Mason is SO ready to be a big brother. Every time we are out and about, he is drawn to any and all of the babies that he sees. If we go somewhere that he is able to interact with other children, he gravitates towards the younger ones instead of those his own age or older. For some reason, he just feels more comfortable around them and gets along with them better than his peers.
In the last few days, I was fortunate enough to get a glimpse of how Mason will be with his future baby brother or sister. Yesterday, when we were at the gym, there were two toddlers sitting in a round play mat. Some older children were jumping off a piece of play equipment into the mat and landing on the toddlers. Understandably, the toddlers were frightened and upset. I tried to get the older children to stop jumping but they wouldn't listen to me since they didn't know me. After a few minutes, they got tired of the jumping and went to play elsewhere. One of the mothers came to get her son and consoled him and then put him in a safer place. The other toddler, a little girl, had crawled up onto the play equipment to get away from the older kids. She was crying but her mother must not have been able to hear her. She climbed down after a few minutes and went back to the play mat. Mason went over and got a book that was laying on the floor and gave it to her. He knew she was upset and wanted to cheer her up.
During today's visit to the gym there were several children Mason's age as well as a baby who looked to be about 10 or 11 months old. There was a ball that Mason had remembered from our trip to the gym yesterday and he went right for it. Before he got to it though, the baby found it. Mason came over to me and told me he wanted to play with the ball. I told him he had to share. At that point, the baby bounced the ball and it rolled to the other side of the enclosure. Mason went and got the ball and took it right back to the baby. The baby didn't take it at first so Mason took his hands and put them on the ball so the baby would have to take it. He came over to me immediately after to be sure that I had seen him sharing. I made it a point to tell him, "Good sharing!!" For the next 10-15 minutes, the baby bounced the ball and Mason went and got it. Each time he brought it back, he gently placed it in the baby's hands. Watching the two of them interact was just so cute!! I tried to get a picture but the play equipment seemed to always block my shot.
As I watched him with that baby boy today, I felt like I was getting a glimpse of the near future and I couldn't help but tear up. I have always known that Mason would be an absolutely phenomenal big brother, but the last few days have confirmed it for me. He is so gentle and has such a big heart. He's already a great helper too. I'm sure he's going to be eager to help with feedings and diaper changes and he'll probably want to read bed time stories to the baby too. I can't wait until we are able to bring Mason's baby brother or sister home and officially make him the big brother that he desperately longs to be!!
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