The next generation is little Madi and brand new Cole….neither of whom were really down for having their photo taken with their older siblings…

This was the best shot I got…

Lilly did snag a hug from Madi

The girls :)

And of course, one from Owen, who was all smiles with her.

Besties!

He was even all smiles when she planted one on him.

She adores her cousin! So cute.

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We met up with my 2 sister-in-laws and Lilly’s cousins. Her cousin, Owen, is no stranger to this blog. At only 6 days apart in age, they really are becoming the best of friends.

It’s obvious what our toddlers are thinking. I really want to know what this giraffe is thinking!

The petting zoo portion. Lilly was brave enough to go in, but spent 90% of the time climbing mine and her Aunt’s leg…

Slide races at lunch!

Lilly: “Let’s walk. Hold my hand!” Owen: “Okay!” Too freaking cute.

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While they might not have always seen eye to eye, Lilly and Owen have really become very close, despite the distance between them.

They are only 6 days apart in age, making them the perfect playmates. Lilly might have a fair few little friends around, but I honestly don’t think she gets as excited to see anyone, as she does for Owen.

I truly hope that they always remain this close.

Cousins! Lilly is trying to get baby Madi’s attention, but she’s just not as fascinating as the dogs…

The chase is on! They could spend hours just running around the house.

Little monsters. Both the spitting image of their fathers and combine to make one chaotic little team.

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If I could, I would be very wealthy, as previously mentioned.

However, like most mothers, I can watch my toddler interact with another and harbour a guess as to what is going on in that pretty little head of hers.

This past weekend, we headed down to the in-laws farm for a much needed mini family vacation and more importantly, to meet our brand new niece, Maddie!

A proud Uncle Adam meeting Miss Maddie.

This was incredibly exciting for Lilly for many reasons. First off, she LOVES Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. Secondly, she has grown to adore her cousin, Owen. Third, there was a baby present! Any mother of a little girl knows exactly what I mean by that.

Lilly: What do you mean I can’t pick her up, put her in my doll stroller & feed her?! She’s a ‘baby’ isn’t she?

Thanks to a recent quick visit and a couple of Skype dates, Lilly was quite familiar with Owen and very excited to see him. This was a huge change from a mere 6 months ago, when they couldn’t really be bothered with each other.

This being said, Owen was still not thrilled by Lilly’s severe increase in affection.

Even 2 year old girls have cooties.

I had written back in March how incredibly hilarious it is to watch toddlers interact. At only 19 months old, the behaviour between Lilly and Owen then was very different than what we saw this past weekend.

They have graduated from avoiding each other like the plague, to full on partners in crime.

These are just some of the insights we gained this weekend into the mysterious minds of toddlers:

• If one thinks it’s fun, they both join in the begging of “again!!” so instead of doing something 50 times, you do it 100 times. Mind-numbingly awesome.
• One toddler running at full speed across a room full of toys is mildly nerve wracking. Two is CHAOS! Your just waiting for someone to take a face plant.
• They copy each other for everything. For instance, taking another bite at the dinner table. But don’t be fooled, this can go in either direction.
• Aunt Laura caught them both licking a door in the house. WTF?! Who’s genius idea was that?
• One toddler’s idea of playing can greatly vary from the other. For instance, Owen likes his trains IN the bucket…Lilly? Well she simply does not.
• They are mutually terrible at playing hide in seek. Yet they continually ‘shhhh‘ the other like it’s their fault the adults always knowing where there are…

Can you spot the ‘hiding’ toddlers? Baby Ninjas, they are not.

Partners in mischief. Guilty faces never looked so cute.

Ideally, we would all live closer & be able to get these little monkeys together more often….so we could use them as our source of collective entertainment, of course

Likewise…to Lilly’s other adorable cousin, Mavado, who lives all the way across the country….whom we miss like mad…but that is another post entirely.

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We got there and firsts things first was to do a big reunion with Lilly and her cousin, Owen. They haven’t seen each other since Christmas and at only 6 days apart, they are very entertaining to watch. First protocol in toddler world is to closely examine the kid in front of you. This child may be your competition for all toys and motherly attention for the foreseeable future, so you need to fully size each other up. Once they had established that, they were able to go off and play together. Of course, playing at 19 months old is really just the art of finding creative ways to get whatever your playmate has.

They went through small moments of harmony mixed with little bits of the standard ‘she took my train’ cry (minus the actual words since they are both just learning to talk). I say ‘she took my toy’ cry because my kid did all of the taking.

Lilly definitely has the whole want-it take-it attitude down pat. Owen would at least wait until Lilly had dropped or set down the item, which was great. Sneaky as heck, but great! Lilly would just wait until Owen had it and rip it straight from his hands.

Cold, man, just cold.

Harmony…but only after enough diasours were found for everyone to have one.

It amazes me that when you put two kids together at this age to ‘play’ they really don’t want all that much to do with each other. Aside from stealing each other’s things, they really just have this concept of being in their own world and conducting their own business. Occasionally if the other child makes noise, they might look in their direction. If you tell them to go hug the other child, they will often do it, but you can tell that’s just to please you. If you ask them to give back the toy they just savagely stole, they look at you like your crazy, then comply at a snail’s pace. Hilarious. I really truly wish I could just hear inside their heads during all of this.

Owen: I’m not sitting beside her long enough for you to take a good photo. She steals my toys. Lilly: oohh look a dog! Owen’s dog, no less. (She’d take that too if she could)

Lilly: Listen kid, my mom says I have to hug you. Owen: Mommy, save me!

I think I find it most interesting because this attitude of self involvement is really only this strong in toddler hood. The rest of our lives we are eager to fit in and spend time with our friends. We will blow off family, school, giving into peer pressures and doing things we would never normally do, all in the pursuit of maintaining friendships. Yet as toddlers, we frankly could care less. I know that Lilly will not always be like this, and eventually I will have to deal with some decisions she will likely make to appease her friends.

I think ideally, we would hold onto just a touch more of this self-involvement throughout the rest of our lives. Might save us from just a few more of those adolescent mistakes.

PS. This photo has nothing to do with the subject of the blog. My kid trying to get maple syrup directly from the tree is just too damn cute not to post. A true Canadian girl

This is how real Canadians do it.

Follow @CrysWiltshire

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