cousin weekend

One thing I know for sure that Bridget loves: her cousins. And watching her when she's with them is just hilarious.

Our "cousin weekend" started on Friday. I was holding Bridget so she could look at the pictures on the fridge and she pointed to the picture of Noah. I asked her, "Can you say Noah?" and she said it. Over and over and over again, Friday and Saturday. She's got this nasally tone when she says it, and drags out each syllable. I even got her to say it on the phone to Erik and Meaghan (Noah had already gone to bed).

On Saturday, cousin Andy graduated from high school and we went to a late dinner with the family. We didn't make it all the way through (Bridget started getting fussy when she got really, really tired—it was already about 9:30/9:45, and she usually goes to bed by 9:00 pm), but before we were seated, she was having a ball being goofy. At one point, I was holding her (this time so she wouldn't launch herself off of the bench Al had been sitting on with her) and we were standing right in front of Neil, who's, um, twelve? Thirteen? Somewhere around there. He really likes Bridget, but he's also shy, so when we're all around he doesn't really interact with her much. But Bridget is such an extrovert that she was saying hi and talking to him so much that he couldn't help but be drawn in. He made a face at her and stuck his tongue out at her and that did it. Instant giggles (actually, more like guffaws in terms of her levels of laughter). She did it right back, too, of course. The next few minutes there were lots of funny faces, laughs, and tongues sticking out between the two of them. And when we got seated and Neil ended up at one end of the table (at the head) and us at the other (foot?), she looked down, saw him, and started laughing and sticking her tongue out at him from there. She'd laugh even when he wasn't looking at her. She just loves Neil! Too bad I forgot my camera that night.

On Sunday, Bridget was in a great mood all day. We ate breakfast, went to get dad from the hospital, dropped him off and went to get his meds, and then went back to his house for the afternoon. Ryan, Rachel, Ella, and Lily came over late afternoon/early evening, and when I asked her who was here, she went to the door and started pounding on it and yelling, "Da-daaa!" over and over (lately, she's been calling everyone that, including me sometimes, even though she definitely knows who Al is—I think it's just easier for her to use the same name for everyone rather than learn how to say all of those names). When they got inside, the first thing she wanted to do was to hug Lily, but Lily was sleeping. Boy, was she happy when Lily woke up. She wouldn't stop patting her shoulder, hugging her, and kissing her. (Sometimes she was a little too enthusiastic and we had to tell her to be "soft"—those hugs can be killers!) Later, I got to play hide and seek with Ella. We got down dad's flashlight and went hiding in the bathroom down the hall with the lights off and Bridget, Lily, and Ryan came to find us. When Ryan would open the door, Ella would scream and laugh, Lily would laugh, and  Bridget would scream in delight (my daughter can be LOUD!). We had so much fun! At one point while we were hiding, Ella turned to me and said, "Hold me!" That's when I took the pictures of her that you see here. She must have been upset with me for leaving because she wouldn't hug or kiss me goodbye. But it made me feel great, because I got to play with my niece and knew she had fun.

Post cousin weekend (yesterday), I had some of those, "Awww!" moments with Bridget. Walking through Costco and pushing her in a cart, I leaned over and asked Bridget for a kiss. She wouldn't kiss me but reached out to hug me instead, patting my bag and holding on tight, giving me a good long hug. And she kept doing it. I'd pull away, she'd put her arms out again. So there I was, walking through Costco bent over the cart and hugging my little girl (good thing they're big, tall carts and I'm not six feet tall!). I'd say "I love you" or kiss her on the forehead and she'd do it again. This even continued at home—she was eating dinner and suddenly wanted to reach out and give me a hug, and when I pulled away and said "I love you," she reached for me again. So sweet! But now I've really got to work (sigh). Til next time.