MMM – Page 52 – ~HB ADVENTURE~

Almost nothing has surprised me more about Maggie than seeing her with her baby doll. We have baskets and baskets of toys, puzzles, games and anything the poor girl could want, but time and time again she seeks her babies out and totes them around, loving on tehm to no end. Before she got “New Baby” for her birthday from my parents, she was smitten by a replica baby doll from my childhood, we named her Val.

Val has practically been cast-aside and New Baby has taken over. New baby is never, ever far from Maggie’s side, getting pushed, dragged, wrapped, rocked, hugged, traced, fed, and sometimes even washed. I am not surprised at how compassionate and loving Maggie is, but I am surprised at how careful and caring she is towards her baby. I’m not entirely sure, but I think New Baby has a bed time right around our usual dinner time. I say this because Maggie can often be found zig-zagging around the house with New Baby swaddled up, singing to her….if Barry and I notice this too much or ask about New Baby, we are looked at with the ‘can’t-you-see-my-baby-is-freaking-sleeping’ look. So we have to ignore them both and let Maggie put her baby to bed. It is beyond adorable.

Maggie also has a special voice that she uses when she talks to New Baby, I can’t quite figure out how to describe it, except to say that it is equally adorable. It is the same exact voice that she uses when she talks to Sydney. (Ummmm….it also might be the same voice that I use when I talk to Sydney…)

Slowly New Baby is becoming that toy that when it comes places with us – and you better believe it comes places with us – I worry what’ll happen if it gets left behind. As I kid, I would have freaked out if my Chicky Blanket (LOVE!) would have been lost, and Barry had his special dinosaur that now lives in our keepsake trunk. I don’t think Maggie is going to have any years-long attachment to New Baby, but ever since she came across New Baby in her stroller on her birthday, they’ve been the best of pals. (And I totally get it because I’ve got a baby of my own that I’m very attached to…)

We’ve become more watchful when New Baby is out in public with us and so far she has come home every time. Like Maggie, keeping clean clothes on New Baby is a challenge, especially since Maggie hasn’t quite figured out the dressing of New Baby. So, New Baby goes naked a bunch, we just have to ignore the dirt that she’s acquired from all the toting around.

Krista and her family are setting out on a new adventure this week – saying goodbye to their beloved Seattle and moving to Oregon. I’m not very good at saying goodbyes, they make me feel weepy and awkward, but I have an undying passion for new adventures and brave changes. So, I’m embracing Krista, Lance and Will’s new adventure and reminding myself that we’ll still get to be friends with them, just not as often as we’d like.

Way back in March, Will came and stayed with us while Krista and Lance hit the town for some dinner and smooth conversation. Maggie spent a better part of the evening rubbing Will’s silky hair and convincing him that jumping on the bed is the best thing to do when you’ve got your jammies on. They were a hilarious duo.

Before Krista and Lance left for the evening, they informed us that Will typically is in bed by 7 o’clock. Ummmm……what? We’ve hardly started Maggie’s bath by that time. So we did what any parent with somebody else’s child might do in the situation – we kept Will up past his bedtime.

And the kid rocked it out.

He and Mags took a long bath together, read books and basically reveled in having a counterpart to bounce energy off of. And then we set up Will’s pack and play and he was done for. After plopping both him and Maggie down in there – he just stared at her (and us) as if we were encroaching on his space, which we most definitely were.

After a few minutes of play time, we snagged Maggie out of the pen and said our night-nights. Maggie and I went to rock – starting our own marathon before bedtime, dang it – and Barry spied on Will around the corner because we could hardly believe that putting a kid to bed could be so easy. (Later Barry confirmed that, sure enough, Will sat and stared for a minute and then peacefully fell asleep. Amazing.)

While Maggie and I rocked she was fairly concerned about Will (“Wheeel? Night-night, Wheel?”) and I shushed her worries away telling her that Will was going night-night all alone (with Papa spying around the corner, so not really alone) like a Big Boy. I think she could hardly believe it herself.

Later that night Krista and Lance arrived on our doorstep with a fresh pie in hand, ready to retrieve their sleeping nugget. I was still working to get Maggie asleep at that point, but hearing them come through the door, I instantly decided to let Mags join us in our pie-eating-conversation-filled evening. I wasn’t about to miss out on spending some time with Krista, Lance & Barry.

We sat around the living room talking, eating and watching Maggie play by herself and slowly making her way to taste pie from time to time. Eventually it became late and Krista, Lance and Will had a drive to get home, so we started to say our goodbyes. Maggie watched as Will and his gear was packed up and loaded into the car.

She cried, probably because she was overtired, when they all walked out the door.

And the next morning when she woke up she instantly wondered where “Wheel” went. We reminded her that “Wheel” was with his parents and at his house. She seemed fine with that, but everytime we get together with Thomas, Gavin, Mara & Caroline, she wonders, with hope in her voice, if “Wheel” might be there.

It makes me extremely sad that I’ll have to be the one to inform here that “Wheel” isn’t going to be at the various playdates because he’s off on adventure with his parents. But since goodbyes make me weepy and awkward, I’m looking to the future – and Will’s coming adventures.

And who’s to say a road trip isn’t in our future?

Krista’s blog here