Peas in a Pod

Well, we have had a pretty exciting week.  When you have your kids really close together in age, people who have done the same always tell you the same thing..."It's really hard at first, and then it will get better, because they will play together and entertain eachother."  This mythical, magical event was supposed to happen at some vaguely-described point in the future, "sometime after the baby is one".  These wisened parents usually start dangling this great event in front of you because they can see that you are exhausted, and poorly-washed.  They want to make you feel better, because they know first-hand that you are just barely hanging on.  For those of you who haven't experienced the joy of trying to keep a 2 year old happy and *quiet* while you are trying to put a 3 month old down for a nap when you've been up since 4:30am, well, let me tell you, it is...challenging.  So when someone tells you about how things are going to get better, even if 1 year from now seems like it might as well be 10 years, you hang on every.  Single.  Word. 

Luke and I are happy, no ECSTATIC, to report that our time is...now!  That's right, four months early!  Lucy and Maddie have been steadily more and more interested in each other in the past few weeks, but just this week they have become pretty much inseparable.  None of this is actually voluntary on the Moose's part, being as how she's immobile and all, but she looks pret-ty happy when we put Maddie in her crib with her to play.  Maddie insists on waking Lucy up from her nap, then they play in her crib with stuffed animals for...AT LEAST A HALF AN HOUR!  Do you know what this means?  It means they are contained.  And entertained.  Your average mother of small kids can accomplish the following in 30 minutes: Get dressed, wash face, brush teeth, make 2 beds, clean a bathroom, put away 2 loads of laundry, and gulp down 1/2 cup of coffee before you forget about it and it gets too cold to drink.  Yes, you heard me right.  Not only am I now making beds, I'm also brushing my teeth.  Things are looking up, people.

They hang out on the floor and play with blocks, they're taking a bath together at night, eating together (Maddie eats, while I surreptitiously sneak babyfood into Lucy's mouth, while Lucy stares longingly at Maddie's big girl food), everything!  If I were the kind of mother who would let her 8 month old watch TV now and again (and I AM), I would even admit that they watch the odd sketch from Sesame Street together.  Lucy has started to practice laughing, she makes this forced, cough-like "aHA, aHAHAHA." whenever Maddie is around, so Maddie starts to immitate Lucy, which just makes Lucy do it more.  Luke and I are loving this not just because it really does make our lives a little easier, but also because it's just so fun to watch!   So here are some photos of the girls together this week.

Lucy laughs at Maddie ALL day long.  She is endlessly amused by her, which Maddie finds to be...endlessly amusing.

They sit there just like this FOREVER.

Lucy has seemed so happy this week, like she's finally "in" with the cool kid:)

Yes, I do let my kids chew on Tylenol bottles.  Find me a better teether and I'll happily stop. 

You can see in these how Lucy is always watching Maddie.  Maddie has always loved an audience, so this detail is working particularly well for her.

I love seeing her so happy when she is playing with Maddie!

Maddie being a ham.

Bedtime has become so much easier, now that we can give them a bath together.  The whole process takes a little longer for Maddie, making her night go much more smoothly from event to event (i.e. "dinner, bath, computer with Luke, books, bed"), and making the hardest part of our day (we are all so tired by the time we get to bedtime!) so much more fun.  They are ADORABLE in the bath together.  Lucy just LOVES it, she laughs at Maddie when she splashes and then tries to do it, too.  She also enjoys putting her face in the water. The yellow shovel is her favorite.

I mean, really.  I have secretly been waiting for what feels like FOREVER to get some cute bathtub shots of them together.  I don't know what it is, but Lucy seems to be on more equal footing with Maddie when they are in the tub.  Maddie is great about sharing with her, and Lucy just has this look on her face like, "Yeah, we're just here.  You know.  Hanging out in the tub.  Like big kids." 

So that is our week, a really exciting one for us!  Probably the next post will be about how they've started arguing now that they are spending all of this time together:)