Cousins

 "WeeWaa! No Crying...'kay?" WeeWaa...That is what Apollo calls his cute little cousin, Olivia. What a treat this week has been for Apollo and Melanie (and the rest of us). Aunt Emily and Olivia flew down from Seattle and spent 4 days with us.
  Melanie really needed this little distraction from her normal routine. I had to work so I did not get to go do all the fun stuff that the two mothers and cousins got to do, but I did get to enjoy everyone in the afternoons.  This little visit helped me come to a few conclusions; First, the bossy gene...definitely from Melanie's side of the family. You cant chalk it up to the terrible twos, because Olivia is only 18 months, and is every bit as bossy as Apollo. Second, baby OCD. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but all I can say is, apparently certain colors go together, certain things need to happen in a certain order, and the lights need to be turned off when you leave the room! I am mostly speaking of Apollo here, and it is not all the time. Olivia does her share of this as well. Personally, I think it is very cute. Now that I reflect on it, Ian and Aden don't share any of those traits, so maybe Apollo got a bit of this from me. Third, can you say "wild". Wow! Olivia is non stop energy! She is constantly moving...and eating. Even Apollo had to keep one eye on her at all times or he risked getting run over by a tricycle or other type of kiddie toy. Apollo has his wild times as well, but he is a little reserved around other kids, especially Olivia.

  I  enjoyed watching the two of them interact, bond, and generally be mischievous together. It is times like these that you miss being closer to family. I would love nothing more than for Apollo to have a cousin close in age, to grow up with. A younger sibling is out of the question, as the last threads of Melanie's sanity, would come unraveled and break.
  I also enjoyed watching Melanie and Emily in their new shared roll of motherhood. I think this is something Melanie has longed for since Ian was born; a play date with one of her sisters and their offspring. I am pretty sure Melly had just as much fun as the kids. If she was a parrot, her eyes would have been 'pinpointing' with excitement, the whole time.
 "Bye WeeWaa. Bye Emie. See you!"