Baby Bop's older brother

It is amazing how quickly little children can crawl deep into your heart.

We've had a two-year-old foster care boy for thirteen months now. Janine nick named him Baby Bop. Long ago he become one of the family. Three weeks ago we got a call from a social worker asking if we'd take a three-year-old boy.

For three weeks Baby Bop was in heaven. He had an older brother to play with. The first day they literally ran around the house for almost an hour. They ran and ran and ran. Baby Bop was just happy to have someone to play.

The three-year-old was freaked out about being yanked away from his family. He cried. I'm sure he had no idea who these strangers were. He stayed up until 12:30, frequently telling us he wanted to go home. Finally he fell asleep from exhaustion.

It got better over the next couple of days. Baby Bop continued to shadow the three-year-old where ever he went. The three-year-old came to accept that we'd be taking care of him for awhile. The two boys did trucks together. They went on walks with Janine. They played with trains.

Fortunately the family was able to make some changes and the three-year-old went home on Monday.

It was a great experience for Baby Bop. Baby Bop has a couple struggles. At 26 months he still isn't talking. The three-year-old talked almost non-stop. Baby Bop has made great progress and now can say several distinct words.

Baby Bop also struggles with eating. He doesn't like to try new foods. All he really wants milk. The three-year-old was a great eater. He ate almost anything we put in front of him. Baby Bop is a mimic. He copied the three-year-old at every meal and even tried out new foods.

Tuesday was a sad day here. We miss the three-year-old. I miss him. We're happy he was able to go home to his family, but we miss him.

It is amazing how quickly little children become part of your life, and the hole they leave when they move on.


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