Thank you, Cousin Lizzie

The previous photos are the result of our attempts to get an Xmas photo of the kids for our Xmas cards. Going into this process, I envisioned tons of photos in which we tried to get the kids to sit still and/or to stop fussing. Luckily, they were both in a pretty good mood so we got a good series of shots. The ones above are a teaser since the best will be coming in our cards.

But the important news is that baths have become much more pleasant lately, at least for the oldest kid. In the past, baths have been a real chore - lots of crying and fussing with repeated complaints about soap and other stuff in the eyes. But recently, baths have been much more pleasant. I attribute the change to Margaret's cousin Lizzie. When we were last in Philly, Margaret and Lizzie took a few baths together. This was lots of fun and involved dumping water on one another. In the past, Margaret has not viewed this as a pleasant pastime, but when her older cousin does it, it's a lot of fun. So now, when we dump water on Maggie's head, we say "Like Lizzie!!" And Margaret not only finds this acceptable, she actually enjoys and encourages it. Thus far, this hasn't extended to other events (e.g. eat your broccoli - Like Lizzie!), but we'll see.