The Process of Becoming Siblings

The thing I was most looking forward to after delivery was introducing Aliza and Josiah to their new sister. The night before my c-section we told Aliza and Josiah our baby's name and that Uncle Joel and (Aunt) Brandi would be at our house in the morning because Mommy had to be at the hospital "while it was still dark." Aliza burst into tears. By morning she was fine, but she didn't make things easy on me! When Jeremy called Joel to tell him Anna was born, he heard Aliza in the background saying, I know my baby sister's name, but when I open my mouth it doesn't come out! (She forgot the name.) After I got situated in my room and Anna was cleared from the nursery Jeremy brought the children to the hospital.

This is how well it went:

They were, by far, more interested in the traditional fishing pole gift from Grandad than their baby sister. I had no idea, but apparently Aliza was expecting me to give birth to her 6 month old cousin, Renee. The one who can laugh and sit up and interact a bit. She told Grandma and me that her sister is not her favorite. Renee is. We didn't react. We just realized that she was surprised by how small and "uninteresting" a baby is.

Two days later:

The night we came home from the hospital Aliza asked to hold Anna and she was very very happy. She still declared that Renee was her favorite. That story has changed now. She wants to hold Anna several times a day and gives her hugs and kisses. Aliza peeks at Anna while she sleeps and says, She is soooo Adorable.

This is the only time Josiah has wanted to hold Anna. He likes to touch her head and check her out here and there, but for the most part he is busy pretending with his tractors and tools. The other night Anna was crying at bedtime. Josiah wanted to check on her and came back to his room crying alligator tears because Anna was crying and that made him sad.

So here is the first and only picture I have of my 3 children together. Aliza holding Anna's hand and Josiah giving her a kiss.