Bassinette defender

One of the big mysteries that still remains is how aware Liam is of what will be happening in the next few weeks. He knows what babies are and likes to see them, and refers to old pictures of himself as Baby Liam. The nursery is now The Baby’s Room, our infant toys are Baby Toys, and he gets a kick out of trying out other Baby things, like the newly-resurrected bouncy seat, and laughing at how silly he is to be using something that is meant for babies.

Originally we were convinced that it would come as a shock and a surprise to him that someone new will be moving in with us, but he often catches us off-guard by knowing things that we assume are still over his head, and this may be no exception. Last night at dinner Chad said “What’s up, buddy?” to Liam as he sat down, and Liam, who had already started in on his dinner, said very matter-of-factly, “Eating red peppers.” Because he had a plate of stir-fry in front of him and was indeed eating a red pepper. Who knew that he knew? It surprised me both that he knows what sort of answer that question begs, as well as that he knows what a red pepper is. (Partly because we don’t eat them that often, and partly because he is terrible at differentiating between red and green right now, which has added colour-blindness to my list of mothering worries.)

Lately I’ve been thinking that it might not come as much of a surprise to him when Baby comes home, after all. We have been busy lately washing baby clothes and getting baby gear assembled. Chad dug out the bassinette last week, and Captain has tried to take up residence in it again; but when he does, Liam goes after him and orders him out, on account of it being for the Baby. If I had to guess right now, I’d say that Liam will be curious and interested in the newcomer at first; go through a somewhat jealous/resentful phase when he realizes we are no longer at his exclusive beck and call; and then simply get on with it. He might just surprise us again, and make the adjustment surprisingly well.