Siblings

A few mornings ago I was woken up by the sound of Matthew giggling in his bed.  I hadn't heard him at all before then so wondered what was causing the pleasant sounds to come from his bedroom.  Groggly, I stumble to his room and discover that Anna is in his room and had put a small box of toys in his bed and was talking to him.  She had heard him whining and had gone in to entertain him. (may I say what a kind, responsible, mature little girl I have.  She was letting me sleep and knew exactly what to give Matthew to make him happy!) Anna is a wonderful big sister and takes care of Matthew extremely well.  She will try her best to watch out for him.  She is elated with the littlest things he does.  She does get irritated with him when he destroys a drawing or gets into what she was playing with, but loves to have him come in her room.  They have a new form of entertaining each other.  They play on her piano.  She has taught him to sing in the microphone and shown him which buttons to push to make the piano play a song.  She is the one who taught him how to push the balls down on his toys.  She loves to read to him.  In the mornings we snuggle in bed before we start our day.  She almost always brings in a stuffed animal just for Matthew.  They are funny as they will switch back and forth on the animals.  Anna consistently informs us that she is going to take Matthew to live with her when she is older.
Matthew adores his big sister.  He follows her around.  Anna always gets the most kisses from him and he will race to her and give her hugs.  Even when he was a few months old, if she wasn't around he would search for her.  If I call for her in the mornings he stretches his neck til he sees her coming then gets excited and tries to run away so she will get him.  When he is unhappy, I call for Anna to come and she can make him smile. 
I was terribly worried about how my children would react to having a 4.5 year gap inbetween them.  I was worried about them having a relationship with one another.  My concerns were thrown out the window!  It melts my heart to see them enjoy one another so much.  Less than a handful of times in the last year have we seen Anna be jealous of the new addition.  I pray that we are able to continue to foster a positive relationship between our children.  I know that it won't be all joy as they grow up, but I hope that they will be friends.  And honestly, I feel that a lot of that will depend on how Brad and I raise them.  If we let them be mean to one another and treat each other without respect, then it will wedge them apart.  It makes me sad to see families where the kids beat on each other and can't enjoy each other.  So, here's to crossing our fingers to good success for Brad and I and here's a cheer that my children love one another!