cousins

One of the reasons why Elliot and I moved to San Diego was that we wanted our children to grow up around some of our family. Of course we didn't have any children at the time but in theory, that is what we wanted.

Now that Ada and her cousins are old enough to recognize each other and play together, I really believe this is one of the best decisions we have made. Ada and her cousin Taylor hang out on the sidelines of soccer games weekly. They get to see each other every Friday night and every Sunday morning. They are both walking and babbling and have really started to notice each other. Whatever Taylor is doing, Ada wants to do; and whatever Ada is doing, Taylor wants to do. They are not gentle with each other either. In a world where everyone handles them with kid gloves, because they are, well, kids - it must be refreshing for them to be able to tumble around with someone their own size.

Ada also gets to see her older cousins Maia (3 yrs old) and Eric (only 4 months older than Ada) every Monday night. Ada has always been a lot more cautious at Maia and Eric's house than with Taylor and I figured it was because the kids were a bit bigger or the play rougher. It also seems to fit her personality more - observing and thinking rather than just taking action. Last week Ada very timidly started to play with Eric and Maia. This week, she jumped in with both feet. She seems to be really interested in both of her older cousins but in different ways. She likes to follow Eric around, getting into whatever mess he is in, following him around getting in his way. Her interactions with Eric are very similar to those with Taylor - more rough than you might expect from our little observer. With Maia, Ada approaches things much more carefully. She will examine what Maia is working on, will watch her and slowly try to integrate herself into the activity.

I have been lucky to be able to just sit back and watch a lot of this cousin interaction. The look of pure joy on Ada's face as she romped around with Eric last night was just infectious. I love that Ada is getting the benefit of a large family, especially since I didn't have to go through pregnancy and labor 4 times to give it to her. :)