Sweet Bliss

Dharma, Vance, Fidget and Rosebud made a special visit for the weekend to meet our new niece!

Isn't she sweet? I love that dainty, little finger! Still no blog name for her...I keep calling her Sweet Girl, but that seems just too boring to me.

Fidget just LOOOOOOOVES Man-Cub.  And he just tolerates her affection, poor girl.

The new addition to the family is the perfect excuse for us to gather and for The Sisters to be together, something we live for!  Nothing can tear us away from the opportunity to spend time together, especially when all four of us can be there!

The lone boys of the next generation.  They stick together already.

The three of us who are married now have two children each.  And all of the cousins seem to enjoy each other's company almost as much as their mothers do.  They actually play very well together, even the older ones with the younger ones.

Gram and three of her grandkids.  Go ahead and comment about how she looks like she could be my older sister and not my mother!  Everyone does!

There's Mom, with half of her grandchildren.  I couldn't manage a shot of her with all of them, though I was keeping an eye out for the opportunity.  I don't think this shot does her justice and she'll probably hate that I've posted it here (but I'm not sure she understands what a blog is, let alone that I have one)!

Rosebud on a stop on her lap rotation; Little Man peeking out from under the table.

One of my favorite things about when we're all together is the sense of community.  It's a cliche' but I can't think of how else to put it.  If a child needs to be corrected, soothed, changed, helped with shoes or laces, helped out of a chair, fed or cuddled, the nearest adult just steps in and does it.  There are, of course, certain jobs that only Mommy or Daddy can do, but for the most part, we all look after all of the children together.  And there is always a sweet one to scoop up for a quick hug as they run past!

The new big brother!

And they really are quite happy, most of the time.  They have their moments, like all children, but for the most part, they are happy-go-lucky, obedient, well-trained children.  Truly a joy to be around and so, so easy to love!

While the adults talked and laughed, pausing to run after this child or that one, the children played, alternatively by themselves and with each other.  They sang us songs, showed us tricks--Little Man is particularly good at vaulting the overstuffed chair--and showed off reading skills--Rosebud knows most of her letters (spelling out L-E-D-S-E-P-P-E-L-I-N off of Daria's t-shirt) and the sounds they make and she's barely two years old.

Of course, with that many children around, there was bound to be some clutter!  But many hands make light work and cleanup took almost no time at all!

We knew we had to get a few photos of all of them.  We never know when we'll all be together again and the little ones grow and change so quickly.  But this was not an easy task...

It was a challenge getting them all to sit still!  And Redheaded Snippet is only pretending to lick the baby, not eat her (we told them they could act silly for a moment)!

The boys decided the photo would be better with their bottoms in it.  Of course they would.  And I'm sure this was Man-Cub's idea, leading his little cousin astray.

But finally, we got a half-decent shot of the six of them, red eyes and all!

All in all, it was a wonderful day!  Dharma & Co are coming to our house tomorrow to spend one more night with us before heading back home so we're looking forward to some more quality time--hopefully enough to hold us over until the next time we're all together, whenever that may be!