We try really hard to help our kids understand the importance of family. And even though we would like to be around them more than we are able to be (especially the Freebairn side of the family), Abby can find her cousins in pictures, likes to call them on the phone (just imagine the conversation a 2-year-old has on the phone, if she can get up the courage to actually talk), and goes through her list of cousins every night before she goes to bed and talks about how much they love her. We have had a chance this month to see 5 of the Zwahlen cousins and Abby loved it. Honestly, I think she was overwhelmed by having one 6-year-old, two 3-year-olds, one 11-month old, and one newborn plus her and Sam, but she did love it most of the time, as evidenced by the following stories:
On our first night in Alexandria with cousins MaKayla (Mika) and Arianna (newborn), the big girls took a bath together, traded off sitting on the potty, brushed each other's hair, wore princess nightgowns, and even attempted a sleepover in a portacrib. The sleepover attempt lasted about 10 minutes and quickly ended when we heard a scream and loud crying over the baby monitor. Within an hour of seeing each other earlier in the day, they were walking down the sidewalk hand-in-hand saying, "I am so happy!" It was sweet.
Mor Mor and Abby enjoying Mount Vernon
Abby also had a lot of fun with Zach. Our favorite experience of the time with him was probably not his favorite. Abby and Zach were riding in the back of his family car. Abby likes to sing at the top of her lungs in the car and Zach likes it to be quiet so he can watch the other cars. Not a great combination. Zach let her sing a couple songs before asking her to stop. Abby, of course, didn't listen. She probably couldn't hear him over her own singing. He asked a few more times before giving up and leaning as far out of his car seat as he could get, eyes tuned to the road. The next time I turned around, Abby was leaning out of her own car seat toward Zach, singing loudly, and grinning. The little stinker knew just what she was doing.
Sam and Far Far checking out the sheep at Mount Vernon
We jokingly have a rule in our house that only one kid gets to cry at a time. I joke when both Sam and Abby are crying that one of them has to stop because it's not his/her turn at the moment. I really do feel ten times as stressed with both kids are crying so, in a way, I mean our rule seriously, but if I keep joking about it, I'm more likely to get Abby to crack a smile. Well, I tried to encourage this rule when all the little cousins were together. We had one point when three of the four kids who were playing in the basement were crying. Zach was off in his own world, but Abby, Sam, and Ethan were contesting for the best set of lungs. I said, "Oh, no! Do we have three kids crying?" Abby immediately went over to Ethan and said, "No two kids crying, Ethan. It's Sam's turn."
Sam talking to Grandma Z
