Boys. They get bloody a lot. There are bloody knees, bloody lips, bloody elbows, and bloody hands. In the first 2 years of being a mother to boys I tended to overreact. From my response, they picked up on concern and fear, and naturally mirrored those emotions. Now in my fifth year of being a mother to boys, I usually act as though nothing has happened for the first few seconds. Next I look for some cool water and, after rinsing the wound, evlauate how serious it is -- all the while acting as though it's nothing more than a bump or a scratch. Once I know how serious it is I try to soothe them and ease the pain in some way. Surely this plan will fail at some point, should one of our boys ever get a serious head injury or break a limb... but I am proud of the progress I've made thusfar.
My tactics came in handy when Lukas ran into the bathroom this past Tuesday, saying loudly, "Mama, PLEASE! You have to help Alex. He's my brother and he's HURT!" How cute that Lukas (pictured here holding his brother back during a Karneval parade) is now the protective older brother, just as I was the protective older sister. My heart melted in that moment. He truly is a "Goldstück" (not to be onfused with the sarcastic use of the word, which actually means "he's a handful")!
With Alex, though we've taken to using the expression more sarcastically, he really is a treasure - just not an obvious one. Like that show where people bring their old stuff in to be evaluated, often walking away with the realization that their "stuff" is worth a fortune, Alexander too, is a treasure in disguise. Why? He loves to bring his brother joy - be it in the form of chocolate, a glass of water, or a hug and a kiss. He laughs marvelously from deep in his belly, and is especially tickled by his latest discovery -- the whoopie cushion. He loves the harmonica and seems to play it well, as we discovered last night before bed. He dances wonderfully silly and adores music of any kind, just as long as it's loud.
So they're still both sneaking into our beds on most nights. So what? Soon enough they'll be doing sleepovers with friends and insisting on sleeping in their own beds, and we'll wonder where the time has gone.
Of course, we will have to free up some space in our bed by the end of August. And whether baby 3 can compete with these two incredible little boys remains a mystery (at least for another 5 months). How will Alex respond to the challenge? Will he be jealous, or will he adore being a "big" brother, like Lukas? Only time will tell, but until then we'll savor (nearly) every moment we have with our "Goldstücke", trying to write more about their milestones, developments, and adventures, as they come. 
