For the past few months, The Civee and I had been talking up Luke’s arrival to Hope (although because we didn’t know if he would be a boy or a girl, we referred to him simply as “the baby”). We gave her the basics about babies and told Hope her brother or sister would be here around fireworks time. Some days, all Hope would talk about was the baby, while others, her interest waned. We tried to keep everything as positive as we could, but didn’t know what to expect.
The day after Luke was born, Hope’s grandparents brought her to the hospital to meet her new brother. She walked in the room, excited to see her mother and me. Hope gave The Civee a big hug and then noticed Luke in my arms. Her first reaction was “baby…fireworks time!” Hope then launched into a long stream of stories, things she had done and seen, like feeding the goats at the farm last Columbus Day or seeing a bird land on a guy’s head at a Clippers game. It was easy to see that Hope liked her brother.
That hasn’t changed since bringing Luke home Sunday. She’s always talking to him, trying to play with him (although she still has to learn why one would need to be gentle with a newborn) and still telling him stories. And they’re the same stories, which to Luke and Hope, haven’t gotten old yet. Although, today, she’s tried a new twist. Rather than tell Luke stories, it’s almost as if Hope is trying to start a stand-up routine, mixing and matching her stories. See for yourself:
So it’s been 12 days…anything new?