Big Brothers.

Every day, without fail, Colin wakes up from his nap with an enormous bulging diaper full of pee. And every day, Colin pats his bulging diaper and tells me, "Baby is in here!"

I have had this conversation with him many, many times. No matter how many times I tell him that the urine-soaked gel in his diaper isn't a baby, he gives me this look that says, "OH YOU. What do you know? Ha. Great joke. Is definitely a baby."

I've tried explaining to him that he's going to be a big brother, but the second those two words escape my lips Colin shouts, "Oliver! Oliver! Oliver!"

In Colin's mind, Oliver = Big Brother. There is only one. There can only be one. And that one is Oliver. End of discussion. Anything else would be considered blasphemy.

Colin is going through a stage right now where he is completely enamored with Oliver. Colin has taken it upon himself to be Oliver's constant laugh-track. If Oliver says or does anything that Colin thinks could in some way  be construed as a joke, Colin announces, "Ha! Is funny!" and then heartily fake laughs.

If Oliver laughs, Colin laughs.
If Oliver cries, Colin cries.
If Oliver eats yogurt, Colin will eat yogurt, whether he actually wants it or not.

Within the last month or so, Oliver started allowing Colin into his bedroom. Colin is now permitted to look at and sometimes even touch items that belong to Oliver's "treasure" collection. The first time I saw Colin carrying one of Oliver's beloved rocks I practically tackled Colin to rip it out of his fingers. I was 100% shocked when Oliver told me that he had given that rock to Colin. It was one of his "very specialest" rocks in his collection.

Later that day, I had a discussion with Oliver about sharing things. I told him that sometimes it's okay to really really like something and just keep it for yourself.  I told him he didn't have to give his specialest sparkly rock to Colin if he didn't want to.  I offered the rock back to Oliver, but he wouldn't take it. He said,

"Well, Colin really likes it too. Colin doesn't have any rocks, and I have a lot of rocks. And I want him to feel happy."

And then suddenly somebody in the room started chopping onions and my eyes started to water. Oh man, that got me. For all of the times I worried that I would have to keep the boys segregated throughout their whole childhoods, it was nice to see a sign of that brotherhood. No matter how many times in the day I have to break up their fights, they're still buds. It's the best thing in the world.