Ryleigh and Wesley

I cannot believe I have two kids. Plural. More than one. YIKES.

At first, Ryleigh was very leery of Wesley, and frankly, not too interested. She took a couple of peeks at the hospital, but not much more than that.


Once we got home, she slowly warmed up to him. And I mean slooowwwllyy. In small increments.

Checking him out, every now and then....

Stealing moments with him when she thought no one was watching...

Still slightly unsure who this new little guy was and why he was on her domain.

Her feelings of affection grew over the next few days and weeks, and Ryleigh began loving on Wesley. Kind of like a bull loves on a cowboy. Tackles, full force ahead!

I don't think I mentioned in my introduction post my feelings regarding Ryleigh during and after Wesley's birth. I missed her while she was away from us and was so sad that she was not there when he was born to be the first to hold him. I worried about her reaction to him. And when she did come to the hospital, I saw her with new eyes. She grew over-night. I'm not joking. I kept starring at her on Monday, wondering when she got so big and thinking for the first time ever that she looked chunky. Those of you who know my daughter know that she is NOT chunky. I think I finally saw her relationally, in the same equation as Wesley. He was tiny = She is big. And sure enough, she officially was no longer my baby, but instead, is the big sister.

We have seen a few moments of jealousy towards Wesley. Like the time I was scrolling through channels, and paused briefly (like 30 seconds) on TLC's A Baby Story. Ryleigh took one look at the screen, saw/heard a baby, and immediately started yelling, "No, baby budda! It's Ryleigh's turn!" I guess she thought that was his channel...?

We have also seen some tender moments. Like when Ryleigh wanted to share her bed with Wesley, and was so excited that he wanted to cuddle with her.

Or the time when I was cooking dinner, and looked in to see my two babies checking each other out on the couch.

Ryleigh is not quite Mommy's little helper-- she is independent, after all-- but occasionally, she wants to be right there and be a part of whatever we are doing. She likes pouring the water on his toes during bath time, and handing Mommy wipes when changing diapers. Once, I even caught her trying to give him one of her baby doll's bottles. Sweet girl.

I'm sure we still have plenty of transition time ahead of us, but so far, Ryleigh is handling most of it pretty well. We had a few rough spots when we would take her to Mother's Day Out-- suddenly, she did not want to go anymore and would cry. I wonder if she thought she was getting the boot? Or that she would miss out on something while she was away? Who knows. She is doing much better again, and seems excited to see Mommy AND Wesley when we pick her up in the afternoons.

I have no doubt that these two will be sweet siblings- who love to hug and kiss each other, and also rough house and tackle one another. Right now, Wesley seems to have a chill personality, though I'm sure if Ryleigh has her way, she will get him roused up as soon as he is old enough. In the mean time, I imagine she will entertain him, by running in circles around him.

I can't wait to watch their relationship grow over the next weeks, months, and years. I'm sure they will be the best of friends.