessly.  Thanks, Beau for being such a wonderful big brother.