Brothers

Brynn is an amazing big brother. He gets just as excited as Jon and I do when Iann does something new. "Mama," he'll say, "Iann just scooped food on his spoon for the first time. Isn't that great???"

While he is aware that Iann is behind the other 2 yr old's he knows, he hasn't ever complained or been bothered by it. This may not always be true, but we'll take it for now.

After loosing Alex, Jon and I didn't want Brynn to be an only child; he needed a brother to keep him grounded. This was a big reason why we started the adoption process, and why we wanted to adopt a little boy. Brynn has loved Iann since the day he came home, and kept asking when they'd share a room ... which they do now. Iann won't settle down until Brynn is in bed, and Brynn sleeps through all of Iann's night wakings. It is a beautiful thing. Oh, and Brynn reads to Iann after we leave the room.

To be honest, there have been moments of anger regarding Iann's diagnosis, and one of the issues that can upset me is the idea that a child with some level of cognitive delay wasn't they type of brother I wanted for Brynn. A child who takes up lots of my time, and who I have to focus on more closely than Brynn. But Brynn's innocent acceptance of everything Iann does shames me out of these feelings. This is the brother God gave Brynn, and I believe that having Iann as a brother can only make Brynn a better person.

Now, don't get me wrong, they argue and Brynn pick's on him, just like any other sibling set. Right now, for example, they are in their bedroom with the door shut, playing while Mama 'works.' I hear the occasional whine coming from Iann, and I am sure that Brynn is choosing to play with whatever toy Iann has shown interest in. And, now I hear a giggle from them both. What are they up to in there??

This morning I was emptying the dishwasher and I heard Iann belly laughing downstairs. Brynn had turned off the Wii and they were supposed to be coming up for breakfast. As hard as it is for me not to rush downstairs to see what is happening (Iann has been known to laugh when he's getting hurt) I reminded myself that I don't want to be a 'helicopter' mum to Iann any more than necessary, so I forced myself to stay out of it.

A few minutes ago, Brynn showed me what he was doing to Iann downstairs earlier on today:



Brynn is sitting on Iann, rubbing his chest and making him laugh really loud. Brynn has seen Jon straddle Iann like this to force liquid medicine down his throat, and he knows Iann's SLP, BM, has asked us to vibrate up and down Iann's chest to show him how long he can make noise for. Iann HATES when Jon straddles him with a medicine syringe in this hand, but loves when Jon vibrates his chest. Brynn has somehow combined the two into a game Iann loves!


End-note, I now know what they were doing in there ... Bryn just came out of the room:

"Mama, look at me." I looked up and he is wearing a diaper! "Don't worry, mama, I have my underpants on underneath."

Sigh. Maybe I should go and instill some order in there.