Maybe It's Innate

I spend a considerable amount of time reading and re-reading parenting books. I'm obsessed with it. (I guess it's good to be infatuated with "continuing education" within your occupation? That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) I read about different parenting philosophies, I read books authored by folks I just think have interesting families, or families that I look up to, and I read about how to make siblings friends, because I want a close family (and obviously, as stated in a previous post, I have no idea how to do that...)

But I'm starting to wonder if it's out of my hands. When G looks at P and smiles, she smiles back. If he makes a funny noise, she laughs. She looks at him and makes a face, and he laughs. I don't know if all kids are like this, I certainly don't remember being as fond of my sister and G so clearly is, but they live for each other. He's never asked when she is going to "go back in" to my tummy, as I've heard most kids do - and I myself remember doing. When she cries, he genuinely wants to make her feel better - and most of the time he can. He really loves her, and she worships him.
When my mom saw this picture, she immediately pointed out that G is holding P's hand (they are sitting at a table that was Pat's mother's as a child!), and I realized that they just love each other. They were born this way. How do I know? When Piper was in my tummy, it was G's voice she reacted to. She'd go NUTS when he was on my lap and he ate it up. Maybe the key isn't to read a million books about how to make them friends, maybe the key is to figure out a way to nurture and encourage the relationship they already have.

I'll probably keep reading the books though. I couldn't bear to screw this sweet little relationship up.