A Man of Many Names

My sweet little cowboy.

That's the first thing I called Charles when he was born. I called him that before I even called him Charles. My sweet little cowboy.

William noticed how many things he has that have elephants on them and said, 'but mommy he's an elephant! He's my elephant brother'. And that name is still sticking around. William picks elephant clothes and blankets out whenever he can and we have elephant toys - it's kind of become a thing. I wish it was a more loving sounding name, but hey - elephants are smart right???

Shortly after he was born he became a little grunter. He grunts when he eats, grunts with his pacifier, grunts in his sleep. They're cute little grunts but he sure is noisy. One of William's veggie tales shows has a story with a Cebu and the Cebu makes similar noises, so Austin starting calling him Cebu. We would often say 'oh are you Cebu-ing again Charles?' It was cute.

Until I looked up what a Cebu is and saw it's a pretty ugly looking cow. Not very affectionate and even seems like a downgrade from elephant. so Austin decided he would change his name to little bull. Goes well with little bear right? Bear and bull - our boys. Kinda cute! Problem is - we are all 3 so used to calling him Cebu sometimes.

So - on any given day Charles may be called:

Archie(still standing strong)

Cebu

Bull

Elephant

Cowboy 

Scare pig

Or maaaaaybe Charles. I sure hope he learns his name one day!

My little cowboy elephant bull Cebu scare pig. Man I love that guy.

P.s. The little white things on his outfit are elephants. Go figure!

My Little Lover

William is a passionate kid. His temper tantrums can be heard from miles away. His stubbornness would be impressive if it weren't infuriating first. His interest in fully knowing and comprehending things is incredible.

He's passionate about car brands, football, cars, our pets...when he has his mind on something, he goes all in with a passion.

And that's how he is as a big brother.

I worried so much that the age difference would be a detriment in multiple ways. I worried that he'd resent Charles for taking his only child status he had basked in for 4 years. I worried he'd feel disconnected because they are just SO different. I worried he'd get bored and tired of our lives having to adjust and change to accommodate a baby who needs a lot of peace and quiet.

I worried for no reason.

To say William loves Charles would be an understatement. It'd be like saying I love peanut butter. Just doesn't quite do justice to the deep, deep passion inside. (Yes. For peanut butter)

It's like an obsession.

People always say 'I want a girl first so she can be a helpful big sister' and I may be guilty of previously assuming girls get more into baby stuff. And in a lot of ways they do! William has no interest in playing house or playing with a pretend baby or baby things. All he wants to do is take care of his little brother.

Like the day he woke up, came in my room while I was showering, grabbed a bottle of 'chest milk' I had ready in case Austin needed to feed Charles, went in his room, climbed in his crib and started feeding him. No words, no stalling, no nonsense. It happened in about 3 seconds.

Or like yesterday when I was changing Charles. William loves to throw the diapers away and be near us when we change him. Yesterday Charles was crying the entire time and William was getting increasingly antsy. Eventually he let it out and yelled, 'stop it! Stop hurting my baby brother!'

Or today: Charles had his 4 month check up (maybe I'll write about that...in a decade or so) and I told William I'd take him to school before the appointment. He said he wanted to come with us to the doctor to help Charles, so naturally my heart melted and I said ok. What I didn't expect was for Charles's shots to be harder for William than Charles!

He doesn't love to play mommy like a big sister, but I guess his passion is more like the male equivalent. He loves to protect Charles. He loves to provide whatever Charles needs. He loves to play dada.

My heart beats out of my chest.

My Little Aggie

Last night the aggie game came on at 6:00. Perfect time for us, though I did have sympathy for my aggie friends in Texas who may have been busy with kids' bedtimes! Ours coincided with halftime, thank you!

This season is going to be fuuuuuuun with William. He's a big fan of football (surprised?) and he's loving learning positions, rules, plays, etc. And the icing on the cake? He loooooves the aggies! 

During the game, which he was glued to, he kept yelling 'let's go Texas A&M!' And 'gig 'em aggies!' And the like. I was grinning ear to ear.

As for the NFL, he seems to just be a fan of the game, and loves that he can identify most teams. When asked his favorite he says the texans, but then goes on a list of all of his favorite teams:

49ers

Cowboys

Packers

Broncos

Bengals 

Patriots 

Those are the usual suspects. But his heart has a special place for JJ Watt, so I think the texans have a slight edge there.

Overall, football season should be fun! I hope Charles jumps on board!!!

The last word

William may look like Austin reborn, but the more his personality shows the more I know he's a mini me in disguise.

He has developed a need to always have the last word. So much so that half of the time, the last word doesn't even make sense. Like yesterday:

William you need to go get dressed for church.

Is it Sunday?

Yes.

And are Elizabeth and P coming over today?

Yes William - but you need to go get dressed and I don't want to tell you a third time.

Walks off then returns to quickly say...

AND it's the last day of August!

Then he RAN off so we wouldn't even have an opportunity to respond. 

How'd he get so big and bold?