Whew!

I really can't think of any other word to sum up my feelings about today being Friday.  I'm exhausted, but in a good way.  I have had my niece, Laila, for a few days this week and we have had a blast!

Emma and Laila played so hard over the past few days and laughed even harder.  I don't know that any where has ever had so much laughter from two little girls.


From dress up, to dancing and everything in between, they played it all.  My house looked as if a hurricane hit, but I didn't care.  I just enjoyed having them here together.

One of the funniest moments was when I took them to Chick-fil-a to play and have lunch.  They played for a while and then we sat down  for lunch.  They devoured their nuggets and then wanted ice cream.  I got them ice cream cones and watched as they ate them.  They barely got a few licks in before their eyes were half closed... literally.  They both sat in their seats with eyes glazed and ice cream dripping down their hands and into their laps barely eating.  It took a little nudging from me to get them to snap out of it.  We went home for a short nap and they were back up again.







Unfortunately, I didn't capture the moment at Chick-fil-a, but I was able to capture so many others.  They played Mommy to their babies, jumped on Emma's trampoline, played outside, and watched movies... which was one of my favorite things.  They would climb on my bed with me and work to get closest to me.  One minute it would be Emma in my lap and the next thing I knew Laila would be there... Neither wanted to share!

 It was fun to watch the different characteristics that the girls brought out in one another.  Laila, being older, brought out the 'big girl' in Emma.  That was fun to watch, but made me a little sad because it is reality.  Emma seemed to bring out the baby in Laila that is still there, just don't tell her!  She is such a big girl, but has some of those baby characteristics in her that I don't always see.  It's so easy to think of her as a big girl, but really and truly, she, like all not-quite-4-year-olds, are still babies.

 They both brought out the W-I-L-D in one another!  They ran circles around the house playing chase.  And there was always a toy or piece of dress up clothes flying through the air as they went from one activity to another.  All I could do was laugh with them them!  They were having too much fun!  They are so close even to be so young.  They are like sisters and I am glad they have that kind of relationship, just in case they don't have an actual biological sister.  I know that having a sister is truly a gift and every girl needs one.. or at the very least, someone like a sister.






The dance party was a pretty fun night.  I turned on silly songs and the silliness came out.  It was Laila's idea to put on the costumes and then the dancing began.  Laila kept telling Emma, "Dance like me, Emma!"  I don't know if Emma ever really did, but it was fun anyway.  Even Chuck and I got in on the action, which brought about even more giggles from the girls!

 We all had a blast this week.  The girls were so sweet as they played together and it gave me an idea of what life will be like in a couple of years... Laila and Emma are 22 months apart and Emma and her baby brother will be 28 months apart.  It will be interesting to see how Emma takes on her role as Big Sister... I know she will be great.