Big Brotherly Love

As we've said, Tyler has been asking for a younger sibling ever since his friend Izzy was born. He told Izzy's mom, Brooke, that he wanted a little sister, then told two different preschool teachers, and then eventually, told us. We noticed that when he went to play at friends' houses, he spent alot of time with the younger siblings, be it Izzy, Wesley, or Auggie. I always wanted to have two kids - I treasure my relationships with siblings, and wanted to offer Tyler the same opportunity - but it was Tyler who prompted us to finally take the plunge. 

Tyler often asked to read books about being a big brother, or about having a little sister. He kept asking for a sister, but acknowledged a brother would be okay too. And he referred to "GodotDeuce" throughout as a "he". (Tyson was sure from the start that we were having a boy. I trust the strength of Tyson's willpower - I mean, the guy wanted Tyrien to be born on a Friday, out of the hospital, and he was!) and the pregnancies were so similar, I had a pretty strong feeling from the beginning that we were having a boy, too.) 

The books explained ways Tyler could be involved, not only after Tyrien was born, but also during the pregnancy. He asked questions and made plans for being involved, frequently expressing his goal to be a good helper and a good big brother. 

In my family growing up, siblings of a very young age are allowed to hold babies - there are pictures of Payton holding Cole as a newborn, and she was only 18 months at the time? Tyson seemed nervous about Tyler being able to hold Tyrien safely. But at the first visit to the pediatrician - the same day he was born -  Dr. Swanson took a few minutes during the visit to place Tyrien in Tyler's lap and showed him how to safely hold him. How cool is that? 

At home, we've found it much easier to get them positioned correctly, and Tyler loves it. He asks to hold Tyrien often, and gets sad if Tyrien gets hungry while in his arms, because he doesn't want to give him up!

Our nighttime routine is so enjoyable - I try to be the one to hang out with Tyler while he brushes his teeth and changes his clothes, to get special 1:1 time with him. I make it a point to do his baths on bath nights for the same reason. Then when he's ready for bed, he, Tyrien, Tyson and I (and sometimes Vader) all hang out on the floor in his bedroom to read books before bed.

A few days before Tyrien was born, when we set up the pack-in-play in our room, Tyler suddenly became lonely being in his own room. It makes sense - he's thinking, why is everyone in our family in the master bedroom but me??? He asked for someone to sleep in his room, first me, then Tyson, then finally Vader. I was able to get Vader to stay with him one night, but other nights, Vader escaped and was discovered laying against our bedroom door. I let Tyler know Tyrien would eventually be sharing a room with him, and asked him if he knew what bunk beds are. Now he speaks frequently about his future bunk beds, and has already claimed the top bunk.

Meanwhile, Tyson and Tyler are spending lots more time together, as Tyson has been handling the preschool drop off/pickup responsibilities. I think Tyson's the reason Tyler's art skills and creativity
have suddenly taken off. They definitely find fun things to do together!

This past Saturday, the four of us ventured out of the house for haircuts. Sounds simple, right? We left at 10:30am. Then after we were done, we decided to get lunch, and Tyler requested to go see trains. I was interested in drinking a good beer, so we went to Barrio and sat on the porch to eat. Then we heard from the Bushman family, they were heading to the Maker House for a craft fair. Craft fairs are NOT our thing, but I reminded Tyson that Tyler had fun with the pacman game there before, and he'd enjoy seeing Ruby and Izzy. So off we went. It turned out, all the video games were free that day. Tyler and I played against each other for a while, then Ruby and Tyler played, and then Tyler picked this machine and wouldn't leave it alone...

After, the Bushmans invited us out to dinner. We had to make a diaper run by that point, since we'd only planned to be away from home for an hour or two. It turned out, they love La Botana as much as I do! After dinner, they invited us back to their house, and Tyler finally got the campfire he'd been asking for since Halloween. He played with Izzy until she went to sleep, and he went to sleep soon after. We didn't end up leaving until after midnight! What a fun day!

As for resemblences, Tyrien has a lower forehead than Tyler, and less hair, but there's definitely a strong resemblence right now. Sometimes he even rocks the Tyler Fro-hawk!
Here's a picture of Tyrien, 17 days old.

Here's Tyler at about the same age, with the Fro-Hawk in all its glory...

I am so excited for Tyler and proud of him for being such a great brother.

As for Tyrien, he's doing great. He was an awesome eater right from the start, was back up to his birth weight four days after his birth, and as of this Tuesday, was up to 9lbs, 14 oz. Already my wrists are hurting from lifting him, he's so heavy! (I got a brace for my left hand, since I learned the hard way last time...) To think, that's as big as Cole was when he was born! His pediatrician said to her partner, "This guy's a champ!" He's mellow and calm for the most part, with the exception of mid-evening, when he seems very uncomfortable. But Tyson's been using the happiest baby on the block techniques, especially the very loud shushing, and that's been working. He has clear preferences, such as only wanting to lay down on his right side - the same side I had to lay on to be comfortable the whole time I was pregnant. He will shift himself to be laying on that side. He's already making eye contact with us and smiling. Very fun!

We'll post more pictures soon!