Looking Out For Each Other

My four-year-old son Raphael (a.k.a. Apel) isn't really having an easy time adjusting to being a big brother. He often puts his insecurity on display, demanding that his mother carry him the same time she's carrying his baby sister Therese (a.k.a. Tala), or grabbing the toy that Tala just picked up even though he had previously been ignoring it. Tala, of course, adores her big brother, and you will often see her walk up to him and give him a hug, because he's the only one within the vicinity who approximates her size.

Every now and then, though, the affection shines through, and he manages to step into those big brother shoes that are such a challenge for most kids in his place.

Some time ago, Apel and his grandmother were on their way to the grocery store or something like that, and they left Tala behind with her Nanny. Tala, who by now had grown attached to her brother, started crying at the thought of being left behind.

Just then, Apel turned around and said to her, "Don't cry, Tala. I'll be right back."

I wasn't there for it, but it's moments like these that really make having two kids such a joy.

This Blog's Raison d'Etre

Tempus fugit, as the cliche goes. It feels like just yesterday that I saw my son's blood-soaked head peeping out from the blue sheets that my wife's ob-gyn and her staff had mercifully draped over my wife's body as she made the first of two la maze deliveries. Now he's four going on five, and my daughter just past the year-and-a-half mark.

And they grow so fast! My four year old son, Raphael, also known as Apel, is showing what appears to be an impressive display of academic acumen, at the same time considerably impressing my friends with how well he expresses himself in English. My daughter Therese, also known as Tala, may be a full three years behind him, but she appears to be no slouch in the speech department developmentally.

And when kids can talk, true hilarity can ensue...

It seems that every week there seems to be new fodder for stories involving either one or both of them, and while I know that parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles, or whichever loved one is witness, is quite likely to commit these precious vignettes to memory, my wife and I figured that a lovely way to commit these things to posterity is to put them online for people to read about if they want to.

There are so many stories to tell, and as time goes by they will only increase, so I've opened this little "journal" in the hopes that I'll be quick enough to record these things as they occur, or just about, anyway...