It’s springtime already, or at least it’s felt like it the past few days. We spent a really beautiful afternoon out on the school playground yesterday, soaking up the sunshine. It’s always good entertainment watching the girls play together, with the inevitable displays of “hey, I can do that too!! Watch THIS!!”
Josie, of course, has the most to prove.
“Yeah, no big deal, Soph. I’m catching up to you…just one more rung on this ladder…”
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“…er…um…maybe we have a situation here…my feet…uh….”
“…uh…Mommy??? a little help please????”
Josie wasted no time getting even with Sophie. Serves her right for baiting someone half her size!
“And take THAT too!!! Next time maybe you’ll give me a hand!!”
“Whoa. What are you looking at, Mommy?”
Oh, nothing, dear. Just how big that silly helmet looks on your melon. Think you have enough padding on yet?
“Yeah, you’re not nearly as funny as you think you are, Mom. Don’t worry, I’m fine over here.”
Lest you think otherwise (like they were joining the roller derby or something), the girls were suiting up for a new game of…dodgeball! We had been playing it in the street in front of our house a couple of days ago, and Maddie took a spill and scraped herself up a bit. So, we thought (I *was* joking, however) that maybe some extra padding would help. Clearly Sophie (and Maddie, too) took it seriously and dug out every safety device they could find. And Josie, well - she just tried to copy them as well as she could. She even figured out how to put on her helmet herself! And trust me - they were quite the spectacle in the front yard. Sorry I don’t have any pictures of THAT - I was too busy being “it” and pegging them with the ball! I bet you can still hear them yelping now.
“MOMMMMM!!! NO FAAAIIIRRR!!!”
Revenge really is sweet.
Rather than just having three sisters together, lots of the time it feels like we have five. The girls’ cousins, Megan and Sarah, are amazing friends, mentors, and caregivers to all three of ours. Especially with Josie being so young, it’s been awesome to see how much they look after her without even thinking about it. No wonder she asks about them every day!
Josie even calls Sarah “jie-jie”, which is Chinese for “big sister”. She started off that way because she couldn’t get the “S” sound at first, but it has stuck all this time. And very fitting, indeed.
The weather was so mild this weekend we took as many chances as we could to play outside. Our local playground has one of those merry-go-round things that I have vivid childhood memories about, all involving feeling sick afterwards. In fact, I got a bit queasy just watching them go! Obviously there must be some immunity of small people to spinning, because it was endless fun for them! Just look at Maddie go…
Then of course, Josie had to have a try at being the engine.
“I think I can, I think I can…”
And whoooosh! she got that thing going pretty fast, actually. It was even funnier when she tried to push it in the opposite direction it was already going - she looked just like a little fish swimming upstream. And yes, she slept very well that night!
Santa got me a new camera, and maybe this will translate to more regular updates on the girls! They are beautiful as ever, and we’re having a great start to the new year.
Little J got her own scooter! Can’t decide yet whether that is a good or bad thing (refer to the last post about stitches). But, she’s delighted to be keeping up with Mad and Soph.
Meanwhile, they are not making it easy for her to catch them!
What a bunch of sillies.
Our friends invited us to overnight at their house on the beach, so off we went to play in the sand. Josie kept calling it “dirt”, as in, “Can I go back to play at the dirt?”
“Better watch out! Dirt is going to fly!”
“Told ya!”
Oops. Josie’s clothes don’t fit that well at the moment. Wardrobe malfunctions happen often. Though, she solves that with the fact that she absolutely loves being naked. But that’s for another post…
Meanwhile, our Maddie just gets longer and longer every time we blink.
Like an elegant bird, dontcha think?
I just don’t know where the time has gone.
When the kids look as long as their shadows…
…or longer…it’s time to let out that large sigh. Thank goodness Josie is small for her age so we’ll still have a midget around!
Please? Will you stay small forever?
“Mom, the crazy cow puppet says no. We just all have to grow up.”
Maddie told me the cow said the same thing to her! Dumb cow.
That’s why we’re training Josie to take care of everyone. My niece Sarah broke it to me that Josie will be in the high school graduating class of…2028. Goodness - I’ll be in a walker by then!!
“Forget about it Mom! I’m hopping up here with the rest of them! Can YOU push?”
Of course. It’s important to know my place in the pecking order here. Happy New Year to all!