Once upon a time, 
   there was a little Asian girl named Ivy.

      And one day, when Ivy was seven, her mommy told her, 
           during their morning walk to school, 
              that she was pregnant.

                 And Ivy said, "Oh".

It seemed to Ivy that her mother was pregnant for an awfully long time.

However, she was wise when it came to babies.  
She knew all about how they came about 
and how mommies became pregnant 
and stayed pregnant for about nine months usually 
because her very knowledgeable friend had told her 
and another friend 
all about it
in the first grade.

And while the other friend had widened her eyes
and said, "My parents didn't do that.
I must've come around some other way,"
Ivy had nodded her head gravely 
in understanding and acceptance
and maybe with a hint of disgust.

So, she knew that this baby would be in her mommy's womb for a while,
and when it came out, 
it was here to stay.

So, Ivy wanted to make sure that this brother, 
because that's what her mother said the doctor said
the baby would be,
would know her well.

So, every chance she got, 
she rested her head on her mother's tummy
and said her name over and over and over.
(I'm not kidding.)

One morning, during summer vacation,
her daddy woke her up.
Ivy was cranky.
It was four in the morning.
But the baby had decided
it wanted out then,
so off they went to the hospital.

Ivy sat in some waiting room,
watching cartoons
for two hours
while her brother was busy being born.
And of course, her mother was busy
giving birth.
And her daddy was with her mother mostly.

Ivy watched a My Little Ponys cartoon.
And some others.
But she remembers that one for some reason.

And then, her daddy came out 
and a nurse asked her if she would like to
see the baby.
Yes she would.

The baby did not look like a baby.
The baby was in some sort of box on wheels
with an inside-out diaper for a pillow
and a white blankie with pink and blue stripes.
And it wore the same kind of diaper 
on its bottom
that its head was resting on.
The baby was very red and wrinkly.
And pudgy.
And it had teeny, tiny little fingernails.


 

And now that little red, wrinkly, pudgy baby with 
teeny, tiny little fingernails 
is ten.
To Ivy's relief, he did not stay red, wrinkly, and pudgy.
He is now not so much a baby anymore
and is tall and skinny with a large, large head.
And funny black hair that sticks up everywhere. 
He likes board games and books
and hates school and piano.
And he drives his sister nuts because he talks too much!

And that is the story of my brother.