On Monday mornings when I do the bulk of our laundry, I am impressed again with the differences between 5-7 year old girls and 4 year old boys when it comes to the number of outfits they go through. While Micah has to be made to change out of his playclothes before putting on pajamas (More than once he's gotten ready for bed and appeared back downstairs with bulging legs and middle due to the playclothes under his pj's. It's so much work to take clothes off apparently.), I am constantly trying to monitor the girls' changing outfits and make sure they came out of the "not-so-dirty" stack rather than fresh out of their dressers. I've told them they can change as often as they like as long as it's dress-up clothes or from the playclothes basket where we stick clothes not dirty enough to wash, but not fresh enough to go back in the dresser. Somehow their laundry basket still gets ridiculously full each week, spilling over, in fact. I guess part of it comes from my being overly cautious about germs when we've been out in town or to the doctor's office. The clothes worn there go straight to the dirty clothes and they get to pick out another outfit. And Lissy starts out with various layers of pj's on at night because here little silky nightgown/slip is so pretty and girly (and one must look pretty and girly, even for bed), but too cold to be worn by itself. That requires it to be put over a shirt, and then of course you need pants. But sometime during the 15 minutes before she falls asleep some pieces get shed and lost in the covers or under the bed. I do make them fold their own clean clothes (I help a little with the difficult ones) and put the away. Camie seems to be catching on to the cause and effect of changing often=more folding.
I have a friend whose oldest three children are boys, and she's commented that she's made it a rule that they have to check with her before changing outfits. But, being boys, they don't really change just because after lunch they like the blue shirt better then the grey one. Her 4th born is a girl and is 2 1/2. I'm just waiting to see if she's as easy to keep in one outfit as the boys are. I've heard other moms of boys say that constant clothes-changing wasn't a problem in their family...until the girl was born. Then, as soon as the little thing learned how to get her pants and shirt off she was trying on new outfits, changing shoes, dressing up, etc.
And today our oldest discovered something maybe even better than changing your own clothes: changing your little sister's clothes.
Camie and Cassie were upstairs while I was on the phone with Grandpa Morris. I could hear Camie talking to Cassie as she wiped her face and arms with a washcloth (not sure why), then it got quiet. I walked quietly upstairs the way my mamma used to when she lived here and I was a little girl playing at something a little too quietly, and I peeked in Cassie's room. Camie was holding up shirts for Cass to choose from. I started to tell her not to change her clothes, but thought, "Why? It's one outfit, Cassie's is probably wet from the face/arm washing, and this is great that Camie's learning how to take care of her little sister." Besides, I remember going to a friend's house as a kid and loving to pick out clothes for her little sister and dress her.
A few minutes later, Camie escorted her model downstairs and told me Cassie "forced her" to put those clothes on her. I think that meant that Cassie was a little opinionated about which ones went on her, not that Camie was disinclined to dress up her own live "doll".
And she looked adorable. Camie had brushed her hair and put a bow in it. I usually keep Cassie's hair in a little ponytail on top of her head or on the side just to keep her curls out of her eyes. So to see her with it down and brushed so nicely made her look like the two-year-old she's about to be. It was sweet to see these two sisters together: Camie, loving being the big, older sister, and Cassie thrilled to have the attention.
Camie let her wear the bead bracelet I'd made for her (Camie) from a bracelet kit Mam gave her to keep her occupied during her two-week recovery. I felt a little weak when I saw "10,000 BEADS!" written unapologetically in large letters across the front of the box. Only one major spill has occurred so Matt and I figure we're down to about 8,000. A much more manageable number.
She reminds me of her cousin Claire in the picture above. I think it's the forehead and mouth, for those of you reading this who know the cousin.
Such a big (and terribly cute) little girlie.
Camie gets to watch extra movies since she can't swim or ride bikes or anything fun like that while she's recovering. She and Cassie were enjoying one together while Micah and Lissy swam.
This was taken a few days ago. I bought popsicles to try to give Camie something to swallow without hurting her throat. It's a good thing I bought a big box, since the other three like them too.
I'm a sucker for pictures of kids taken from the back. That's convenient, because usually they are walking away from me by the time I manage to get the camera out. But I love how they're so little next to those giant doors.
Just hangin' out together....eating big sister's popsicles.
I have a friend whose oldest three children are boys, and she's commented that she's made it a rule that they have to check with her before changing outfits. But, being boys, they don't really change just because after lunch they like the blue shirt better then the grey one. Her 4th born is a girl and is 2 1/2. I'm just waiting to see if she's as easy to keep in one outfit as the boys are. I've heard other moms of boys say that constant clothes-changing wasn't a problem in their family...until the girl was born. Then, as soon as the little thing learned how to get her pants and shirt off she was trying on new outfits, changing shoes, dressing up, etc. 
And today our oldest discovered something maybe even better than changing your own clothes: changing your little sister's clothes. 
Camie and Cassie were upstairs while I was on the phone with Grandpa Morris. I could hear Camie talking to Cassie as she wiped her face and arms with a washcloth (not sure why), then it got quiet. I walked quietly upstairs the way my mamma used to when she lived here and I was a little girl playing at something a little too quietly, and I peeked in Cassie's room. Camie was holding up shirts for Cass to choose from. I started to tell her not to change her clothes, but thought, "Why? It's one outfit, Cassie's is probably wet from the face/arm washing, and this is great that Camie's learning how to take care of her little sister." Besides, I remember going to a friend's house as a kid and loving to pick out clothes for her little sister and dress her. 
A few minutes later, Camie escorted her model downstairs and told me Cassie "forced her" to put those clothes on her. I think that meant that Cassie was a little opinionated about which ones went on her, not that Camie was disinclined to dress up her own live "doll". 
And she looked adorable. Camie had brushed her hair and put a bow in it. I usually keep Cassie's hair in a little ponytail on top of her head or on the side just to keep her curls out of her eyes. So to see her with it down and brushed so nicely made her look like the two-year-old she's about to be. It was sweet to see these two sisters together: Camie, loving being the big, older sister, and Cassie thrilled to have the attention. 
Camie let her wear the bead bracelet I'd made for her (Camie) from a bracelet kit Mam gave her to keep her occupied during her two-week recovery. I felt a little weak when I saw "10,000 BEADS!" written unapologetically in large letters across the front of the box. Only one major spill has occurred so Matt and I figure we're down to about 8,000. A much more manageable number. 
She reminds me of her cousin Claire in the picture above. I think it's the forehead and mouth, for those of you reading this who know the cousin. 
Such a big (and terribly cute) little girlie. 
Camie gets to watch extra movies since she can't swim or ride bikes or anything fun like that while she's recovering. She and Cassie were enjoying one together while Micah and Lissy swam. 
This was taken a few days ago. I bought popsicles to try to give Camie something to swallow without hurting her throat. It's a good thing I bought a big box, since the other three like them too. 
I'm a sucker for pictures of kids taken from the back. That's convenient, because usually they are walking away from me by the time I manage to get the camera out. But I love how they're so little next to those giant doors. 
Just hangin' out together....eating big sister's popsicles. Thanks for praying for Camie. Today was the best day she's had. She was able to eat even better, and wasn't so cranky from the pain. Still using pain medicine throughout the day and night, but hoping to cut that back soon. We go back on the 19th (Cassie's birthday) for a checkup. Praying she'll get the go-ahead to run and play to her heart's content.
~~Rose
2 comments:
So glad things are going well...LOVE the fashion sense that Camie has...she and Julia are more and more alike these days. And yes...Julia has far more clothes in the laundry than either of the boys; glad I only have one girlie girl:) Love ya!
I enjoyed reading about the girls. It was sweet to seem Camie and Cassie together. I am sorry about the l0,000 beads, but you can't buy a beading kit without a lot of beads in it!
Post a Comment