My witness to a deeper understanding...

I knew while I was pregnant with Taylon, that I had to start preparing for how to handle having her and Lane at the same time. I knew that the best thing to do would be to have her in Lane's area (in the living room) and by picking my battles with her in learning right from wrong...from the very beginning. Not like all babies don't, but the difference is that my battles meant teaching her to be careful around Lane and all his equipment...especially the oxygen machine. When Taylon first started crawling (on Thanksgiving) I felt like the only thing she wanted to play with was the oxygen cord, time and time again all you heard from everyone was "NO" with a warning and then off to time out she went (time out being the portable crib). I knew it was important to do this, even though at times I was wondering if this was ever going to end. At 9 months old, she doesn't mess with the his equipment anymore unless she is very sleepy (my clue for nap or bed time). The repetition has worked, and when I think about it...I'm impressed that she gets it at this age!

However, today I witnessed how much Taylon truly does "get it" at 9 months old. This morning the nurse laid Lane down on his blanket on the floor so she could go get something. I was on the other side of the living room playing with Taylon. When I noticed the nurse leaving the room, I crawled over to Lane to give him some Mommy kisses. I looked over at Taylon, realizing she had been watching me...and then she turbo-power crawled over to us. As she got closer, she slowed down...so I didn't do my automatic extended arm to her with the "be gentle with Bubba". I wanted to see what she did, and I witnessed the most beautiful thing from my baby girl. In the crawl position, Taylon slowly moved over near Lane's head...AND GENTLY KISSED HIS FOREHEAD WITH HER OPEN-MOUTHED KISS. It took me by surprise, I was like "Oh Tay Tay...that is so sweet to give your Bubba a kiss like that", and then she did it again. It was a moment I wish I had a picture of, but the personal memory of how gentle she was with him is something I will cherish forever. I look forward to how their relationship will build from here...