Like him and lick him!

It's official: Nathan likes his brother, Evan! A couple of days after Evan came home, Laura was holding him while Nathan snuggled up and checked him out. Nathan smiled, looked at Laura and said proudly, "I like him!" Nathan likes to pat Evan gently on the head and kiss him on a regular basis. If he hears Evan fuss or cry, he quickly alerts us or asks, "what's wrong with baby brother?" When Evan is in his hammock or bouncer, Nathan checks on him regularly and gives him gentle nudges to help him swing or bounce. The bouncer has a soothing vibration feature, which Nathan always makes sure to turn on when Evan is in it. Nathan still occasionally gets in the bouncer himself and the vibrating feature is a favorite of his.

The stress of having a sibling has been subsiding, I believe. Nathan's daily stress fits have become shorter and less intense since Evan's first days home. Evan is beginning to be more observant, looking around more. His umbilical nub finally fell off a couple of nights ago, and he seems to be in great health.

I'm considering nick-naming Evan, "Miller Lite". Apparently, he "tastes great" and is "less filling". Nathan finished his dinner tonight and went to check on Evan, who was being held by Laura. He walked up to him, patted his little bald head, leaned over and licked him! WHAT?! Yeah, that's right, Nathan licked Evan's head! (I guess we need to quit using that fruit-scented lotion on Evan ;)

I don't know why, but Nathan has been more fascinated with his tongue as of late. He frequently plays with his tongue, wags it about, and attempts to use it as an extra finger! I'm glad we don't have a flagpole in the yard, with the colder temperatures! Perhaps he's seen Evan stick his tongue out!

I think I'm going to purchase some one-cent postage stamps with the old glue-backs, and have Nathan lube them up and fill a page with them. Perhaps then he'll be less enthusiastic about offering his tongue so frequently.

Maybe he's just trying to get a bad taste out of his mouth. He just walked up to me with an infant bulb-syringe in his mouth.

(You know, the ones used to suck excess phlegm and sinus drainage from his and Evan's noses - YUCK!) Nathan refers to the syringe by it's primary purpose: "booger sucker". The only reason I can figure he's chewing on it is, a. the soft rubber tip is soothing to his gums (I think his 2 year molars are coming in), or b. he likes the salty taste (Again, YUCK!).

Keep your noses (and syringes) clean, and have a great day!