"" The Exhausted Mom: Wanting to be "big"

August 7, 2011

Wanting to be "big"

As the "little" sibling, I understand why you want to be just like your "older" sibling....but why do we want this so bad?

The same goes on in my house.  My boys are only 19 months apart.  They have never known life without each other.  But I remember the baby stage with my 6 year old.  We watched Sesame Street and Blue's Clues.  We sang songs and I talked with him and taught him how to do his firsts.  I spent undivided time with him because it was just the two of us during the day.

But my 4 year old seems to have missed all of that.  I know I spent one-on-one time with him when his brother took a nap.  I know he reached all of his milestones...he would still be sitting in a crib if he didn't.  But somewhere along the way, he is just "big."

He never really watched Sesame Street or Blue's Clues.  He was too busy watching Super Why or WordGirl because that's what his big brother wanted.  He went straight from playing with foam blocks to Matchbox cars.

My "baby" seemed to skip some stages because he was too busy trying to be as big as his brother.  And he still does it now, but every now and then I see his age come through.

He's too scared of roller coasters, Scooby Doo, and Superhero movies because he's four.  He doesn't have the attention span for Legos, Wii games, or Monopoly Junior because he's four.

And just when I think my "baby" is all grown up, I catch him watching Little Einsteins and singing and dancing along and I know that he's still four.  But don't tell him that because he'll stop being four....and go back to acting six like his brother.


Alexis

11 comments:

  1. So very true. Mine are 22 months apart and it's the same thing. My little one always surprises me by just "doing" things...things I distinctly remember teaching her older brother. Just out of the blue she's talking and playing with her brother. It's great and so sad at the same time!

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  2. Great post! I see the same thing already happening with the baby!

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  3. Mine are 8 & 10 and it still happens here :)

    Following you from the Monday hop...

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  4. Aww that is so sweet! My youngest two are 18 months apart and while the baby is still very much a baby at 7 months, I can already see how he is determined to skip ahead and do things like his older siblings.
    I found your blog on the blog hop and as soon as I saw the title I knew I had to come visit - Exhausted Mom?! You & me both! Love it!
    I hope you'll get a chance to visit my blog too! Have a fantastic week!
    Musings From a SAHM

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  5. I was the older sibling, so can not quite understand the issue personally, but it is apparent. I so agree with how the younger siblings seem to miss a step because they want to be doing the same things as the older ones, I see this with my 3 children! Saw you on blog hop, now google following, Karima x www.karimascrafts.com

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  6. I am a new follower from the Monday hop! My 2 'boys' are now 32 and 30....what a great adventure we have had..love them beyond belief! Hope you will visit:
    http://childhoodmyths.net/blog

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  7. Stopping by from Make Your Rank Lower Alexa hop. Please come by mine, if you have time!

    http://www.meldreamsoften.com

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  8. Yep my two year old thinks he is as big as his brother who is 5 and sister who is 8. He believes he can do it all.

    I am following you from the Monkey Blog Hop.

    http://mompointofview.blogspot.com/

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  9. Hi Alexis,

    I found you via the blog hop and am your newest follower.

    This post was so sweet and a little sad to me, being the youngest in my family as well. I imagine the guilt you might feel (which you shouldn't! - you sound like such an awesome mommy!), but I'm sure your littlest doesn't even think about it. I only have one son right now - he just turned 2 - and am thinking about baby #2. I already worry about the "divided attention" that he/she will get. All we can do is try our best for some special alone time - which is what it sounds like to do!

    I'd love for you to come follow me at http://gumdroppass.blogspot.com

    I look forward to hearing/reading more from you! :)

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  10. Following from Monday Social...come visit us too. Blessings!!

    http://fanthefireministries.blogspot.com/

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  11. I have a brother who is only 19 months younger than me.. and I used to always get so irritated that once I got to do something HE got to do it too.. It was rare that I got to do anything just me. He was also very clingy to me until he was about 13 so I could never get away, lol!

    New follower from Monday Monkey Hop!

    Brandi with Three Fabulous Mommies
    http://3fabulousmommies.blogspot.com

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