Yes Sir, That's "My Baby"

Now that Madeline is really moving around Patrick is seeing the advantages—and disadvantages—of having a baby sister. He's shortened "my baby sister" to "my baby" and for the most part enjoys having "my baby." He always wants to put "my baby" in the tub with him, and loved sharing a room with her in Cape Cod. Every night he switched his pillow around so that his head could be closer to hers. Last Sunday, as we were unpacking from the trip, we were delighted to watch the two of them playing beautifully together, both happy to be back among familiar toys. At one point when Madeline went to crawl away Patrick grabbed her legs and gently slid her back next to him. He then set up a little barrier/gate with the toy barn and train so that Madeline would stay close.

But it's not all so cute. Madeline wants to be in on everything Patrick-related, which earned her a new nickname, "the baby wrecker," as she muscled in on his dinosaur puzzles while we were away. And in the car, we are already playing the "MOMMY, SHE'S TOUCHING ME" game. I spent most of the 9 hours home from vacation holding Madeline's hand and tickling her so as to keep her restless baby fingers off of her brother. You can't keep Madeline down for long, though. Madeline was the first to wake up from nap in the car and was devastated to find her brother out cold next to her, so she embarked on a 15-minute campaign of coos, squeaks and squeals until Patrick finally woke up, at which point I immediately heard "SHE'S TOUCHING ME AGAIN MOMMY!"