Sisterly Love

So far so good in the sisterly love department at the Huinker household these days. We are very lucky to have such a loving little girl who was immediately so willing to welcome a baby into the household! Of course we've had a little jealousy show every now and again but only in very minor form. The only reminding we've had to do is to say gentle as Olivia "pets" Grace. From the very beginning Olivia was sharing her silky with Gracie, giving her kisses, and hugs, and asking where she was. She's such a wonderful big sister!



Recently, our two little girls have started to bond even more. Gracie is always looking at Olivia when she is close by, and I imagine this will definitely continue as she gains better head and neck control. Grace will smile at Olivia too and doesn't seem to mind when Olivia gives her hugs (even those these sometimes appear to strangle Grace), kisses, "knucks," and high-fives.


Olivia is very interested in Grace's well-being. She wants Grace to sit in the swing so she can push her (this can only happen with supervision as the swinging can get a little ferocious) or she wants Grace to sit on the couch with her as she has her snack. Olivia also gets concerned about Grace being lonely. When Grace is hanging out on the floor, Olivia thinks she (along with mommy and/or daddy) should lie down next to her too - and yes, there have been a few fits when I don't want to lie around on the floor for more than a couple of minutes! Olivia now understands that she can't give Grace food but that she can give Grace her "paci." The other day she wanted Grace to go down her slide because she was having so much fun herself. Olivia often requests that Gracie be put into the car or get her diaper changed "foost" (first), and she also asks to "hold er" which she does for about 10 seconds before she's "all done."


One of my most favorite things is that Olivia seems to be picking up on other people's emotions - especially Grace's. Recently, she's started saying "Baby happy" along with mommy and daddy happy too. She knows the difference between "Baby talking" and when Grace is fussing. It's pretty neat to see how much she loves her sister. Grace frequently gets a kiss goodnight before I do, and I love that I don't have to ask her to do this. In the mornings she also says "hi" constantly for the first few minutes she sees Grace, and if Grace is still sleeping when we bring Olivia into our room to hang out in bed for a bit, she's always asking "Where Baby?" and wants to go get her out of the crib.


I can't wait to see the bond between Olivia and Grace develop as they grow older. I hope this bond manages to strengthen so much that they'll even manage to come out of "teenager-hood" as best friends!