Beatrice and Arthur

Beatrice practices kissing Arthur gently

Beatrice first met Arthur at the hospital on Friday morning and she was absolutely delighted by the baby. She wanted to hold him and hug him and kiss him and carry him around, and we had some trouble getting her to be gentle and sit still, but at least she was enthusiastic about him. In fact, the first thing she did after giving him a hug and a kiss was to attempt to shove a piece of lemon scone into his mouth while shouting "Eat! Eat!"

Learning what babies do and don't eat.

She also cried when the nurses took Arthur into the nursery for a routine blood test because the doctor was taking the baby away. Of course, she also wanted to put Arthur into her doll stroller and wheel him around the hospital, so clearly we have a lot to learn about boundaries.

We brought Arthur home from the hospital on Saturday and since then it has been a real challenge to teach Beatrice to be gentle. She is constantly trying to grab him, squeeze him, or pick him up. I need her to be careful around him but I also don't want to punish her for trying to interact with him. It can be very trying at times, but worth it when she does something adorable like hold his hand or kiss him carefully. I'm grateful she at least seems to like him - I'm just looking forward to her growing more cautious or, more likely, Arthur growing more hearty.

Beatrice loves to set toys around Arthur, though he rarely thanks her for them

Every time Arthur cries, Beatrice announces "Arthur is sad! The baby is sad!" Or when he is quiet, she will ask, "Arthur is happy?"

Today we took Arthur along with us to the baby gym and then later in the afternoon, to the park. Beatrice spent most of her time climbing and exploring, but occasionally she would check back in to make sure that Arthur was still under the blanket.

This is how Arthur spent his time in the park.