Prelude

Today my friend Lisa came down with her brand new baby, Jonah, to visit me and Charlotte. She apologized for not bringing her older son, Isaac, who is right around Charlotte's age. She felt bad about depriving Charlotte a playmate, but she just wasn't up for the task of wrangling a wily toddler and tending to a new baby's needs. I completely understood.

We had a nice, little breakfast. Charlotte sat in her high chair, politely coloring or reading her books (a miracle) and Jonah happily gulped his bottle before settling down enough to let his mommy eat her meal. Charlotte was mildly interested in the baby, asking to see him when we returned from the restroom and offering him her binky when he started fussing.

I was watching her closely, especially when it was my turn to hold Jonah. See, Chris and I want another baby, and I was curious to gauge Charlotte's reaction to such a small one, and one that wasn't just cruising by us in Target, but rather a baby in HER space and in HER mommy's arms.

I was pleasantly surprised by her concern for him, her eagerness to help, and the fact that she liked seeing me with the baby. And, yes, of course I know that it will be completely different when it is a sibling we're talking about. I'm not pretending that the emotional ramifications of having a new baby come live with you forever and the difficulty for a toddler just trying to wrap her poor brain around this change, even remotely compares to an afternoon of patting a baby gently on the arm.

But, she was great. She actually requested that "Mommy hold it," and when I did, she was quick to put the burp cloth on my shoulder and was more than happy to oblige when we asked her to hand me the bottle. We were practicing with her bunny last night, so that helped prepare her. She was in hysterics over me swaddling her precious bedtime pal in a blanket and giving him her sippy cup as a bottle. Now Bunny has an alter ego in "Baby Bunny," and when she isn't in the mood, she just rips his blanket off. Maybe I need to buy this poor child a doll...

Jonah fell asleep in my arms right away (Oh, how I've missed a tiny baby sleeping in my arms!)and I was not about to put him down. This proved difficult when Charlotte climbed down from the booth and started running away from me. See, because when she does that, she doesn't come back. I think Lisa was amused by watching me do the very thing she had so shrewdly avoided: corralling two small children in a public place. She also gave me a little preview of what could be my future someday by letting me steer the double stroller when we took the kids to Target. Man, that thing is a beast! I felt like I needed to upgrade my driver's license to a Class A just to be behind the handlebars.

It was a small glimpse of what could possibly be my life if things go a certain way, but I could tell that even though Lisa has her hands full, she couldn't be happier.