Lia loves her big brother

I don't think I've mentioned how on one of Lia's orientation days, we were putting her shoes on, but not Ian's (he was going to stay home since his school hadn't started yet). Lia sat there sticking her little feet out to put her shoes on, then pointed to Ian's sneakers and said, "Ge Ge, shoe!" And in the mornings when Ian leaves on his bus, she points at the bus and tearfully screams, "GE GE!"

One night, Ian was getting yelled at because he was in a foul mood and said to me, "You're a loser!" (ah, the joys of school-age kids!). Jeff was giving him a talking-to and Ian started crying right away (he knew he had said something bad). Lia was watching this with great concern and when Ian started crying, she squeezed in between Jeff and Ian and wrapped her arms around Ian's waist, saying, "Ge Ge, Ge Ge." So sweet. The affection is reciprocated on occasion, such as a couple of nights ago. Lia has had another cold this week, with a snuffly nose and lots of boogers. Ian came in to say good night and saw that Lia's nose was running. "I'll get a tissue!" he yelled. He came over and very gently wiped her nose once, twice, three times, making sure he got it all. Then he gave her a kiss and a hug and went off to his room.