Cousins

Several weeks ago Derek's brother and his family moved across the state here to Kansas City. Brad and Mary signed on their house yesterday and their new house is just two miles away. So much nicer than across the state! Their house is super nice and we've worked to get them all settled in over the past few days. I love having family close by!

The two people who are MOST excited about it are Jackson and my nephew Gabe. They are so close in age and want to play together every minute of every day, which works out conveniently because I have been watching them each day while Brad and Mary go to work. My nephews come around 10:15 and there is just the perfect amount of playtime, and then lunch, naps (or quiet time) and then more playtime before they get picked up around 3:30. The kids love it and I am thrilled that the kiddos get to spend so much time with their cousins!

When Jackson is at preschool, Belle and Gabe play really well together. When Jackson comes home, typically, the older boys play in Jackson's room and sometimes Belle is invited. There are times that Belle plays really well with Eli and they dance and tackle. Most of the time, Eli hangs out with me while the older kids play "big kid things" that they don't want the "baby to interrupt."

The lesson here: it's now about who's older... it's about who's bigger.

Friday morning though, I found all of the kids playing and laughing in the front room. They were climbing up the couch and rolling off and the bigger kids were even helping Eli. He was so glad to be a part of the in crowd. Of course, I grabbed my camera and took some pics... which is much harder than it sounds. Four kids. None of them holding still. Hopefully the pictures capture the fun they were having!

Eli was thrilled to be king of the castle! (Jackson was having fun, I promise!)

How blessed are we to have so much fun with cousins every day?!?