I thought I would explain the signage from this post a bit more.  First a confession, I do enjoy reading and watching the Duggars.  I have no desire to be like them because they are who God has made them to be.  And, well, our families are not going to be the same.  Ever.  That’s just how God has made us.  So, please don’t ask me if I’m “aiming for a reality show,” or “trying to be the Duggars.”  We may joke that we’re competing with Mark’s brother and his family (We’ll win, we’re younger and started sooner ;), however, it’s not a competition.  We trust the Lord for our family and follow His lead.

Anyway, back to why I confessed.  Mrs. Duggar discusses the buddy system in one of her books.  I loved the idea and when Ceili Rain was born, it was perfect time to make a buddy system that worked for our family.  Big buddies help little buddies learn chores, buckle up, and stay safe in the parking lot, and when the little buddy is old enough, they help them get dressed.  Big buddies can change diapers if they want to learn but that is not a requirement.  Little buddies have to cooperate with big buddies and help their buddies with jurisdictions.  It makes life super easy when we can call out, “Grab your buddies!” and do a quick head count if we are out somewhere.

We also call “Ducks!” if we’re walking through somewhere we have to be single file or it’s very crowded.  Daddy duck is in the front, mommy duck in the back and the ducklings in the middle in no particular order.

Man, this post is full of rabbit trails.  Sorry.

So, Zoe and Ceili Rain are buddies.  Ace and Bryant are buddies.  Liam and Malachi are buddies.   And Josiah.

Well, he’s been my buddy. As soon as we brought Malachi home from the hospital, Josiah has made sweet remarks about how he didn’t have a buddy.  He never whined or complained.  Just in a matter of fact tone noted that he didn’t have a buddy yet.  We told him he had to pray about that and ask God to bring us another baby.

We just knew he would be thrilled to find out he had a buddy.  I forgot that Josiah isn’t big on expressing his emotions (he’s his daddy if ever any of these kids were).  But, I still wanted to get their reactions on film.  Tracy was great with it and did an amazing job.  And although Josiah didn’t hop up and down and yell and scream with excitement, he did carry around the announcement all day.  The next day he asked me where the paper was.    He also told me that he couldn’t sit by his buddy in the car (because he has to ride in the back).  This is about as excited as Josiah gets about anything.

I totally wouldn’t have it any other way.

And yet another rabbit trail, Big buddies do not immediately become big buddies.  They have to be seven years old and their little buddy has to be around 1 or so (usually walking independently and weaned) before they can take over full buddy duty.  In the in-between stage the Big Buddies love entertaining their little buddies and grabbing a diaper or burp cloth or paci when needed.