How Much Can We Spoil the Big Brother?

I think the hardest part about expanding to a family of four has been handling Big Brother's reaction. It is something that we have NO control over, and I don't care how many books you read to him (trust me, we read a lot), it still came as a complete surprise to Drew. We had some precious moments in the hospital and for a few days afterwards, and then he melted down.....I knew that he would not take a little brother lightly, but I guess I was surprised by how negative and whiny my sweet little boy could be. He has always been one to play well independently and contentedly-which came to an abrupt halt. Thankfully he has never lashed out at Rhys or shown any anger towards the smallest one in the house, rather saving his disappointment for his sleep-deprived parents. Through my frustration, I just felt so sorry for the big guy. At 26 months, he just only has so many coping mechanisms to rely on, and one of them is turning on and off the fans! Drew, the Fan Man! As Mimi said best, "we are so going to make fun of him for this when he gets older". We spend a lot of our day inspecting all the fans in the house. Russ and I seem to have coped by buying him everything in sight-a new tricycle, new soccor ball, a set of grown-up golf clubs, etc. Family and friends have also spoiled him rotten and filled his days with new experiences. My sister-in-law predicted that he would turn around after three weeks, and thankfully during a week alone at the beach with his parents, our sweet little boy returned, three weeks after Rhys's arrival. Maybe now we can stop buying him things.....

Playing soccor
Helping with the house work

Big Brother Bike

funny little expression he gets whenever he gets really focused on something athletic

Drew and Rhys with their cousins

Playing in the fountain