S+L+P+B: Cabin Cousins

Monday, August 5, 2013

Cabin Cousins

We are having so much fun with our new family cabin. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for this beautiful gift to our family. We love it already, and we are so excited for all the fun times to come. You two know how to make time with family so special and memorable. We love you!

Peter and Brooklyn have had some fun and special moments with their cousins at the cabin. We cannot express how grateful we are to live close to family. It is such a blessing. The time our kids spend with their aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents (and even great-grandparents, great-aunts, and great-uncles) constitutes some wonderful family experiences. The comfort and familiarity our kids have with their cousins, especially, makes us so happy! Peter gets so excited to see them or skype with them. He recites their names frequently throughout the day. And I can tell that Brooklyn is already starting to form a special bond with these cute kids who love her so much and take such wonderful care of her.

Just a quick shot of beautiful Brooklyn. We can never have too many!

Andrew is our oldest cousin. He is so protective of Peter and Brooklyn. He loves to spend time with both of them. I am always impressed at how willing Andrew is to hang out with Peter, who is six and a half years younger than he is. He is our number one helper and baby sitter. He has held Brooklyn and fed her bottles. He always is aware of Peter, whether there is something nearby for him to put in his mouth or whether he's trying to make it down the stairs. When Peter was in their home while I recovered in the hospital, Andrew was Peter's special buddy, watching out for him and by his side all the time. He understands how special Brooklyn is and how she came to our family in a miraculous way. He is sensitive and smart. We are so grateful for him.

Ben "Jammin" Brother. He is a pretty cool kid. Pretty much as cool as they come. Ben is a crack-up! Between the facial expressions and the unpredictable, un-filtered thoughts that pool from his ever-sprinting brain, he is always making us laugh. He is Peter's special buddy. I am always impressed at how long they can play together, even though Peter is so little. Ben has so much patience with him, and is always so excited to see him. Ben calls Peter, "Peter Weter." I've heard him call Brooklyn "Brookie Wookie" and "Sweetie Pie." He is a brave and tough, but very sweet kid. We love him so much.

We love Sarajane. She and Peter love to play together and usually hold hands whenever we are on a walk, hike, or the zoo. They have gotten to be such good little buddies lately, and it's so fun to see. Sarajane is creative, sweet, and determined. We have so much fun hearing what is going to next come out of her mouth. I can tell that she and Peter will be buddies all throughout their lives, and I'm sure SJ will take good care of her first baby girl cousin on her mom's side. I can picture a lot of fun times to come! SJ is already so sweet to Brooklyn. I loved watching her softly play with Brooklyn's tiny baby toes. We love her!

Cute Emmy is just three months older than Brooklyn (The picture below is first thing in the morning, a little shell-shocked!). I am especially grateful for the timing of these two cute girls in our family. They are going to have so much fun throughout the years being so close in age! For now, their moms have fun dressing them in matching outfits. Emmy is so smiley and happy. I can't wait to see her cute little disposition as she gets older. When Emmy was born, Peter went around calling every baby "Emmy (He pronounces it 'Ah-mee')." The baby elephant and giraffe at the zoo were also "Baby Emmy Eh-phant" and "Baby Emmy Fraffe."

These cute kids make our life even brighter and happier. Scott and I both love to spend time with them and hear all of their creative stories and game ideas. We are so happy that our kids have had so much fun with their cousins. We are excited for the fun times ahead!

Scott is the most amazing dad. I just returned from a weekend at Youth Conference for church. I couldn't believe that I had nothing to put back together upon my return. He held it together! (Admittedly, with the help of my mom the first two days. THANK YOU BOTH!). I am so grateful for Scott. I thought I loved him as much as I could, and then he became the father of my kids. It's a whole new level of admiration that brings me to tears and happy grins often throughout the weeks. Peter is is dad's biggest fan. And Brooklyn saves her very best smiles for her daddy. No one gets her smiling (and, as of yesterday, LAUGHING!) like he does. I love him.