Mine

Usually hearing the kids say the words "That's mine!" or "Give me my...." drives me nuts.  Do we really not have enough toys, books, etc. for you each to choose something different?  This morning, I heard those familiar sounds coming from downstairs.  I started to sigh, then heard something a little different.

"Elizabeth, he is MY baby!  He sleeps in my room!  I'm playing with Isaac."

I just had to smile.  Josiah has claimed Isaac when it comes to people outside of our family saying they want him.  "That's our baby."  But it's never been about him.  I guess Isaac is slowly working his way into his big brother's heart. 

A few other things about my two boys that have made me smile:

Yesterday, Josiah held the gate open for Isaac to go upstairs with him.  I didn't realize it until I heard Isaac crawling around on the floor above me.  After the inital panic passed (we don't have a baby gate at the top of the stairs because we haven't spent much time letting Isaac crawl up there), I listened to Josiah tell me that he let Isaac come up because Isaac wanted to be with him.  We did talk about not letting the baby go upstairs without someone with him, though ;-)

Today, Josiah was including Isaac in his imaginative play.  He used the porta-crib mattress as a car, and was happy to have Isaac sit up next to him.  He asked Isaac where they were going, and when Isaac stood up, Josiah said he was filling the gas tank for them.

These are all the more sweet because Isaac just has a special affection for Josiah.  He loves Elizabeth, and she clearly dotes on him and plays with him a lot more.  But he loves Josiah just a bit differently...maybe he just knows he has to work a bit harder to win this one over. :-) 

I'm excited to see how they are going to change in the next year as Elizabeth is at school and Isaac becomes more of a playmate.