This is a monumental time for us, because it marks Taelynn being out of my tummy longer than she was in it. Where did that time go?!

As any oldest child knows, including myself, with age comes GREAT responsibility! And Tae takes this responsibility VERY seriously. That’s right, she is only 9 months old, but makes sure that Tyce knows that she is in charge.

For example, let me give you a little play by play of their daily interactions:

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Don’t let their wrestling match fool you, they are BEST friends.

When people found out we were adopting, we had many people ask us how that was going to affect Taelynn. I can firmly say, Taelynn is better for having Tyce and visa versa. These two were meant to be siblings. I don’t feel it is any different than gaining a biological sibling a year or more down the road.

Taelynn has an old soul. She is a child I don’t “deserve” and here is why: I think getting a sibling is trying on any child, and I know it was tough on her little self at first. I became an older sister when I was 3 years old. I still remember the feelings of jealousy that I felt toward my sister. It was rough! I loved her, sure, but I also felt like I had been replaced. Here, Taelynn was only three months old when we jumped on that plane to Arkansas, and she was a little trooper! All of a sudden, she didn’t have 100% of my attention and there was another little human laying around. I can’t even begin to imagine what was going through her little mind.

She went through a lot of changes the first month with Ty. The biggest change was, she used to hate nursing, but as soon as she saw me try and feed another baby, that is all she wanted! She also never pooped without help, and then suddenly she was a pooping machine. She also got jealous very quickly, when seeing me hold a baby that wasn’t her or Tyce. I think it was her way of saying that one little brother was enough for now.

BUT, she got over it quickly.

Tae is already a better older sister than I ever was. She is always checking up on Tyce when he cries. She saves her biggest smiles for him. If he is hungry, she will literally stop eating and let me feed him first.

BUT, she is human AND an older sister. So don’t let that smile fool you. I can’t help but laugh as I watch her try and be sneaky, coming up behind Tyce, and trying to grab his toy or bottle or whatever he is holding. The best part, she will hurry and throw a different toy at him and crawl away as fast as she can thinking I won’t notice. Oh boy, the future is going to be fun.

I love watching Taelynn and Tyce learn and grow from each other. I know that they have their own way of communicating with each other. I love watching them race to give each other kisses in the morning and hold hands as I carry them around the house.

Taelynn is definitely more of my adventurer. I think that is perfect because she is the older sister and uses that to push Tyce along. She loves exploring and playing and being thrown in the air! Tyce is my happy observer. He loves to watch Tae and see what she is getting into. I honestly feel like Taelynn has helped Tyce hit his growing goals, because he looks up to her so much.

Yes, Taelynn was changed for gaining a brother, but she was changed for the better. Because who better to learn and grow with than a sibling.

 

“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.”

– Desmond Tutu