My Life With Miles: Siblings

Ells started saying"wow" last week. She's 7 1/2 months old. Miles first said "wow" when he was 2 years old! She can also say mama and dada. I don't think she realizes we are mama and dada, but she can say the words. Again, she's 7 1/2 months old. This is actually quite normal for a typical baby her age. I didn't know that. Until now, that wasn't my experience, so everything she does is like "wow" to us. She's not in therapy or special classes for anything and here she is, picking things up just from her surroundings! It's totally mind-blowing!

Ella & Miles August 2012

Ella can clap her hands and play peek-a-boo, she imitates our intonations when we say things like "hello". She's trying to pull herself up onto the sofa and crawl all over me. She is very ticklish and loves to play tickle with Miles. She eats pureed foods, but is so ready for our food that she tries to steal it from our plates, hands and sometimes mouths when we're eating! Ella's not particularly interested in other little babies her age, no sir, she wants to hang with the big kids. When we're around other kids, she can't take her eyes off them running around, playing with balls, dancing. She wants to do what they're doing, she wants to run around, dance and play catch. She loves spending time with Miles, even if he does knock her on her down at least twice a day. She sometimes cries, but mostly she thinks it's fun and plays rough right back with him. It's amazing to see them together. Every now and then, I catch Miles staring at Ella while she's practicing funny sounds or trying to catch her balance and failing, and he will laugh this full out, adult belly laugh at her. She cracks him up and he does the same to her. They both have this hilarious sense of humor and a joy that's beautiful and contagious. I love them and I love that they have each other.

As I see their relationship develop, I can't help but think of my own relationship with my siblings. When we were real little, my sister and I would dress my brother up like a girl...and he would go along with it. When we were older, we'd sit and play with his Hot Wheels or have a Monopoly match that lasted all weekend. As teenagers, we argued and had jealous moments, but no matter what, we stood up for each other in the playground and at school. My sister would treat me as badly as she wanted, but if anybody said anything mean to me, they'd have to deal with her wrath! As adults, we love and respect each other even if we don't always see eye to eye. Not all siblings have such close relationships, so I feel fortunate that we do. They're not just my siblings, they're my best friends. I also have a stepbrother and sister in Panama and two stepbrothers in Massachusetts, and though we didn't grow up together full time, I feel a strong kinship with them as well. I think that sharing parents is a pretty strong bond, whether related by blood or not. I mean, who else can truly understand the depth of your parental issues but another sibling!

I know that Miles and Ella will learn a lot from each other throughout their lives. I can already see their little wheels turning when they're together. I also know that their relationship will be different in a way that I can't quite comprehend. But I do hope that they will love, trust and respect each other. I hope that they can confide in each other and that one day, when they're older, they can sit around with a bottle of wine and talk shit about mom and dad while understanding that when we messed them up, we did so because we're human. Imperfect humans who love them more than anything in the world!