Watching brothers become mates | Nurturing your children’s relationships

Watching my boys interact lately has been incredible. Suddenly they have become both brothers and friends.

Every parent hopes their children will grow up to be best friends, I’m sure. And I’m aware that it’s a little early to start jumping to any major conclusions…

But these two are loving. each. other.

When Levi wakes up from his nap, the first thing he does is ask if Judah’s up too.

“Judah? Nigh night? Judah? Wake?”

He is constantly hugging him, kissing him, rolling him around on the floor, laying on top of him (the closest he can get to actual wrestling without mama intervening), sharing toys with him, talking about him, talking to him, teaching him words, and making sure he’s included in everything we do.

The other day as Levi was jumping in circles and hollering like a wild man, Ryan said to him, “Do we need to go outside and run around for a while?” Without missing a beat Levi replied, “Judah, run?”

As much as he obviously wanted to go, he wasn’t going without Judah by his side.

And Judah is just as smitten with his big brother. He loves watching him and imitating him. Every time Levi draws near, Judah grabs at his nose, grips his hair, or finds whatever he can cling to in order to draw big brother near.

If Levi’s not close enough to reach out and grab onto, Judah’s tracking him with wide eyes and raised brows, hanging on his every move.

Although I’m a close second, no one can make Judah giggle as quickly and loudly as Levi.

And more and more Levi’s most passionate giggles come when he’s getting a rise out of Judah.

They set each other off in the best possible way.

Even though Levi is well and truly a toddler now, and Judah is still a little baby not yet crawling, it’s easy to see the gap between them lessening already.

No doubt in six(ish) months when Judah is walking they will be inseparable… or at least chasing each other around the house and yard.

Watching the two of them together makes my mama-heart melt.

It makes all of the “were we insane to have our kids one year after the other?” thoughts dissipate into the firm belief that these two will be each others biggest blessing as they play and develop and grow up together.

Do I have rose-colored glasses in regards to my boys and their relationship?

Probably.

But I’m okay with that. I see no reason why we can’t nurture their relationship from the beautiful place it’s already at.

So rosy or not, I’ll call it for how I see it right now – a bond so strong that it could only be felt between brothers who are the bets of buds.

Making my mama-heart swell, they are.

Dear friends, how do you see the relationship between your children developing? What do you do to nurture it?