The Best Big Brother Ever...

Our son is an amazing older brother. I don't think I can say that enough. He's 4 1/2 years older than his sister, but he's kind, protective, and helpful. He takes good care of AJ, and she adores him.

Tonight, after spending the evening with my family at my parent's house, Ty and I were starting to get ready to go home so we could get the kids ready for bed.

AJ was playing a sort of hide-and-seek game in Mom's coat closet with my brother, MC. In the kaffuffle of trying to get ready to leave, I missed seeing exactly how everything unfolded, but the next thing I knew, AJ was crying. Not in that fussy, whiney, "I'm just tired and crabby" kind of way. She was hurt. Badly.

I rescued her and found out that while AJ was hiding in the coat closet with her uncle and one of her cousins, a slightly older cousin had started pushing on the door, trying to close it. When it wouldn't close, he pushed harder.

Little did anyone know that AJ's tiny little fingers were stuck in the door frame, next to the hinges, preventing the door from closing all the way.

While she wailed in my arms, I looked at her fingers, three of them had been severely smashed by that door. There a deep crease running along them where the corner of the door had practically folded them in on themselves. She was hysterical, and in a lot of pain. I held her, rocked her, did everything in my power to console her, but she would just get all worked up and start crying even harder.

My mom got her a little sippy cup of water, and I sat down in a chair while she buried her face in my neck and cried. All the while, CT was choking back tears watching his little sister suffer so much.

He finally came over and wrapped an arm around AJ, hugging her and talking to her in a soothing voice. She was calming down a little, but when she saw her big brother, she was able to stop crying and listen to him:

"AJ, do you want to sleep with DJ tonight? And my monkey too?" (Just so you know, "DJ" is CT's FAVORITE stuffed animal--a penguin. He can't sleep without it. And here he was, offering it to his little sister without hesitation, just to make her happy.)

At this offer, AJ nodded, took a few shuddering breaths, and drank her water. CT continued talking to her quietly until she was calm enough to allow me to stand up and then we said our goodbyes to everyone and went home.

True to his word, CT brought DJ and his stuffed monkey into AJ's room for her as soon as we got home. AJ, while happy to hold onto DJ and Monkey for a little while, soon decided that she would rather hold on to her own favorite stuffed animals instead.

So CT got DJ and the monkey back, being fully rewarded for his kindness. Not only had he helped his little sister to feel better, he got DJ back as a bonus.

He and AJ are both dreaming happily now. I love those two little chiddlers!