Cause I'm a big sister

Laney became a big sister at 17.5 months. After figuring out the concept of being soft/gentle, she has been a great big sister. 95% of the time Allie idolizes her. Yet in the 2.5 years between the birth of Allie and Nixon, never once do I remember Laney referring to her self as a big sister. She was a big girl and Allie was a baby or a little girl but never the big sister. But becoming a big sister again at the age of 4, she gets it and she is good at it and she is so, so proud of it.

Everywhere we go, she points out to people her new brother. She always asks me questions like, "Do you think my cousins (or grandpa or whoever we are going to see) will like my baby brother?" And she is willing to drop everything to help with her baby brother. (The girls very rarely refer to him by name- almost always as baby brother sometimes just brother.) If I need a diaper, she gets it. If I want the bottle in the sink, she takes it. When he spits up, she is ready to wipe his face up. And then she always says something like, "I got you a diaper, mom, cause I'm a big sister." It's almost as if being a big sister is the most important job in the world. And it makes me happy to see her act that way .

Unfortunately, it only holds true for Nixon related tasks. If I ask her to pick up her shoes or toys or messes, she quite often declines or says Allie can do it. That is until I start counting or threatening to throw them in the garbage or to take away her Popsicle privileges for the day. (And that one is no good of a threat if she knows she will see my mom who will give her a few Popsicles anyway.) Any suggestions on how to teach that being an obedient daughter is the most important job in the world?

And I should acknowledge that all pictures posted in the last week are courtesy of my sister, Courtney.