andy sleepovers

One of the biggest gifts of our move for Stew and I, as well as the kids, was to be closer to their younger cousin Andy. He's now 19 months old, and for him, he hasn't really known us that long. Yes, we saw him as a baby a few times, but now that he's talking and growing into a toddler, he's really figuring out who we are. He knows us by name, and says it often, and when he comes over he goes right for the balls or drum stick, and on special occasions he's slept over while Kate and Craig have been away. Our kids love this - Anna mother's and teaches all the boys, Sam acts goofy, and Henry just sits and watches, laughs and observes one more kid in the mix. That's the funny thing with three kids - when you add one or two more, there isn't that much more work (when you consider the baseline of work you are already doing). They start to play together, and you just pull up another chair, find another place to assemble a playpen or set up an air mattress. We love it when he comes over, we hope this tradition can carry on for many years to come.