Nephew adds big brother to his titles

Our family just got bigger.

I have a new nephew, and he’s adorable. His name is Barrett, and his 4-year-old brother, Seb, is blond and looks like Sister-in-Law and her family — cute as he can be — but we were hoping for a dark-haired little baby with coloring like my brother. And it looks like we got it.

This was our last chance, because they say it’s their last. (My brother is 44, and he’s done the math.)

Mom started digging at home for a good picture of my brother as a newborn, and the photos were few and far between. The ones we found were taken 40 feet away with an Instamatic. You could see a little bundle with dark hair, though. We say they look just alike.

Barrett does have dark hair, “crazy” hair, if you ask his big brother. That was one of the most highly anticipated moments — what will Seb think about his baby brother? He’s had the limelight for four years. He talked to Barrett via his mommy’s tummy and got a box of toys that he said he’d share with his brother.

Someone videoed as Seb went into the hospital room. “I’m gonna call him a cutie-pie,” he said as they walked down the hospital hallway. As he rounded the corner of the room, he saw his mother holding Barrett in the bed, and he was interested — until he got distracted by a big cookie with “Happy Birthday, Barrett” written in icing.

“What? I didn’t know we had cake. It’s his birthday? What the heck!” Seb said.

He climbed into the bed with his mother and peered in at his new brother and asked when he would open his eyes. He wanted to see Barrett’s hair, which stood up when the little cap came off, thus calling his hair “crazy.”

Seb smiled and said, “Bawwet, wake up, sleepy head,” and made a funny face and noises. He said, “He’s a cute little fella!”

My brother said he warned baby Barrett that he was going to meet some loud relatives — his brother and his Aunt Tammy, for two.

Seb’s best form of entertainment in the hospital room was to have a willing suspect blow up the blue latex gloves to make cow-udder-looking balloons so Seb could run around and play with them.

Claire, Seb’s best friend, came into the room wearing her princess dress and tiara. She’d been to a big princess event. She is the firstborn of three — and the only girl — an adorable ham.

She started singing the song from Frozen, and we were her audience. Seb started choreographing — when she sang, “Let it go!” he was to throw all the udder balloons in the air. She’d stick out a little flip-flop-clad foot and tap it: “One, two, three,” and start singing. Seb decided to get audience participation and gave us each a balloon to throw at the appropriate time. There was cheering, laughing and clapping.

How we didn’t get thrown out of the hospital, I don’t know.

Hopefully, Barrett also got my brother’s genes of being able to sleep anywhere and through anything.

Since Barrett has been home, I’ve gotten pictures, texts and video updates. My brother said Seb was holding Barrett, and he got tired, so he asked, “Can you get IT off of me?”

It’s always hard to share the spotlight. Second kids can shine — they just have to find their own light.

Barrett will never be the first, but he has something else Seb never will: He’ll always be the baby.

And there’s enough love to go around.

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

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