what's not to love?

theo, cloudia and the magnificent molars by McBeth.

I was so lucky this weekend. I got to spend a couple of hours in Iowa with one of my sisters and her growing family. My youngest nephew, Theo, is happily and comfortably making his way in the world so far. Whenever he can, and even when he knows he's pushing his luck to do it, he grabs up his big brother's Barbie (Charlie's renaming is pronounced 'Cloudia') for a nibble.

When I look at Theo I see the very young version of my only brother, who was the youngest of five kids. The eyes, the sweetness ... if Theo turns out anything like Quinn has so far, he's going to be a heartbreaker. And to continue the comparison, Quinn is gentle and kind. He learned that no hearts need be broken, even when he was turning down potential love interests right and left.

When I look at Theo I see my own baby who had pretty blonde ringlets until that first painful (for me) haircut. My baby is dating now. He's busy making plans about what he wants to be and how he plans to do it. I think I've done an adequate job thus far in my own parenting but whew, those years FLEW by. He was a baby and then he wasn't.

I wish there was some adequate way to communicate this to my sister, who is in for her own discoveries raising her boys. I suppose she'll learn it for herself quickly enough.