Sisters

I've been excited for Emily to have a younger sister from the moment we found out Charlotte was going to be a girl. Mostly because I have the raddest sister around, and I can't imagine my childhood (or adulthood) without her.

It's been so fun watching Emily and Charlotte's relationship change and grow. I remember hyping-up how much fun having a sister is before Charlotte was born, so much so that Em looked thoroughly confused when we brought home this tiny (well not so tiny) helpless baby who couldn't even hold up her head, let alone *run* and *sing* and *dance* and *play* with her.

Luckily, Charlotte's quite capable of keeping up with Emily these days, and each week seems to bring on more and more things they can do together. Unfortunately, the girls have been taking turns getting sick the past couple months, and each time one gets hit with a bug we do our best to keep them apart so the other won't catch it. (Which has worked!)

Recently after a few days apart, Emily wistfully whined, "I really miss playing with my sister." And with all the times Charlotte tried to run into Emily's germ-infested room, we could tell the feeling was mutual. Thankfully the moments they are reunited are so-so precious and joy-filled, something we all need after an exhausting couple of days.

A few weeks ago Emily surprised both me and Charlotte by puffing up her chest and really taking on the role of being a big sister.

We were at the park on a playdate with another family with a 4 and 2 year old. (Having kids two years apart is all the rage these days, apparently. We're so hip.) The girls were across the park, having a ball. Charlotte, our little monkey, was climbing up a ladder, which she does all the time. And Emily was patiently waiting on the ground for her turn.

Somehow when Charlotte got up to the second step, her foot went passed the ladder rung and instead of stepping up she sort of sat down.

I was in the middle of meeting another mom (of a 5 and 3 year old, naturally) and wasn't sure if I should excuse myself and run across the playground to rescue my kid. Maybe it would be better for her to figure it out on her own?

During my internal "to rescue or not to rescue" debate, I watched our skinny (some might say scrawny) Emily use all her might to try and lift Charlotte's bottom up so she could regain her footing and continue climbing the ladder.

Now even though Emily's got 2 years on Charlotte, they both weigh-in right around 31 lbs - Charlotte's just a more... compact package. So honestly, Emily never really had a chance. But it was super sweet to see her try.

Then, in a the blink of an eye, both girls tumbled down to the sand. My heart skipped a beat when I saw them lying on their backs until I realized they were giggling. Giggling. I'm not sure exactly how it happened - I do know Charlotte lost a shoe in the process. So I excused myself, saying I needed to help her put it back on.

But really I just wanted to give my girls a hug. No one got hurt, and I loved watching them work together and seeing Emily step up to care for her sister.

I'm certain they'll take turns lifting each other up in the coming years. And although they might not always succeed, I can't wait to watch them try :)