The many facets of Emma

In the interest of fairness, and accuracy, I feel I should balance out a negative Emma post with a positive one. So let me once again extol the many virtues of Em the big sister. I didn't truly realize how lucky I was until I compared notes recently with some other school Moms with new babies of their own. Their stories shocked me. Either the older child was physically abusing the younger, constantly jockeying for sole attention, or just ignoring the younger altogether. Em does none of these things. The first thing she asks in the morning is, "Can we go get Sophie?" She gives Sophie frequent kisses and hugs, sings to her, plays with her, soothes her when she's upset, retrieves her toys when she loses them, translates for me what she thinks Sophie is saying, and entertains her with dancing, funny faces, pratfalls, etc. She is infinitely patient when Sophie demands my full focus. When I ask Em to keep Sophie company while I'm packing for the gym or making lunch or going to the bathroom, she is (almost) always happy to help. And, as you can see from the picture below, she even likes feeding her! In all honesty, I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen Emma truly upset with Sophie (although she does get pretty annoyed when Sophie pulls her hair).
Emma can be challenging, but she can also be extraordinarily generous and loving and patient for a child her age. Or for a child any age, for that matter. She often confounds us, but to me she is a classic example of a child who knows she is greatly loved and therefore feels completely safe exploring and expressing the best and worst parts of herself. At least, that's how I like to look at it - mostly b/c that theory makes Chris and I sound like amazing parents instead of the clueless lumps we often feel we are.