Lily's new favorite pretend play is to go on a camp out or a sleepover. She and her friends get out sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, and pile "stuff" all around them. On Monday, Lily got out all of her gear and asked Harrison to play with her. She laid out a pillow and covered him with a blanket, and then laid down next to him. Harrison had no idea what was going on, but because Lily seemed to think this was great fun, he did too. She likes to set up camp in the upstairs hallway.
Pretending to sleep
Harrison has a new favorite book. It pictures 100 different machines--trucks, boats, cars, bulldozers, you get the idea. Over the past few days I have found Lily patiently telling Harrison the names of the objects as he points to them in the book. It is really cute. Then, she will proudly announce that she was being nice and helping him.
In the late afternoon when I begin dinner preparations the kids like to watch a show. Usually Harrison watches the intro and then goes off to play. But here they are on the couch, completely zoned out and rubbing the ears of their loveys. Two peas in a pod and I love them so much!
Today as I was putting away clothes upstairs, I heard Lily ask Harrison if he would like to come into the bathroom with her. Of course he ran to join her because he loves the bathroom. She sat on the toilet and proceeded to explain everything she was doing. "You hear that, Buddy? That's potty going into the toilet. Then I wipe, flush, and pull up my pants." Now normally I keep Harrison out of the bathroom to give Lily privacy. But what do you know? He pointed to the little potty and then sat on it (fully clothed of course). Maybe Lily will be Harrison's potty training motivator and my little helper. Thanks Lily!
Last night we joined our family for a "farewell and good luck" dinner of sorts. Matthew is headed to college next week! We chose to eat at a local Mexican restaurant because I figured the service would be quick and the atmosphere more casual for busy, sometimes cranky, kids. Harrison does not want to stay in his high chair at restaurants lately and makes sure we all know it! Lily was good as gold and made pleasant conversation with everyone. I think she especially liked Matthew's girlfriend, Sarah. Harrison was on his best behavior due to intense shyness. If anyone said anything to him, if anyone looked at him, his head would go down and he was completely still. Next time we go to dinner with others I think we need to try something a little more fancy! Our sweet Lily was worried about Harrison and went over to sit next to him and give him a hug. She didn't like that he was uncomfortable.
What a cute college freshman my little brother will be.
Cheering up our shy little guy.
Lily has become much braver in the pool this summer, especially with a little help from my Dad. We've gone swimming with him a couple of times recently and Lily has enjoyed swimming across the pool with a little help from her two "Ps"--Papa and her puddle jumper. :) Last time she wanted to swim by herself, jump in by herself, and didn't get upset if her face and hair got wet (a huge deal for Lily). I hate that I don't have pictures of our time swimming together. But, Harrison is such a handful that I don't know when I could even snap a picture. He is pretty fearless of the water and will jump in whether you are ready to catch him or not. He's tried to jump from step to step (not very safe, obviously), and wants to leap off of the edge whether I'm with him or not. He's kept me on my toes and kept my heart racing. We got him a puddle jumper as well, but it's a little too big on him and he can get his arms out easily. We really need to get the kids into swimming lessons so I can relax a little more when we are pool side.
