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Older brother spends his birthday gift cards to buy younger brother dream baseball bat.

Big brothers are like heroes to little brothers. Everything they do and say, they look up to. For Instagrammer Nicole F (@nickyf511), her son Sebastian showed exactly why he deserves the title in his little brother Lucas' eyes.

In a sweet video shared on social media, Nicole captured a heartwarming moment between the two brothers while out shopping. Nicole shares that it is Sebastian's birthday, and he's received a few gift cards to the sports store they are shopping at. But instead of buying himself something for his big day, he chooses to do something selfless and generous. Sebastian decides to spend his birthday gift cards on Lucas for a baseball bat that he has been dreaming of getting for a long time.

"Using his birthday gift cards ON his own bday to buy his brother the bat he has wanted for a long time," she captioned the post.

In the video, Sebastian walks towards Lucas, who is holding a baseball bat that has a cool wooden pencil design, to reveal his surprise. "Yo Lucas! I'm buying it for you," he tells his little brother, who replies, "Are you for real?" And Sebastian absolutely is. "Yeah, pinky promise!" he says to Lucas as the brothers link pinkies.

Lucas is ecstatic and hugs his brother. Sebastian has got jokes, and ribs his brother with, "You better hit though! You strike out, you're paying me back," he says with a big smile. Lucas is totally overjoyed, and says, "Thank you so much!" to which Sebastian responds, "No problem, buddy."

In another clip, Lucas is talking to his mom and can't contain his excitement. He tells her, "I'm so happy! I'll do anything to get him something if he wants something," he says, acknowledging Sebastian's generosity.

Nicole is an extremely proud parents and turns the camera to Sebastian to say, "You're a good brother, buddy." Lucas continues to freak out over his new baseball bat, saying, "It's so beautiful! I can't wait to go to practice. Final decision. It's so beautiful."

In the next clip, they go up to the store's register where Sebastian starts to pay for the baseball bat using a few different gift cards. When he's finished, Lucas gives him another big hug and thanks him once again.

baseball, brothers, birthday gift, brotherly love, older brother, little brotherWheelingu GIF by WU CardinalsGiphy

The brothers, who both share a love for baseball, clearly have a special bond. Viewers on social media are touched by Sebastian's sweet gesture:

"I’m crying. 🥹 the look in big bro’s eyes says it all. He’ll be his number one fan for life.💙 good job mom + dad 🫶🏻."

"Big bro standing a little taller after that move. 💙💙"

"Good job young man.. Good job... Little brother will remember that moment for the rest of his life!!! And I bet even hits a couple dingers!!!"

"😭 this is more beautiful than the bat!!! What kind hearted little dudes. My mom heart is bursting over here."

Photo by Hu Chen on Unsplash

Meeting a new sibling can go either way, but this big brother's reaction was the sweetest.

We've all seen our fair share of older-sibling-meets-new-baby videos, which are generally pretty darn adorable. But once in a while, one comes along that socks us square in the heart and has us desperately reaching for a tissue.

Brace yourselves, friends, because this is one video that truly requires a tissue warning.

Shared by @brianaarielle89 on TikTok, the video shows a preschooler dressed up in a dinosaur costume entering a hospital room to meet his newborn sibling for the first time. He asks, "Mommy, where is Hudson?" and is guided over to the cot where his baby brother is bundled.

At first, he walks right past him. But then he turns, sees him and simply stares for a few seconds.


A man's voice asks, "What do you think?" and oh, the emotion in his little voice as he breaks into tears.

"Hudsooooon!" he wails. "Hiiii!" And then he cries out the sweetest BFF declaration you'll ever hear.

@brianaarielle89

#fyp #viral #heartwarming #siblings #brothers #babiesoftiktok

Oof, right? This is the purest love there is. What a little sweetheart and what a lucky little brother Hudson is.

I regret to inform you that there is a part two, which is also adorable.

@brianaarielle89

#fyp #babiesoftiktok #brothers #feelings #happycry

"I'm happy crying, okay?" Okay, kiddo. So is everyone else now.

Of course, not all young children are overcome with happiness when they get to meet their younger siblings. In fact, some kids can be downright hostile about it, asking the parents if they can send the baby back or acting out in anger and jealousy. Depending on their age, older siblings might demand more attention than usual or regress in certain developmental milestones, such as potty training.

For parents whose young children didn't gush with love when they met a new sibling, don't worry. Jealousy of babies is totally normal and doesn't mean your kids won't get along eventually. It just takes time to adjust to a new reality and a new dynamic in the household. Dr. Hindie M. Klein recommends tips like referring to the new baby as "our baby," letting the older sibling help in caring for the baby (in ways that are age-appropriate, of course) and providing some special parental one-on-one time with the older child to help kids more easily adjust to a new baby in the house.

Even baby Hudson and his big-hearted bro here will surely have sibling spats of their own over the years. Sibling love is complicated, but it's great to see it start off on such a beautiful note.


This article originally appeared on 9.21.22

Family

Identical twins surprise dad with classic identity prank and his reaction is delightful

He hadn't seen one of his twin sons in nearly two years, and his boys made the most of it.

Muhammad and Musa played a practical joke on their dad, who hadn't seen Musa in nearly two years.

Identical twins get to do some things the rest of us don't, from forming their own unique language as babies to fooling friends, family and teachers with identity-switching pranks.

Usually, parents of twins are immune to such tricks, as they recognize the subtle differences between their offspring even when others might be duped. However, under the right circumstances, identical twins can pull a fast one even on their mom or pop.

Such was the case with two adult twin men who decided to surprise their dad. Musa, who plays basketball overseas and hadn't seen their father in a year and a half due to the pandemic, pretended to be Muhammad, the son their dad sees frequently. Musa donned his brother's glasses and clothing and even held Muhammad's child when he arrived at the father's door in an attempt to fool their old man.

Both twins have the same beard, and in the dim light of night, it's understandable that Dad wouldn't think his son wasn't who he appeared to be. And to be extra sneaky about it, Musa-pretending-to-be-Muhammad immediately asked their unsuspecting dad if he had talked to Musa lately. Well played.

Watch the father's face when the other brother walks through the door and he starts to figure out the practical joke.

That few moments of confusion as dear old dad tried to figure out who was who was hilarious, but his joy in having his sons together was palpable. Clearly, he didn't mind that his kids tricked him. And those forehead kisses? Too precious.

USA Today talked with Muhammad, Musa, and their father, Rashad, about their close relationship. Gotta love a family filled with so much love, affection, and mutual respect—and of course, a great sense of humor.

In some families, getting an earring when you're young is no big deal, but in others it's a big no-no. Some people have feelings about body-altering choices wrapped up in beliefs about age-appropriateness, assumptions or judgments about what certain choices mean or simply old-fashioned norms and expectations.

For whatever reason, Ryan Reynolds' dad was not a fan of him getting an earring at age 12. But that didn't stop him from doing it.

Reynolds shared the story about how his brothers unexpectedly saved him from his dad's wrath over his getting an earring on David Letterman's "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction." In typical Ryan Reynolds' fashion, it's a funny story, but also super heartwarming.


Reynolds explained that he had a rebellious period when he was about 12 years old and decided to get an earring for reasons he can't really recall. "I don't know. Wham! was big," he told Letterman.

"My brothers said, 'You're gonna die. You're gonna show up at dinner tonight and there will be a messy stabbing death because Dad will take one of the utensils and stab you,'" Reynolds said.

Nonetheless, he and his friend went to "Sears or wherever the hell you go" to get the piercing, his friend's mom signed the consent form (bold move, friend's mom) and the deed was done.

"I remember my face being so flush with blood and heat thinking about this impending disaster that was about to happen," he said, "and also really kind of rooting and sitting in that rebellion of the moment, too, like I'm doing something for me, I'm standing up to this."

He got to the dinner table, anxious and sweating, and could feel his dad's gaze. Then his dad uttered some kind of swear word (something like "you f*@ks,'" he said) and when Reynolds looked up he saw what his three brothers had done for him.

"It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life," he said.

Watch Reynolds tell the sweet tale: