Cousin Adi

Here at the Engle household we have had some visitors come through lately.  It started off with my parents and brother, Isaac two days after Camden was born.  The reason you haven't hear of it is because it was a whirlwind of a visit... It's hard for me to remember or record anything the week after a newborn has arrived, mostly because I am walking around like a zombie as I am trying to remember how to do this brand new baby thing.  Healing from labor and delivery is, at least for me, difficult.  I am trying to juggle wanting to cuddle with the new baby, spend time with the older sibling, and letting my body heal from the long journey it's just been on.  Plus I hadn't slept in days and any time I  sat down my eyes just closed on their own!  Anyways, that's not why I'm writing this... sorry, 4 weeks of broken/little sleep = rambling while blogging I guess :)

Back to the topic!!  My parents and Isaac were here for a full week to help make that first week home a little easier.  In fact, they made it much easier.  I didn't cook, clean, or even pick up after myself or family the whole time they were here.  I also changed very few diapers, and my parents even took shifts throughout the night with Camden while I slept!  Not only that but they got up with Parker in the morning so we could sleep.  Now that I think about it, I got more sleep that week than I am now!  Plus, when they left, I had a stocked fridge and freezer, a spotless house, and a nice stash of double stuffed Oreos in the cupboard.

Two weeks later we were blessed to have my sister, Sarah, and her three year old daughter, Adi, come visit for a few days.  We had so much fun watching Parker and Adi get to play together while they were here.  As soon as Adi walked in the door, Parker wanting nothing more than to give her hugs and play with "cousin Adi".  We went to a playground, made pizzas at home, took them to church, and ran errands together.

 Luckily Sarah was up for helping me get some things done around town.  Although I do have to say running errands isn't easy with a newborn, 2 and 3 year old.  She also made meals leaving lots of leftovers and cleaned my house again before leaving.  I haven't cleaned my house in so long!!  I love it!

We played at home throughout the weekend too.  They were troopers the whole time, and were able to resolve any and all issues 2 and 3 year olds have with each other.  We had many conversations go this way over the weekend.

Someone crying...
Adi-"Mommy, Parker took my coloring book"
Sarah/Angela-"Parker, Come here please. You can't take other people's toys without asking and having permission first, Now ask Adi if you can share please"
Parker-"Adi, Share Please"
Adi-"Ok"

Two minutes later, Someone crying....



You get the drift :)  As tiring as young kids can be, I wouldn't have traded any of it just to be able to see parker and Adi get to know each other just a little bit better.  I have such fond memories of playing hours on end with my cousins, and because of that we are still good friends.  I pray that my kids have similar memories with their cousins.  After we dropped Sarah and Adi off at the airport, tears were shed by all, and we are still talking about the fun we had, and how we want to play more.

Luckily, we can Face Time our family so that these moments of spending time together don't seem so far apart.  We hope you can take some time to appreciate your family, and get those kids together with their cousins!!   It's not always the case to have built in friends like that.

We miss you all and hope you find joy in each day.

With Love, From Charlotte