These Dean Days: BFF weekend

As Olivia gets older, Matt and I are realizing that the conversations we have and the lessons we have to teach continue to get more and more difficult. Part of the body, animal sounds, the alphabet? Easy peasy. But, lately we have dealt with difficult topics like dying, bullying, and how to be a friend. These are some of the parenting moments that I love/hate the most! Friendship has been a constant topic this year and it doesn't seem to be getting any easier. The idea of "best friends" and that you can only have one "best friend" is something that I know I struggled with when I was younger, so I am really trying to help her figure that out. We try to show her that we have lots of "best friends" that all help us in different ways and we try to teach her what it means to be a friend.

And, we started this weekend off with a great example of what it looks like to be a "best friend" - we met up with the McGuires at “our ranch” (as Olivia calls it) on Friday. The weather was perfect, so the kids had a great time running around outside, enjoying Uncle Lloyd’s bbq, and just generally being crazy kiddos.

A few stories for the memory book –

We were all taking a golf cart ride and Olivia was commenting on how much she loved “our ranch.” Matt mentioned to her that it wasn’t technically hers but if she married Harris then maybe it could be. She replied “Well, I won’t marry him, but I will go on some dates with him.” When we asked her what a date was, she responded “It’s when you go out places.” We then asked her where they would go, she replied “India….London…..Japan.” So, clearly poor Harris has his work cut out for him. (And apparently Olivia was paying attention to all my travels at ExxonMobil!) But, sadly he will never get to marry her as apparently that spot is reserved for her friend Cate!

Olivia and Harris have really started to play well together. There were several stretches of time where the 2 of them were off playing together quietly and nicely. Well, they were in the “kids room” where there are some bunk beds that have some pretty high, steep stairs on them. We told the kids that they could not climb up them without a grown up. All of a sudden we hear Olivia scream “Aunt Jennie!! Harris needs you.” We come in to see Olivia on the top bunk and Harris at the top of the stairs, scared and unsure how to get up or down. He asked Jennie to get him down and she told him that he could do it and urged him to turn on his belly and get down, while she stood right there. He looked at her, considered the option, and then looked at me and said “Aunt Persis, can you help me?” Parent shopping at its finest!

The kids were arguing over some coveted orange golf balls. We suggested they figure out a way to work it out on their own. I didn’t think they would be able to find a better solution than the one we previously offered (they each get 2 of the 4 balls) but, they really tried to figure it out. They went into the barn, told us to leave, and talked about it. If you’re thinking this story ends with a genius, kid-generated solution, you’d be wrong. They came out 2 minutes later and informed us they still weren’t ready to share.

But, one thing these 2 both agree on is that "screen time" is a wonderful time. Olivia likes to share her love of all TV shows with Harris and Daniel Tiger is one they both love. The daddies took the kids on an early morning golf cart ride on Saturday morning and apparently when Harris started singing the theme song, Olivia quickly joined in and they serenaded the dads the rest of the trip.

After being outside all day, all 3 of them desperately needed a bath. Baby Win got in and out of the line of fire pretty quickly, but Harris and Olivia enjoyed a longer bathtime. I was in the room supervising, but they were in their own world playing and talking. The conversation came around to them realizing their different “parts.” I won’t go into all the specifics but the discussion included this little gem by Olivia: “Harris. Repeat after me. Peeeee. Niiiissss. Now you say it.”

For some reason they were trying to pick each other up. It didn’t go well, but they both thought it was hilarious.

Then on Sunday afternoon, we had more "best friend" time when we went to see the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid with Cate and Emma. Cate’s mom did a special “Little Mermaid” lunch for the girls beforehand that was absolutely adorable.