Big Brother

I've been wanting to use the photo below for weeks now. Finally I've figured out how to tie it in. Here's Jake and his big brother Bentley:

Bentley deserves kudos for being such a good big brother. Kara has posted on how he reads to Lincoln almost daily. Lincoln and Bentley enjoy the time together. More than that, though, he goes over to chat with Lincoln at random times during the day. He has a baby voice he uses when talking to him. It's pretty cute. B has intelligent conversations with his littlest brother, none of that goo-goo ga-ga stuff some people lapse into when talking to infants. Lincoln might be young, but he's quite capable of understanding complex ideas.

Bentley is also a good brother to Jake. He can be very nurturing. When Jake gets frustrated, Bentley gives him pep talks. The other day Bentley was helping Jake with a reading lesson. Jake asked Bentley to do it for him because he was having a hard time getting it right. Bentley told him he couldn't do it for him. Jake needed to do it himself. Wow. Bentley is pretty wise for a five year old.

Does Bentley still fight with Jake? Tease Jake? Yes. He does. Sometimes he frightens Lincoln by sneaking up on him and saying "Boo!" The boy isn't perfect yet, but he's a lot more good brother than bad.

P.S. You might be wondering why Viva isn't mentioned. Quite frankly, the girl is so independent she doesn't give anyone a chance to help her. She does allow Bentley to read books to her and Jake sometimes. That's going to end soon when she can read herself, so we won't be getting many more photos like this one.