McKay and Ella's bond

So, Ella and McKay...they are awesome together. I can't wait to see how this sibling relationship develops over the years. She seems pretty mellow and cheery and easy-going. McKay is...McKay. He can be the most kick-back kid ever, or about as high-strung as they come. And that can vacillate over about 2 minutes.

But one thing is completely constant. They are completely taken with each other.

Like I mentioned below, McKay just is crazy about Ella. I am a total total slacker. We have this baby swing. I don't use it a lot. Don't ask me why. It's some kind of personal thing I have. But it is a nice thing when Ella just wants to watch the kids play or I need to take a shower. But see, the swing eats batteries. Devours them. So using alkaline batteries would be a little like throwing money down the drain. Using rechargeable nickle-metal hydride batteries (which lose their charge whether you use them or don't) is not a ton better. I don't lose the money, but they are never fully charged. So, it usually turns into me manually pushing the baby every few minutes.

But McKay has decided this is his job. He comes over quietly and gives her the best pushes. Not too hard, but totally not too slow. He has this great little crooked smile all the while too. And Ella? She squirms with delight as he approaches. Her grins are HUGE. Her first real laughs were for McKay and his approach. Her only real belly laughs are for him. He just delights her.

McKay likes to hold her too. This might not seem like a lot, but McKay is quite hesitant to touch very many people. He's fine to stand off and observe. He doesn't like to hold dogs and cats like all the kids his age do. He doesn't seem to really care about other people's little babies. But Ella...he will ask specifically to hold her. (I need to get some pictures, but it is always a quick and unexpected thing, and so the moment is over quickly.)

But this bond started even before Ella was born.

When I was pregnant and my belly was really starting to show and others could feel Ella's movements from the outside, McKay's interest was piqued. He would crawl into my bed in the wee morning hours. (Probably around 2 am, or so.) He would snuggle up next to me and put his feet on my belly and gently push. This would awaken Ella, who would then push back. This would delight McKay and he would push again, and on and on. This was absolutely, intoxicatingly sweet for me as a mom. It was also completely exhausting, as it happened every night. But the sweet was really the overwhelming thing for me.

It is just amazing to me, watching this delicate, deep, profound sibling relationship develop.