Tough Love

To prepare Kyra for Siana's arrival, we had long been hyping up how much fun she was going to have with her baby sister and how much they would love each other. This strategy seemed to have worked a little too well. We wanted to make sure Kyra loved her little sister, hoping to offset some of the jealousy issues by establishing a relationship even before Siana was born. However, we should also have incorporated some practice in how to touch and talk to babies in that process of generating excitement. Kyra has always been a pretty touchy-feely, physical kid. So from the first time they met, Kyra was right in the baby's face kissing her, squeezing her in big bear hugs, giving her "noses" (Eskimo kisses), and generally mauling her in the process of showing her affection. So every day now, it seems like the only word that comes out of my mouth is ....gentle.... This experience has given new meaning to the phrase "love her to pieces."