Little Miss

We had a nice visit this past week from Cara and our niece and cousin, "Little Miss" (We'll use a pseudo, since I didn't ask permission to use her real name).
As many of you know, (vacation + baby) doesn't always equal high adventures and exciting activities. More often than not, it includes a lot of clock-watching (feeding time, nap time, bath time, etc), patience in dealing with a new surrounding and environment (read: my children), and lowering ones expectations. Cara was such a trooper in being content to tag along with our "everyday" stuff during her visit. We went on some walks, sat on a blanket in the shade and ate popsicles, cooked and cleaned together, and humored Josh by letting him watch the Tour de France. She was able to experience The Saturday Grocery Shopping Trip in the middle of the day with four kids, as well as 1-4pm church, and my children at 7:55pm (dramatic pause and an eye twitch).

Hopefully those bad memories were blurred by a few good ones, including introducing her to some of our famous Northwestern foods. I know for a fact she packed some Tillamook yogurt and a jar of salsa home in her bags. Josh was able to take a day off work and take them on a hike to Kamiak Butte, as well as a night out for Calzones at our local pizza place.

Little Miss was our greatest joy and entertainment (what baby isn't?). We'll smile remembering her and her love for Pin-gu. I've never seen a baby so entranced with any show before! It worked just like a pacifier! Despite all the kids' efforts to distract her from it, she couldn't pull her eyes away.

"Um, Lil' Miss? Excuse me..."

These two little girls were so funny. Would you ever peg them as cousins? Their schedules were just as opposite as their looks. When Diddles would go down for a nap, Lil' Miss would wake up. When Lil' Miss would awake from her slumbering, Diddles would arch her back, ready to go down for a snooze. We felt a little chained to their schedules, but fortunately, neither Cara nor I felt the need to push them differently.

During our downtime, Cara taught me how to make flower clips for Boo's hair. Surprisingly easy, and so many possibilities! My glue gun died in an explosive way. It was just like the 4th of July, only it smelled electrical!

Dear Lil' Miss,

Thanks so much for coming to visit us this past week with your Mommy, Cara! We had a great time while you were here. Thanks for taking the Porta-crib and letting Diddles sleep in her crib. You and your mom were both troopers in letting us shuffle bedrooms and sleeping arrangements around. We hope you haven't suffered any lasting trauma as a result of your pacifier being stolen, getting swung too high in the swing, having your "personal space" invaded time and again. Just know it was all done out of love. Maybe take it as a compliment that by the end of your stay, you were treated (for better or for worse), exactly like family around here.