Hazel & her sister

I have a little sister too! She is a little bit younger than me. Since I've had my own daughter, and now she has a little sister...I have been reminded of my own little sis. Honestly, I was not always kind to her...I guess I was a pretty crappy big sister. On the rare occasion we would get McDonald's I would trick her by inviting her to play a game of "who can eat their food the fastest", she would naturally gobble her food down asap...and I would then proclaim, "ha ha" while I slowly ate the sum of my meal slowly in front of her complete with exaggerated "mmm mmm" sounds to make her feel especially bad. I would never include her, never wanted her around...I was so mean. I still feel really bad about it...I mean I missed out on having a built in best friend however now we are best buddies and I am trying to be the sister I never was. I have since realized what a bond we have...she is my little sister...I should be trying to watch out for her. Ally is now one of my most trusted and lovely friends...I adore the woman she has grown into.

Anyhow, I digress....Hazel and Jade are seriously the most precious sisters ever. Hazel is completely in love with her sister. It's weird because I never had to teach her this...I never had to say..."hey, this is your sister and you will love her!"...she just does. My favorite is when she wakes up and sees Jade on the bed and grabs her and says with her most adorable sleepy voice, "I love you Jade (sounds like I la uuuuu Jade). Now Jade is always slightly annoyed by this because she has inherited her Daddy's love of sleep and hates to be woken up. Equally adorable is how Jade cracks up at Hazel...Hazel (aka Maniac) has a personality that cannot be described. She is crazy, flamboyant, full of life, silly, funny....and Jade loves to just watch her and laugh. I don't know if the girls will one day decide they hate each other, I hope not, but I'm so enjoying seeing them love one another and be close. The each have such distinct personalities and we are trying to teach them to love one another and to be friends...

Here are some pics of Hazel & her sis. It's really amusing because Hazel tries to emulate her sister by taking on some "baby" behavior. My favorite is when we recently visited the park, I placed Hazel on the swing then decided to try out Jade on the swing. I was reluctant because she is still a little baby. Once Hazel saw Jade pushed up to the front of the swing, she immediately did the same and made her limbs limp just like Jade.







Here is Hazel pushing her sister's stroller, something she loves to do.


Here is a pic of Hazel & Jade in their wagon getting ready to go over to the library...





Yes, Jade is buckled in! I was a little apprehensive so I put the pillow behind her to help prop her up and it turned out great. Hazel was so excited to ride in the wagon with her sister and Jade was very content as well.



Joe thought it would be fun to put Jade in Hazel's doll stroller (probably not manufacturer recommended...shhh) and Hazel was ecstatic. Notice how Hazel looks really stoked and Jade has that "why God why!!" look on her face (this scenario is pretty much the norm in our house)









I love these kids, they are great...I am so excited to see them grow and really want them to grow up to be great friends. I know they will have their disagreements but I really want to emphasize how special it is to have a little sister even if I didn't realize that until I was an adult as far as my own little sis goes.





I love you Ally, my own little (28 year old) baby sister!!