After sending an email recently to my parents, in-laws and brothers tipping them off to a sale on See Kai Run shoes from Zulily (should they be, already, seeking Christmas gift ideas for their grandchildren/niece/nephew) my youngest brother and I had the following exchange, which I felt it prudent to share.
{Kean}: its really weird i keep forgetting that you’re pregnant, also by now i’ve pieced together that you know the sex of the baby, but let me take the time to ask what you guys think about that??
{Me}: You are too funny Kean. Yes, it’s a boy. And while I was overwhelmed at the thought when we first learned, I’ve settled into the idea and am excited (but mostly excited that he’s healthy, so far at least). And I think it’s cool that Eleanor has two uncles who had an older sister and who she can turn to to get advice about why her little brother is being so annoying (in her eyes). You guys can tell her that it’s just because he thinks she’s cool (or her friends are, or whatever the truth may be) and maybe she should just try including him every now and again; “You might like it,” you can tell her. Or you can tell her that “Yes, little brothers are annoying, now, but when they grow up they are way cooler. So just hang in there kid.”
{Kean}: don’t forget this little piece of advice that i’m sure me and aaron will also give her “just because he’s desperate for your attention and WILL play barbies with you, doesn’t mean that you should force him to only play with barbies when you spend time with him”. also, i’m sure that under no circumstances will she like playing with her little brother from ages 10-20 or so, so the “just hang in there kid” advice might be the most wise of all (and that came from a fellow older sister, so i think having you around will be the most helpful for her to navigate this sibling dynamic).
I do love having brothers (but, as Kean rightly surmised, that didn’t happen until I was about 20). Thanks for hanging in there with me, guys.
our regularly scheduled program 
For the record, I think it’s preferable that you like them better now than when they were younger vs. the other way around (really thinking they were cool beans THEN and dreading their company NOW)! Sure makes for more enjoyable family reunions anyway!! Dad
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I completely agree.
Also, I’d like to defend myself here and say that I remember, many a day, playing with legos and building tree forts (although I think most of the things I built with legos were houses and household items and I do have memories of not letting my brothers into my tree forts, so…).
And finally, I wonder: can we use the same “just because we *will* play Scattergories with you, doesn’t mean you should make us *only* play Scattergories” argument with Aaron?
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