1 year, 9 months.

Dear Holly,

Your brother loves you very much. And you love him just as much. But there is no doubt that at least half of the time, the two of you require a mediator, or referee, to help keep down the chaos level in our house.

And that role goes to me.

In addition to the two hour window between you both waking up and your brother getting on the bus, much of my energy goes to helping remind your brother to leave you alone.

His way of showing you that he loves you tends to include him tackling you with a pillow or conducting the rowdiest version of “Ring around the Rosey” I have ever seen.

Most of the time, his activities result in you laughing. But that does mean that sometimes, and I never know when, the result will be you crying instead.

I do my best to let the two of you naturally play together without my intervention; or prevention of destruction. Still, I feel like a referee, or at least a Quality Control Manager.

But there are definitely times where the two of you get along so easily, that I feel that things are a little too easy for me.

It’s a regular thing for you just to hang out next to Jack while the two of you eat snacks. Neither of you show any direct attention to each other. You’re both just content to be sitting next to each other.

So when you’re just chilling out together, my role is not so necessary. But the moment you both get up to go play in the living room, I always have to think to myself:

“Is this going to be a time where they quietly just play Legos together? Or is this going to be where they potentially break furniture?”

I imagine this eventually gets easier for me.

Love,

Daddy