January 31st 2010 - Big Sister Role

We don't know if it is just that Alicia is no longer the little baby of the family, or if she is actually getting bigger and more mature looking. It has just really struck Linda and myself how much older Alicia looks. Of course to have little Damien next to Alicia she is going to look like a giant, but if you look at some of the pictures even just from the beginning of the month or Christmas her face looks more child like than baby like. It could also be that she has been eating so much better and putting on a little weight. She also seems to be going through a bit of a growth spurt. It is most likely a combination of everything.
So far Alicia has been a great big sister to Damien. When Damien cries, Alicia just smiles at him. It is like she is saying, "Kids!" When we lay Damien in Alicia's arms she seems to understand that it is her little brother and that she needs to be careful and loving. She takes her hand and cups it around his head, gently rubbing his short hair, all of course while smiling.
One other thing that Alicia has been doing for a little while, but is now doing it more is giving kisses. She hasn't really figured out that she is supposed to kiss on the cheek or mouth. It is more when we give her lots of kisses, and we say, "Give us a kiss." The little princess will then concentrate as hard as she can, then she bites down on her bottom lip, and with a suction like sound as if a cork is popping she opens her mouth and then as usual gives us a huge smile.
This weekend has been a great weekend together as a family. It was mostly just the four of us and Oliver. Linda and myself have been figuring out some of Damien's likes and dislikes. Damien has been a lot happier this weekend. He is eating great and started this weekend to sleep much better. He just needed us to put him on a bit of a schedule. There are some things that he likes that Alicia did not. Naturally at first we just did things with Damien the way we did them with Alicia. But we are learning that Damien is his own little person. For example, Alicia hated to be swaddled; on the other hand Damien goes crazy if we lay him down to sleep with out having him bundled up. I am sure that these two little gems are going to continue to teach us things for the rest of our lives.