Sunday, June 10, 2012

Entertaining Themselves...

 Cooper and Meghan have really started being even better buddies than before.  We haven't yet identified if this is just the age they are at now or if it's due to some neglect due to the newest addition - but either way, it's awesome to watch the two of them bond and play and depend on each other so much.  It helps that one likes to be bossy and the other just wants to be just like big sister.
 And it's not always a happy playing together.... but usually very well tolerated.  The latest game is hide and seek - or as we say, "ea-ear or not here I come!" (Meg).  Neither of them really seems to care about the way the game is actually supposed to go as they both decide on a good place to hide and instruct each other to hide there only to change roles after walking around pretending not to know where each other is for several seconds.  No actually hiding involved.  Lately, the best location to hide seems to be under our bed... not something I am willing to allow but so cute to hear Coop answer "I'm under here" that it's hard to say "No!".
 These days involve lots of playing outside. The backyard means sliding and kicking balls and swinging and playing with the t-ball set.  Front yard means playing with the neighbors (Jacob and Jerrica) if they are outside - and usurping all the fun toys they get to have like ride on 4-wheelers and motorcycles that we don't have... and playing with our own bikes and scooters and chalk.  They like to draw together on the driveway - sometimes drawing us food to "eat". Meghan told me that her favorite time of day at school is when she gets to play with her brother, and they love to go find each other at pick up time.  In several months, they will be in the same class at school - hopefully this will be a good thing and not to much of a good thing.
 Another favorite game is playing picnic and making supper in the kitchen upstairs inside.  Coop makes sure tell us we can't have our dessert unless we eat our supper.  Then again, I don't really know what all games are involved as the two of them just go play upstairs usually in Meghan's room.  It is so fun to watch the two of them interact and take on their individual personalities.
 As Meg is all about dress up, lately the game involved playing party and getting married.  Meghan married Daddy and Cooper all in the same day last week. Anyone wearing a white dress is probably going to get married because they look so beautiful.  Coop doesn't really have dress up clothes and, thankfully, hasn't come down wearing Meg's dresses in a while - not to saw we don't wear equal opportunity clackies around this house.  Limits have to be placed on how often Meghan changes clothes in one day, but we have yet to figure out how to do this easily - or limit how many times a day we can apply chapstick (for either child :)  ).  Just recently, Meg taught Coop how to play makeup - we watched him for a while last night using the play cakes and plate as makeup; dabbing the cake and putting it on his face, cheeks, legs, eyes... "do I look be-utiful?".  And then off to play with his manly drill, of course.  Amazing how we can be all boy and so into girl toys at the same time.
 Many of their favorite pasttimes don't involve purchased toys at all - so quit buying them some!  A long time can be spent just throwing socks down the stairs.  Or hiding in the laundry basket.  Singing songs. Dancing - like a prince and princess, of course!  Pulling the tunnel through the house.  Crayons.. markers... play dough.  Going into their special room to watch the old VCR tapes of mostly princess movies.  Dora is the favorite on the big TV naturally... for Cooper mostly.  The attention span limited but still with the desire.  Two big helpers when it comes to yard work (Meghan followed her Daddy and the lawn mower around the back yard last time) and cooking (both fighting/sharing a stool while watching me cook) and cleaning (with their little broom) and crawling into bed with us.
 Coops also lately is more into baby dolls due to his baby sister. Tonight he was carrying around Meghan's recently neglected "white baby" and calling it his baby sister "Kate-ynn"... covering her up with his blanket and putting her in his lap. 
These two usually find their way downstairs on their own about 630-700 in the mornings... awake much earlier but required to stay upstairs for awhile.  Don't really know what time they are getting up or how they are best entertaining themselves-  quite a mess to clean up later on though.  We love that we have them so well "trained" to leave us alone to get a little more much needed sleep!  Meg informed us the other night that Cooper went into her room in the middle of the night and slept with her.  Several times when Coop has woken up and tried to come downstairs, Meghan has woken up, and we can hear her trying to coach him back into his room; doesn't usually work.  We pray that this wonderful relationship continues to be as loving in the years to come.

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