How to Terrify A Child

How to terrify a 2 year old in one easy step: Approach a large white bunny. 

Pay no attention to the friendly smile and spring-themed vest. 

Abject terror! Cling to Mommy with all your might.

The Easter Bunny is tolerable when positioned on Mommy's hip away from said creature. The 5-year-old sister gets a little more brave ... just a little.

Watch very carefully to make sure the Easter Bunny does not abscond with your sister or your Mommy.

After we left the area, Brooke was much more brave. (Talk is cheap, little girl!)

Talk about the Easter Bunny non-stop until the next activity:
Kinley: "Do you think it's the real Easter bunny when it's wearing shoes?"
Brooke: "Easter Bunny no talk to me!"
Me:  "Did you like the Easter Bunny?"
Brooke: "Yes!"
Me: "Really??!!!"

I happened to find a photo of Jill with the Easter bunny from 1991. She would have been between her 5th and 6th birthdays, just like Kinley today. 

Jill - 1991 (about Kinley's current age!)

The photo was in a promotional book from Crayola that we must have gotten when the Easter Bunny visited Elroy's in Stafford. Do you think Kinley looks just a tad like Jill?

Brent would have been a little older than Brooke in this photo from 1991.  (I'm sure he'll be thrilled I found it ... and shared it!)

The little kids who turned out to be Uncle Brent and Mommy seem  more comfortable with the big old bunny than Kinley and Brooke. But who really needs the Easter bunny to bring eggs when you can make them yourself? We don't need a big old rabbit to get ready for Easter. We just need Mommy and Grandma! 

These plastic egg wrappers were some of my favorite egg-decorating accessories back when Jill & Brent were little. We always decorated eggs and added them to our Easter egg tree. The egg wrappers are snuggled around eggs, dipped in boiling water and are instantly beautiful. 

They worked back in the "olden days," too! Here are Jill & Brent with our Easter tree.

However easy the plastic wrappers are, it's just not Easter without the smell of vinegar in the colored water and dye on little kids' clothing!

"I do it!" was a common refrain.

When Jill & Brent were little, we blew out of the innards of the eggs so they could be saved each year. Jill did that, too, though she's not a saver and the eggs will likely not last past the holiday.

Brooke's reactions of joy are just as big as her reactions of terror!

A spring day is also good for a trip to the playground.

You have to work on your muscle strength to get ready for those grueling egg hunts coming up later in the week!

It seems climbing playground equipment is not nearly as terrifying as meeting the Easter bunny ...

... even when your sister is rocking the "boat."

We were glad to get in on some pre-Easter fun!

How Do Giraffes Sleep? (And Other Google-worthy Questions)

"Why do fish like worms?"

"How do giraffes sleep?"

 "Why does rain fall from the clouds?"

Inquiring minds want to know. At least, 4-year-old minds do.

I kept Google at the ready last week when Kinley and Brooke visited the farm for a few days. Brooke is talking more all the time, but I'm not getting rapid-fire interrogations from her - at least at this point.

Her sister more than makes up for it.

When I was noticeably pregnant with Jill at the Kansas State Fair many, many moons ago, an encyclopedia salesman who was angling for a sale asked me how I'd be able to answer my child's questions.

"How will you answer, 'Why is the sky blue?' " the intrepid salesman queried.

Who would have thought I'd be able to type a nonsensical question into my phone and come up with an answer in seconds. Not me.

Kinley's interests evolve as quickly as the questions, it seems. Because she's currently interested in space, we included a trip to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. 

She says she wants to be an astronaut and a Mommy.  Maybe there will be a sister team in space, who knows?

On second thought, that rocket looked really, REALLY big, Kinley decided.

Maybe Grandpa could visit Kinley on the International Space Station. He might help out with the scary parts.

Astronauts have to be in good physical shape.

Kinley got in a workout at the Hutchinson Zoo's spider web, besides checking out the animals.

Or maybe we'll have a veterinarian in the family. Both she and Brooke liked the baby kittens. (Thankfully, Grandpa found the newest litter of kittens just the day before the girls arrived.)

But they liked the bigger cats, too. Brooke appeared to be figuring out the proper ratio of feed. Kinley liked getting reacquainted with her favorite cat, Cozy.

Zoos (like Rolling Hills Zoo near Salina) need veterinarians, too.

Little sister seemed more interested in the transportation field. She wanted to push the stroller - not ride in it.

In the meantime, Kinley watched a little family make their way across a pond. "Oh! They're so cute," was quickly followed by, "Where are they going? Why? Can those babies swim that far?"

I thought of the age-old "Why did the chicken cross the road?" But I did my best to answer.

Or maybe we'll have a chef or two ... or at least a couple of good cooks.

During this trip, we also visited the Hutchinson Public Library. I read a couple of Berenstein Bear books and two Amelia Bedelia tales multiple times. We also checked out a book on space and several others, too. Grandma is ALWAYS willing to read.

We made potholders for Mommy's Mother's Day gift and we decorated foam door hangers. We also decorated frames and included photos from the girls' trip to see Grandma and Grandpa.

The girls and I watched the guys round up some more mama cows and their babies, and Kinley helped deliver them to the pasture.

Little sister wouldn't get in the photo.

We took the short drive to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. We gave wide berth to the wildlife there - a snake on the trail! And we also tried to keep away from the bird droppings.

We visited the Stafford Mercantile for ice cream after fishing. We played in the Stafford City Park, which is across the street from where the girls' great-great-grandparents lived when Randy was growing up.

You'll just have to take my word for it. I didn't get photos of everything. (Hard to believe, right?!) 

Sisters!

No good Mommy or Grandma makes comparisons. Honestly, we girls seem to do enough self-evaluating as it is: Is she prettier? Is she smarter? Do people like her better? And on and on and on.

So I realize I am on shaky ground when I put newborn photos of Kinley and Brooke side by side. But I also know how my memory fails me. In many ways, it seems much longer ago than 2.75 years that Kinley was this itty-bitty. I'm used to a big girl who asks questions right and left and blows bubbles on the back deck.

So, yes, this Grandma did the unthinkable: I found a photo of Kinley wearing her Powercat stocking cap and took a similar one of Brooke. Kinley weighed just less than 6 pounds when she was born, and Brooke was 7 pounds, 6 ounces. So there are some differences in size. Still, I do believe there is some family resemblance, don't you?

I also did the same dolly experiment I did with Kinley, though I got Brooke her own doll. (Every little girl needs her own Dolly.) On the first weekend of Kinley's life, I took a photo with a doll my parents gave her. During her first year, Kinley and Dolly starred in several photo shoots (here and here, among them.) I started the same tradition with Brooke last weekend. I'm guessing her Dolly will do a fair amount of "shrinking" this next year, too. (And, again, I think there is some family resemblance in these two photos, though some differences, too. 

FYI: Brooke's doll is a little shorter than Kinley's.

I know all about family resemblance. I am the oldest of four children. I became a big sister to Lisa at age 15 months. I was 4 when my second little sister, Darci, was born, and 9.5 when my brother, Kent, arrived. 

I could give Kinley lots of advice about being a big sister. (No comments from my three siblings, please!)

A big sister is part of the welcoming committee to this big old world.

It's good to share toys and make sure the younger one is well-entertained. It keeps both of you out of trouble.

It's advisable to be a good helper to your Mommy and assist with important things like hat placement and fetching needed items.

Mommy's and Daddy's budget gets a boost when sisters share clothes and shoes. (That works for a while anyway.)

They look less alike in these photos: Brooke is on the left and Kinley on the right.

It's important to know every aspect of diapering so that you can be Mom's righthand girl when the time is right.

But most of all, you just have to love them.

As I drove back home this Sunday evening, I tried to remember the words of an Irving Berlin song called, "Sisters," from the musical, "White Christmas." I think there's some truth among the lyrics.

Sisters, sisters

There were never such devoted sisters ...

I'm there to keep my eye on her

Caring, sharing

All kinds of weather, we stick together

The same in the rain and sun

Two different faces, but in tight places

We think and we act as one

Those who've seen us

Know that not a thing could come between us.

Selected lyrics from Irving Berlin's song, "Sisters, Sisters"

I hope it's true for Kinley and Brooke. (There are some lyrics that deal with men coming between sisters, but let's hope it's a good long time before any of that happens.)