age gap

A lot of my family lives nearby. So, when the time came to let everyone in on our baby news, I let my kids concoct a plan for spilling the beans. Charlotte and Elijah discussed their ideas for several days before deciding their scheme.

This was the plan:

Elijah was to make Charlotte a “Big Sister” shirt to wear at the Mother’s Day party, after the swimming was done. Very curious. Charlotte was to draw up a mysterious note for Granny announcing our news. The note would distract Granny from noticing the “Big Sister” shirt at first.

Then, when Granny looked up after reading her note, any confusion would be quickly dispelled when she saw Charlotte’s shirt. Charlotte, a big sister?

In the end, the reveal went down perfectly as planned. Though I think the giggling may have given away as much as the tee shirt and the creatively-spelled letter did. While Granny was reading, my older brother Matt said, “Hey Charlotte, what’s up with your shirt?” It wasn’t long before the whole crew caught on. Mystery solved. Like a good episode of Scooby Doo.

Here is Charlotte’s note. On the envelope is a picture of Red Riding Hood on her way to Granny’s house with an idea to share. Awesome. The note inside translates to, “This is how many people are in my family — 5. No really. I love you Granny, so much.”

Elijah made the purple “Big Sister” shirt by himself. (I had made a similar shirt for him to wear when he met Charlotte in the hospital for the first time. I’ll try to track down the photos. He was very proud of that shirt.)

It’s a miracle my leather couch is still intact. My mom stopped by the afternoon Elijah was prepping the letters, so he ran upstairs to finish his work without her glimpsing it. Later, I discovered him kneeling in front of the couch, running sharp scissors along the smooth leather cushions to cut out each letter. “Whoa, hey, what’s going on up here!?” To his credit, he was properly penitent. I think he said something like, “You’re right. What was I thinking?” Or did he argue first? I can’t remember.

It was fun to watch these kids hatch out a plan together. I figure they are old enough to remember a lot of this experience — why not get them involved. A 14-year-old, a 6-year-old, and a newborn. It’s going to be an interesting dynamic.

Oh! I have to tell you Elijah’s response when we first told him about the baby. This is classic — especially considering his age and his commensurate understanding of the subject. I asked him how he felt about the news and he replied, “I’m surprised… I’m excited… And I’m a bit alarmed.”