sweetness

Many of my posts about Cubby so far have highlighted his adventuresome, sassy, and wild personality. Tonight I would like to delve into the sweetness of his heart, which I can assure you, runneth over. Anyone who hangs out with us can tell you, Cubs and I love each other to pieces. We have a very deep and special connection, I attribute this to his birth and the hours we spent together immediately after. Its not uncommon these days for people to looks over at us and say, "uh-oh, someone is going to be in for a real BIG surprise when November comes around and there is a new baby in the house." Assuming of course that Cubby and his wild personality will throw a royal fit when a new baby is in my arms.

True to an extent. But I have witnessed several instances in the past month which lead me to firmly believe that Cubby will not only adjust faster than people expect but that he will also be an excellent big brother. Almost all of these examples stem from the sweetness of his heart. Here are a few tidbits of life with Cubby, on the sweet side.

Cubs is both a lover and a fighter. I've seen him knock his older brother to floor, leap on him aggressively and then proceed to kiss and hug him. Not to mention cuddling nonstop with our demanding pampered dog, Frankie. Cubs has become Frank's "get out of jail free" card ever since he learned how to open the cage door, which he does often and for the sole purpose of hugging his dog.

Cubby watches everything I do and more often than not, demands to participate in whatever I am doing. Whenever I drag a load of freshly washed laundry into his room, he'll drop his toys and come running to help out. His job? I pile the hangers onto his bed and he sorts them out and hands them to me one at a time. He's pretty good at it.

Each and every day I walk into the kitchen and start hauling out ingredients for mealtimes and its not long before I hear the familiar scraping sound of Cubby dragging his chair over to the counter top. He positions it carefully, climbs on and then peers over the counter with an eager grin on his face. His job in the kitchen usually entails either washing fruits and vegetables, placing things I have chopped into bowls, or helping me knead dough. He makes a mess, but its a beautiful one and I really don't mind it.

I learned quickly that Cubs is an extremely energetic toddler. Left to his own devices he gets into a lot of trouble, fast. But when he's directed in his activities, when I let him channel his energy into something useful, even if its not the sort of activity toddlers typically engage in, I find that he is happy and fulfilled. I end up scolding much less and we spend a happy day together.

I love that Cubs always seeks me out during the day. He wants to do things with me. He is incredibly social for his age and would much rather interact with others than play by himself.

Here comes the bulk of the sweetness. Cubby is a twenty month old little boy who loves to take care of his family. He likes to help me wash my hands, he likes to fetch things for his brother (almost as much as he likes stealing things away), he loves to bring the dog water. He kisses my growing belly everyday and loves saying "hi" to the little boy growing inside. I had a particularly horrible day a few weeks ago that eventually led to a five minute sob session on the floor of the bathroom. I plopped down and wept. Cubs heard me and came running. He crawled into my lap and rubbed my arms with his little hands and kissed my face. He comforted me the way I always comfort him. We treasured each other for a few moments. And yes, it made me cry harder when he did that.... my sweet delicious angel.

Bottom line: Cubs cares and loves us back. He likes to serve others, even if only in the most simple ways. Its the part of him I love to nurture most, its the part of him most like his father.

I know that when the baby comes, Cubby will be right by my side, helping out and falling in love with his little brother.