Sibling Harmony

Obviously, when one child is so small that it can neither protest or steal your toys it's very easy to experience sibling harmony. There is a genuine affection on Stella's behalf for her sister. When Gianna cries, Stella wants to investigate and give her a kiss. She likes to greet Gianna with a full body hug in the morning. This usually consists of Stella climbing on our bed and laying her body across Gianna's. Stella tries to calm down a sad Gianna when we're in the car by saying, "Baby, shhh. Baby, shhh."

For now Gianna is very compliant. I put her in the dolly stroller and Stella proceeded in pushing her around, checking in on her well being and generally enjoying the presence of her sister. Stella is also very willing to share her stuffed animals with Gianna. Most likely this is because she can reclaim them according to her whim.

It is her whims, after all, that are sovereign. These days approaching two years old are filled with unintelligible complaints and outbursts about unequal ratios of cottage cheese to pasta at lunch time; or perhaps the discovery of a dog consuming an errant grape on the floor. Then there's always the very heartbreaking discovery of toys remaining on the window sill hours after she placed them there.