Tag Archives: siblings

5 Reasons I’m Excited About Having Another….

February 9, 2015 Only Hsuman 12 Comments

Yes, it’s true! The Hsu Crew is adding another bouncing, baby boy to our ranks. And we couldn’t be more excited! We obviously would have been thrilled with a baby girl (especially to reuse some of the adorable clothes EK has grown out of) but we were ecstatic to hear we’ve got another boy to wrangle! That was a little bit of a perk that came along with the genetics test we had to take – it always tells the gender! So here are my reasons I’m excited for another little boy:

1. I’ll have a second chance on bowties. J’s neck got too big for baby bowties almost immediately, and I feel like I lost the whole “newborns-don’t-care-what-they-wear” phase to a fat neck and thighs so big half his pants wouldn’t fit (that’s still happening). I digress.

2. Boys playing – and fighting – together. I’ve basically heard that boys play together really well, and that girls have a lot of drama, and boys just duke it out and it’s over quickly. I’m kinda looking forward to most of the conflicts being resolved quickly.

3. Planes, trains and automobiles. We love cars and trucks and construction vehicles, Legos and blocks, and tool sets. EK does too, so that’s an extra plus. But it’s nice to know that those toys we’ve started to accumulate are going to get a lot more use. (And, my brother was a big Thomas the Tank Engine fan, so we have access to a TON of trains and tracks. Win.)

4. EK can still be the resident princess. My daughter’s diva status will go unchallenged. Right now, we’re trying to look at this like a plus. We are certainly aware that it could turn into a negative thing. We will cross that bridge if we must.

5. Boys love their mamas. Sometimes this can be detrimental (as in, big time mommy attachment, and huge adjustment for my elder son) but usually it’s just plain sweet how much little boys love their mamas.

My little guy, just learning to sit up. Those were the days, am I right?

Do you have a little boy? More than one? Do you agree with my excitement for having two?! Or have anything to add?

faith, mommyhood, My Big Jesus, siblings

Your First Child… and Your Second

February 2, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

People tell you things about your second child. He will go with the flow, they said. He will have to, they said. Your second is always more easy-going, right?

Wrong. In my case, dead wrong.

Our oldest child is very go-with-the-flow. She loves running errands, having play dates, and being out of the house. She loves going out to dinner, meeting new people, taking a nap whenever, staying up late, and generally having a full schedule. I mean, she does really well entertaining herself at home, but she’s also great at all-around keeping herself occupied wherever we are.

Our second child is the opposite. He’s a homebody. He likes nothing better than to be at home, with his toys, nap on his own (different-every-day) schedule, eat at our own dining room table, and go to bed over an hour earlier than EK. This, as you might imagine, can cramp our style. Specifically, it cramps my playdates-and-meals-at-restaurants style. He often naps through the lunch hour. My lunch dates will have to wait. Playing in the playplace at Chick-Fil-A? No way. Morning playdates while EK is in preschool? You must be joking. And put him in the nursery at church with babies he knows and parent volunteers he knows? ALL BETS ARE OFF.

But which kid is right? Which one has the “better” idea of what’s going on? Neither. They’re both great. I love taking EK with me when I go to Target and Costco and the grocery store, because she loves being out and about. Talk about a girl making my busybody, stir-crazy-at-home-all-day heart happy! Equally, I love my at-home cuddles with J, watching a movie or snacking on fruit at the kitchen table, instead of going out to lunch with friends. I even (usually, anyway) think it’s amusing to go behind him and right all the upturned objects he’s hit with the Swiffer he nabbed, and pick up the food crumbs he’s dropped off his pants as he walked away from the table.

Both my kids are awesome. God has given them totally different personalities, and it’s my joy (and yes, occasional frustration) as their mom to get to know them, even as they change every single day. I can already enjoy special moments with each of them separately, doing things that they enjoy. I love knowing them, and knowing that they’re different.

mommyhood, siblings

Siblings Will Be Siblings

January 28, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

Sometimes, my kids argue. They may argue without words, but they argue. Over toys, over who gets to sit in Mom’s lap, over eating each other’s food, and being in each other’s space. There are some thoughts that I’m sure are going through their heads:

That toy is mine, so you can’t play with it. That toy is yours, so you can play with it, and so can I when I want to.

If he gets to eat spaghetti for lunch, then I don’t want the PBJ I asked for.

I woke up my brother so we could play together, but after five minutes I’m tired of him.

Why does she get to take things from me, but she yells “NO!” if I take something from her?

But sometimes, they’ll have fun together. EK crawls around chasing J to pretend like she’s a baby, too. J laughs whenever EK laughs. J does something silly, and EK automatically copies him. They sit across from each other at the table at breakfast and sing songs. I can’t even describe how much it warms my heart to hear giggles and squealing throughout the house as they play together.

The other night after dinner was one of those times. We’ve got a sofa in our kitchen (something we saw when we visited when looking to buy the house, and then wrote into the contract because we loved it) and it’s a place of hang time before or after dinner most nights. On this particular night, we postponed the usual clean up to watch the kids squeal and throw pillows. Here’s a glimpse:

These are the times that give me hope in their friendship throughout life, and the times that I’m glad their ages are close, even though sometimes I’m swamped in their messes and laundry and tears. I remember why they’re my favorite people to be with and how much I adore them.

mommyhood, siblings

I hope they are friends.

October 3, 2014 Only Hsuman 1 Comment

There are so many directions I could go when I talk about siblings, but I’ll start here: I’m already worried my kids won’t get along.

Actually, let’s not say worried so much as it’s already on my mind. What’s the key to your kids getting along? I know from experience it doesn’t just happen. Here’s the short version of my relationship with my brother: We’re almost 7 years apart, so I remember being an only child. He was cute as a baby, but started bugging me about the time he learned to walk (he followed me around because I was his favorite), and then didn’t stop it for… a long time. We were never in the same stage of life until he was in high school or so. Now that we are both adults, we get along much better, but still argue over stupid stuff sometimes – you know, like who knows more Harry Potter trivia and why it think it’s ridiculous that he would want a CAT of all things. I talk to him on the phone every few days, see him every couple of months, and truly enjoy his company. But did our parents somehow pull us out of the stage in which we just annoyed each other and magically thrust us into mutual appreciation of the other?

On the other hand, Hubby and his brothers have always been close. He says they fought about stuff, but it was only for a few minutes and they would be back to playing and snuggling again (thoughts on those Hsu boys acting like puppies here).

As for my kids, it seems that right now is the stage of J annoying EK ALL OF THE TIME. All he wants to do is be near her, play alongside her, or just watch her. Too bad all of those things make her unnecessarily frustrated. She gets to the point that if he crawls in her direction, she just screams. What is that about?! It just hurts my ears and makes J laugh all the more.

All I did was ask her to sit next to him for a picture.

I hope that soon, J will catch up a little and be able to play with EK rather than just grab what she’s holding. I hope she will learn to think he’s cute and fun instead of just being jealous and annoyed when he’s in the same room. I hope the moments of giggles about weird sounds they make and laughing about messes during dinner never stop. I hope they are close when they get in school, and share friends, and help each other out. I hope they have that undeniable bond of love and support, even when they disagree with each other. I hope they can encourage each other to be better people. I hope they are friends.

faith, mommyhood, My Big Jesus

It just takes one. And sometimes, that one is you.

August 27, 2014 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I’ve been writing for My Big Jesus once a week or so. You also know that I love Jesus. You ALSO know a lot about me. So, you won’t be that surprised when I tell you that I had a total Jesus moment today.

I was at church for a worship team meeting, and was stopped on my way out by one of the sweetest ladies ever. She’s a long-time buddy of my mother-in-law, watched Hubby grow up, and is a fixture of wonderful ministry at our church. She had a really cool story to tell me.

She had seen my post Like a Litter of Puppies on My Big Jesus, loved it, and shared it with her kids (who are a little older than me). Her daughter, who had read it, got a call from a friend who was in shock at finding out she was (unexpectedly!) pregnant with her fourth child. Can you imagine?! You have three kids. You think you’re all set., then BOOM. One more is coming! She obviously is going to love that fourth child, but you can see why it’s a shock, right? So anyway, the daughter sends my post about Hubby and his brothers being like puppies, and big families and close siblings, and she is totally encouraged! She was blessed by the words that The Lord had put on my heart. That blows my mind.

This story is an inspiration to those of us who desire to bring people closer to God. Whenever I write a post like that, for My Big Jesus or just for my own blog on a whim, I hope it touches one life. If my words reach one life, encourage one soul, spark one mind, or help heal one heart, I am satisfied. Sometimes when I write, that one person touched is, in fact, me. Other times, it’s a friend who saw me link it on Facebook. Or even still, a total stranger, like the story today. It was a very “six-degrees-of-separation” feeling to know that a friend of a friend of a friend read it and was touched. But that’s why I’m doing this! I wrote that post just for her, in that moment of her life, when she needed to hear a little encouragement in a situation in the midst of which she was surprised to find herself. I never know who you are that needs to hear this, but hey – this one’s for you.

mommyhood

Like a Litter of Puppies

August 25, 2014 Only Hsuman 5 Comments

This post was featured on MyBigJesus.com

Hubby and I have said, ever since we started talking about kids, that we’d like to have them close together. There are two reasons. First of all, my brother and I are almost seven years apart, and we were never very close… at least not until we were both adults. We get along great now, but we were never in the same stage of life till we “grew up”. Secondly, Hubby grew up with two brothers, just a little over 3 years between the oldest and the youngest. They’ve always been best friends – shared everything, fought over everything, loved the same things, and disliked the same things. They knew each others strengths and weaknesses, successes and faults. Yet they had a strong bond. They still have do, and that bond has carried over into their wives and children as well (you know, once the kids have personalities and do their own things).

Hubby (far right) and his brothers, circa 1988-ish.

I just spent an evening recently, celebrating one of my sisters-in-law’s birthday, with the whole family (Hubby’s parents, his brothers, their wives and the offspring). The love that every person in the house had for every other person was amazing. We know each other well, know our nieces and nephews well, and we love each other well, too. But the most hilarious thing is to see the brothers interact. When they’re all together, they have a hilarious tendency to revert back into their eight, nine, and ten-year-old selves. They immediately start bragging about their Nintendo skills, talk about how they used to wrestle each other in the basement (roundhouse kick to the FACE!), and possibly give a quick reenactment of one of their fights. Or, they lie on the floor, cuddling, like a bunch of puppies, maybe even with their kids.

Sometimes I sit and think about how much love is in that pile of faces and limbs and laughs. Grown men or babies, love and a sense of belonging abounds. What a great image of the love of a Father, who knows us better than we know ourselves, who knows our thoughts before we think them, and loves us abundantly anyway. To be loved is important; to love others unconditionally is of even greater significance.

So when I think about my children, I want to pile them up like puppies. I want to them to have that sibling love inherently, to not really know life without their best friends. I want them to experience that love early, and first hand. Their siblings and cousins, because of their closeness, will know each other inside and out, and will know how to love through differences or difficulties. What better way to love and be loved?

The four babies of the three aforementioned boys, less than one month in each picture.

We're Only Hsuman…