Brudders

He’s almost 5 months old now, and we can see the sibling bonds growing strong already. He smiles big for all of his siblings, but he gets an extra dose of love from his older brother. There’s a good reason for this.
Before our little guy was born, we only had one little boy the house, and he had three older sisters. He was literally the odd man out in everything. He’s a good sport about it, but it was easy to tell that he longed for a companion to do boy stuff with.
Well, five months ago, he got his new little companion, his brother in arms—no, literally. He wraps his little brother up in his arms all the time. If his baby brother is awake and available, big brother comes over and hugs him and gently pats his head and says his name in coy and doting manner. There is no denying that he has a truly special affection for his little brother.
I can see it already. A few years from now, they will running around the yard, chasing each other with sticks. They will be wrestling each other on the ground. One will beg the other to pull his finger, and then the roles will reverse. They will incite each other to test their physical limits in feats of strength, balance, speed and agility. With their powers combined, they will create in our house a boy universe that will be energized by the big bang of two boys colliding into one another like to atoms in a particle accelerator. Oh how grand it will be!
And then there will be the special “guy times.” Just me and my boys, out camping in the woods. We’ll roast our meat on a stick over an open fire and howl at the moon. We’ll skip rocks on the lake and race to the top of the hill. I’ll teach them how to arm wrestle and make fart noises by cupping their hands in their armpits. Yup, these boys are going to get some quality training.
I look forward to all the good times ahead, but those experiences will be built upon a foundation that is being laid now. Part of that foundation is the unique connection he has with his older brother. They are already two peas in a pod, and I don’t foresee that changing.
You can see it in their eyes when they look at each other. There is a spark of recognition in those eyes that says, “You’re different from my other siblings. We’re gonna have some special fun together.” Big brother has mischief on his mind (as you can see in the picture). I think little brother is simply concerned with getting his thumb to his mouth at this point. Even so, you can read it all over both of them: They are going to be quite the dynamic duo in the years to come. They are brothers (or “brudders” as big brother likes to say), and that is something very special.