Didder and Doodoo

I got pregnant with Brighton when Pacey was about 21 months old. It was a pretty stressful time - I was really sick through part of the pregnancy with a vicious respiratory illness that the doctors weren't treating aggressively, and meanwhile Pacey was also hospitalized with pneumonia. By the time Brighton was actually born, I'll be honest and say I was pretty maxed out and her infancy was challenging as a result. There were times I wondered if having more than one child was even a good idea (too late Jaida, too late) although Chris and I felt strongly that we wanted to have at least one sibling for Pacey.

I only mention the difficult start because it turns out we could not have made a better decision to have another child. Pacey and Brighton, while two very different children, are the very best of friends. Starting pretty much immediately, we called Brighton "Sister" and it totally stuck. Pacey made his best attempts at saying Sister which sounds like "Didder". As Brighton got older, she didn't really understand that Didder was Pacey's name for her and that's why he always said it. She started trying to call HIM Didder, only it came out Doodoo. And thus, the duo was dubbed: Didder and Doodoo.

Bad cell phone shot, they were both pretty wiggly!

The kids almost the same size now, and I often get asked if they are twins. They will play together, mostly peacefully, for hours at a time. Most of the time I have no idea what they are actually playing, nor do I care as long as the screaming is kept to a minimum. We've definitely seen Brighton develop certain skills faster with Pacey's example and her desire to keep up. Conversely, we've also seen Pacey's language skills develop as Brighton talks more. They are truly each other's teachers. Of course, this is not limited to positive things - I'd never seen Pacey throw a single tantrum in 4 years until he saw how effective his sister's can be!!

It's really fun to watch Pacey and Brighton together in public, because they really tend to stick together. When we take Pacey to speech therapy, his sessions are only 30 minutes so we tend to just hang around and wait for him to finish. When Brighton sees him emerge from the therapy room, she shouts "Doodoooooo!" and he runs toward her shouting "DIDDER!!" and they embrace as though it has been a year. Every session we see this, and it never fails to amuse everyone watching.

Sure, there is a certain amount of tussling over toys and vying for attention, but for the most part these two are thick as thieves. Most nights when we are ready to put them to bed, they both get into Pacey's race car bed (Brighton still sleeps in her crib in her room) and I think that every night they believe there is a genuine chance I will let them sleep there together (haha kids, haha). I think when they are old enough Santa might bring them bunk beds and that will be the best gift of their lives.

I can certainly see ahead to some challenges we'll face with the kids...at some point Brighton's abilities in some areas will surpass Pacey's and we will have to help him maintain his cherished role as Big Brother the best we can. Brighton will undoubtedly have a unique experience as Pacey's sister and I imagine it will be hard at times. But, there is no doubt in my mind that they are each better people - and will continue to be - because of their sibling.

Viva Didder and Doodoo!