Lots of Cousins

Yesterday was a day of cousins for me. First cousin, Sue; second cousin, Maria; and third cousins, Cordelia and Elise, traveled a couple of hours over from their town to visit my Auntie Grace (their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother).  My mom and I got to spend some time with all of these ladies at my aunt's house.  This was a complete girls' day, ranging in age from 6 months to it's-not-polite-to-say.

It was a lot of fun to see them, but I missed out on quite a bit of the conversation.  It's okay though, because I was being entertained by the cutest 3-year-old girl on the planet.  Her name is Cordelia, and she is a whirlwind! 

Cordelia, with mom, Maria and baby sister, Elise in the background. It's kind of amazing how well this picture turned out, since Cordelia was in motion, turning her head from side-to-side. I'm so glad my cell phone's camera has good stop action!

Usually when we get together, Cordelia takes awhile to warm up to people she doesn't see often enough to know really well.  I may get a shy hello, or nothing at all.  But now I know the secret!  Before the gathering yesterday, I was looking for a certain book, and came across a couple of sticker books.  I don't know for sure where they came from, but I suspect they were some freebies that came with some other things I'd gotten when I worked at the elementary school.  Since they're geared for preschool aged kids, I never used these sticker books.  I thought they might be something Cordy would enjoy.

When we arrived at my aunt's house, I gave the books to Cordelia, and she quietly worked on them, with the help of her Grandma Sue, for quite awhile.  When she started to get bored with the books, quiet time ended!

Cordy had decided I was safe (bribes do work!), and she proceeded to hug me, squeeze me, kiss me, and climb all over me.  I was pretty much her jungle gym.  She giggled constantly and was the silliest little thing, but we had a lot of fun.  It's been a long time since I was so thoroughly wrestled by a small child.  My own daughter is now 15, but when she was 3, she was the same kind of active ball of fire, and I kind of miss that.

For a short time before they left, I managed to get some sweet time with the baby girl, Elise.  She is cute as a button!  Too soon, it was time for them to go.  Their return drive was planned to take place during afternoon nap time, so when the little girls started showing signs of winding down, they loaded up into the car and headed home.

While the party was a short one, it was a good one.  I love all of these cousins of mine, and was glad to get to see them!