These two are so much fun! Carter always wants to do what Raine does, and Raine always helps him out and includes him in her play.
The other day we were at the zoo play barn. Carter kept trying to climb through the chicken coop but just couldn’t quite pull himself up between levels. The coop is a series of levels with an off-set hole in each level to climb up to the next. Raine was climbing through it at lightning speed with the new friends she had made — up the levels, across the top, down the slide, repeat. As soon as I pointed out that Carter needed help, she told her friends that she needed to help her little brother and ran to his aid. She hoisted him up every single level until he was on the second story of the barn. The other kids kept flying by them as they slowly made their way to the top and it would have been so easy for Raine to get impatient and leave Carter, but she didn’t. It took her a long time and A LOT of effort to get him up there, but she stuck with him and heaved his little bum all the way to the top. Carter was so happy to be up with the big kids. I was such a proud momma watching my kids show just how much they love each other — if I was a crier, I would have shed a tear!
The other day we had a Relief Society meeting on food storage and the lady was asking, “what do you want to store?” She meant it in the context of figuring out what your family wants to eat so that you can then figure out how to store it. But honestly, the only thing I want to store is these cute kids. Someone needs to figure out how to put THAT in a bottle!! Until then, here are a couple videos that DJ and I find hilarious, but that I would be surprised if anyone else even found mildly amusing. They show Carter watching Raine’s every move, and Raine being the in-charge big sister. They don’t capture these kids very well, but hopefully it is enough to remind me of how much fun they are.
This first video is from last Sunday morning. I was getting ready for church and left the bathroom to get dressed. When I came back, this was the scene.
Raine and Carter share a room. When they wake up in the morning, Raine always makes sure that Carter has something to play with while he waits for me to get him. Some mornings I have gone in to find Carter literally up to his neck in toys. Lately, Raine has been climbing into the crib to “read” to him. I love listening to them through the baby monitor.
I wish I could capture their spontaneous laughing fits, or their make-believe, or their hug-fests, but as soon as the camera comes out they shut down, so I just have to relish it in the moment. Maybe there will be re-runs in heaven!