When having too many people in the house is a good thing

I was hanging out front with Mal while the girls finished up their naps when the white Camry pulled up.  Mal ran to me to get out of the way and held onto my hand while the car pulled into the driveway.  He started jumping up and down. He was looking up at me and he said, "Mommy, I am so excited."

Auntie Ellen, Jacob, and most importantly, Roofie (Ruth) had arrived.

Malachy loves visitors.  We are lucky to have a variety of people who love our kids come to visit on a regular basis.  Our kids, in turn love them back. Malachy REALLY loves his cousin Ruthie.  When she is here, she is the center of his universe.  Fortunately for Mal, it was spring break for his cousins this week and they decided to spend part of it with us.

Bathtime is always more fun with a buddy

His cousins were't even out of the car, but Mal was lost to me.  He was in his happy place, looking up at them wide eyed, following them around and doing everything they were doing.  Within 10 minutes of arriving, Ruthie was proudly showing us how she can ride a 2 wheel bike now, and Mal had a sudden renewed interest in his balance bike.  We all had lunch together, and Mal wanted to eat everything his cousins were eating.  He wanted to put olive oil and salt on his rice just like his cousin Jacob.   

snuggled up with their fuffies on the purple chair
in the morning watching Olivia

Despite an age difference of almost 5 years, Mal and Ruthie get along remarkably well.  Mal tends to prefer older kids over kids his age...and he and Ruthie have always had this odd connection.  He likes what she likes, and Ruthie is sweet and kind to him (until Mal wants to wrestle with her).  They bathe together, and she may be the only person he would willingly share his room with.  Ruthie has a fuffy too (she is the reason we call Mal's lovie a fuffy...it's what she calls hers).  When she is here, Mal has his out and with him much more frequently.  I woke up in the morning to find the two of them curled up in the purple chair watching morning TV together.

Jacob the baby hog

Malachy is also a huge fan of Auntie Ellen.  She lets him use tools and he loves to follow her around and "help" as she fixes things around our house.  He got a big boy bed yesterday, and Auntie Ellen put it together (with his help), so of course he thanked her over and over again for the bed telling her how much he loved it.

Jacob reads us bedtime stories

The girls, while young really enjoyed the time with their cousins, who showered them with affection and attention.

Roofie plays peek-a-boo with Lailah

Jacob and I often lament the fact that we are not closer in proximity to our families.  We had 10 people hanging out in the house for 3 days, eating meals together, playing together and living in total chaos...and we loved every second of it.  We want to see everyone more, and seeing the cousins all together, having so much fun really drives that feeling home. When are they going to be done with that high speed rail?