I love it how as your children grow up together the gap begins to get smaller. Well, you know what I mean – their actually age gap stays the same, because well, science. But as they get older the gap closes as they find themselves enjoying the same things and communicating on the same level. When you have a new born join the ranks, it seems so unlikely that they will ever be best friends because they are miles apart in their individual milestones. The new baby seems so far behind, compared to your toddler who seems to have a a greater sense of independence than you do and who knows exactly how how he wants his sandwich cut. (Although let’s all just say that a touchy subject all together!)

But the baby grows and grows until eventually one day they are both elbows deep in a crate full of Lego and you find yourself, at times, unable to tell them apart. Of course it happens slowly – First you notice your toddler lying on the bed talking to your 6 month old in a way that only they can really understand. A few months down the line you see him handing the baby a toy and encouraging him to crawl, his number one fan. You notice how much he enjoys bath time with his baby brother and how he longs to make him laugh. And then later, you watch as he holds out his hand to help his brother as he takes his first steps, his number one supporter.

For a good amount of time they are at different levels of development but slowly the gap begins to close as they grow closer and closer in the same direction. And then before you know it they are two peas in pod, joint at the superhero hip, doing everything together. It’s pretty spectacular right?

So as a mom of two little boys who are tighter that my super skinny jeans, I’ve borne witness to some amazing moments shared between these two brothers over the years. Some pretty scandalous behaviour I might add. I’ve noticed just how much Brody takes after his big brother and just how much influence Noah has over him.

Here are some of the many big life lessons from a big brother:

1. The more mess the more fun – Seriously, everything fun and worthwhile must include at least a little bit of mess. – ‘Look Brody, watch how funny this is when I empty the whole toy box on the floor?” “Come Brody let’s see how many cushions we can get from all the bedrooms and make a fort in the lounge!” “ Oh look there’s a jar of glitter that mom said we must play with without her, let’s pour it all over ourselves”. (Yup, word for freaking word.)
2. If you don’t want to go to school just say you have a sore leg. A sore leg gets you off school but you can still eat sweets and play games and mom probably won’t take you to the doctor. By the afternoon you can agree with mom that it’s probably just your average growing pain which has miraculously subsided, which makes you free to go play outside. YOU WIN!
3. If you don’t want to eat your vegetables, tell mom you like vegetables, you just had too many at school that day. Or, take a bite and then say you need to go the toilet, and on your way back spit the veggies in the bin. Works like a charm.
4. When you hear mom call you just pretend you can’t hear her. It’s usually nothing serious, so just let her keep screaming. If she starts with her scary angry voice then you better go to her, because then she means business and you are about to have your ears blasted off. I’M HERE FOR YOU!
5. Tell mom she looks beautiful or that her dress is pretty BEFORE you ask her for sweets. In the event that she’s on to you and replies with “You don’t think I’m actually gonna fall for that do you?”, go with plan B: Wait till she’s distracted on the phone or on her computer. Il get the chair and  keep a look out and  just help yourself. Take only three sweets each so she won’t notice. Oh and don’t take any liquorice, she will notice if the liquorice is gone. If she catches you, don’t blame me.
6. Change as many times as you can in one afternoon. It’s the best! All the laundry that mom has spent hours folding, it’s really no biggie! We need to express ourselves – I heard Frankie tell the teachers that at school. It’s important for our confidence. Also, it’s very important to look like a superhero at all times so if that means changing into the appropriate clothing, then you gotta do what you gotta do. Mom’s a chick so she wont understand.
7. If you want to get your way with something, there’s one thing you better as heck not do, CRY. Mom knows us better than that by now so you need to think smart. Mom hates seeing us sad, like when we hurt ourselves right? Tell her you’ve had a bad day or Jimmy kicked you at school and that usually does the trick. If you needing something a little more depro, tell her you wish you had a puppy. The guilt will close the deal.
8. Superhero’s are for life. If anyone tries to hurt you, just tell them you are the Hulk. Or Spiderman. Or Batman. Or Captain America. Or Darth Vader. They will be so scared of you, that they will know better than to mess with you again. If they do, call me, i’ll sort them out with my super powers. They are a little bit stronger than yours.
9. Girls are gross unless they are your cousins. But you can’t marry your cousins. I don’t know why you just can’t.
10. When we go to the shops with mom she gets a little bit paranoid about losing us and you may notice her getting stressed out. But she doesn’t understand that this is also our time where are let out the house and it’s fun to be crazy, so just follow my lead and you will be ok. If she shouts at us, just laugh because eventually she will just laugh too. She will tell us we won’t get treats for not listening but then it’s easy, you just resort to lesson 7, guilt her into obliging.

And there you have it, 10 wonderful life lessons from a big brother. I know right, my job here is done.

Hi I’m Leigh! Did you enjoy reading this post? I really hope so and would love you to stick around a little longer! Please feel free to browse my blog for other articles or to keep up with all the latest news and to be the first to hear about some great competitions, come and find me me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also email me directly at leeloobaggins@hotmail.com or simply subscribe below and never worry about missing out!