~Brotherly Love~

When we decided we wanted to add to our family, I had visions of Rowen oohing and ahhing over his new brother or sister, and wanting to be around the baby all the time.  He was going to be the most devoted two year old brother the world had ever seen, and I was going to be able capture millions of sweet little moments between my boys as their bond as brother grew.  I sometimes have very unrealistic expectations...

I am writing about the current state of brotherly love in our house because I know someday, maybe even someday soon, these two will be thick as thieves.  But for right now, Rowen simply tolerates the presence of Finnegan, and I think somewhere in his little two year old brain he thinks eventually that guy will pack his bags and go back to wherever it was he came from.   There is one time of the day that Rowen in happy to see Finnegan, and that is when he we are putting Finny to bed...the sheer joy on Rowen's face as he says 'night night baby' could almost be mistaken for love.  Almost. 

Finny on the other hand is madly in love with Rowen, thinks he is the funniest person in the world, and would be happy just sitting around watching Rowen go about his day, waiting patiently for him to throw him a smile or come over and say hello.  Occasionally this happens, and then Rowen remembers who Finnegan is, and goes back to his busy two year old things. In case you didn't know, two year olds are the busiest people in the world, and ain't nobody got time for little brothers! 

I know the day is coming.  The day when Finny finally takes off crawling, heading straight for Rowen's toys that he has been eying here for quite some time.   And when that day comes, and the battle of toys happens, and after the dust settles, I think we will see the brotherly love grow.  I think we will see Rowen appreciate having another little person around all of the time to play with, only after Finny learns which toys he cannot touch, including but not limited to all buzz lightyears, choo choos, and pirate ship little people. And maybe just maybe, Finnegan will finally have the attention of the big brother he seems to idolize.  

And if the love doesn't grow on that day, then they will have to work it out when Finnegan takes up residence with Rowen in a few months.  

We took this picture while on vacation. Clearly brotherly love hasn't arrived in the Rivera house, but maybe someday soon. Until that day we will keep laughing at the current state of affairs.