Transitions

I have two distinct groups of kids; my big kids and my little kids.  For many years I called the little kids “the babies,” until it was forcefully pointed out to me that (at around five) they were definitely not “babies” anymore.  At that point we tried several new labels and finally ended up calling them “the littles,” and I still often think of them that way.  But recently I’ve had a couple of moments that have shown me that they really aren’t babies anymore.

This beautiful picture taken by Melissa this fall makes that quite clear.



Then on Christmas night Rachel asked if she could play Likewise with us.  I was sure she couldn’t—she would never be able to

1. come up with an answer
2. that would match anyone else’s answer. 

But do you know what?  I was wrong.  She totally held her own in the game, and I was shocked.  Yesterday morning when I came downstairs for breakfast I found all of the kids—the big ones and the little ones—playing Likewise again. 

 

Sunday night Russ wanted to play Pictionary as a family.  I was pretty sure that was a bad idea. 

Everyone loved it, and everyone did just fine.

Tonight we had fun guests over for dinner and games, but they left a bit on the early side.  We were just getting going and really wanted to play “Things,” one of the games Cindy Lynn and Mahon got for Christmas.  Their friends gone, the little kids came in and asked if they could play Things with us.  Once again, my first reaction was was to tell them that they weren’t old enough.  But someone else said sure, they could play.  And once again, I was SO WRONG!

The game of “Things” is easy to play.  Each card has a statement on it that starts with the word “things.”  Each person writes their answer on a strip of paper.  The reader reads all the papers and everyone takes turns trying to guess who wrote which idea.

Out of everyone playing, (me, Russ, Cindy Lynn, Mahon, Jason, Erin, Rachel, Jenna, and Jared), Mahon and Rachel matched the most answers to the person that had written them.  Rachel!

And their answers were generally not “10 year old answers” either.  It was hard to figure out which ones they’d written, and which ones were written by the rest of us.  Here’s a sample for you.
From Rachel:

Things firemen do when they’re not fighting fires:
”Dog makeovers.”

From Jared:

Things you wouldn’t say to a police officer:
“When I grow up I want to be a terrorist!”

From Jenna (who seems to be developing a lovely snarky sense of humor!):

Things you wouldn’t say to a new boss:
”Can I have the day off for like ever and still get paid?”

Things you shouldn’t do right after eating:
”Swimming—doesn’t everyone know that?!?”

Things that will keep you out of heaven:
”Not dying, duh!”

Jenna hid her very expressive face behind a box during parts of the game so that people couldn’t guess her answer because of the expression on her face. 

I guess my babies really are growing up!