Poor Cooper. He doesn't yet understand the holiday that is family. He doesn't get why anytime someone we love dearly visits there is nothing short of a parade here. He doesn't quite get all the yelling and shouting and hoopla that surrounds a person arriving at our front door. He knows when the door swings open and someone familiar is standing there he is happy and smiley but he is quite distracted by the jumping blurs that are his sisters flying around the house like deflated balloons. But he will. Oh he will. Although from what I have observed Cooper is a quiet observer. Of course this will change in some ways. He is after all a boy and at some point all that boyness will explode out of him, but I can tell already he quietly observes.
Today my sister Becca is in town for a race this weekend and for visiting! My girls feel a special bond with her because of the different points she has actually lived with us or been close enough to be over all the time and they remember that. They feel it when she's gone. And oh how they love her.
Whenever a promise of family visits happen, my girls full of love for this individual spend a day (or a week...or however long before hand) in preparation gearing up and getting visibly more excited. The day of they trade time, noses pressed to our front windows waiting for that moment they first spot the loved one. And when that happens...the excitement here is electric. And I love that they are always so excited to see our family. I love that we have such a wonderful family on all sides and good relationships with all, that whoever it is visiting receive this same over the top fanfare welcome and they are so very genuinely excited to see them and spend time with them. Of course once you actually make it in the door (which sometimes takes awhile) they spend the first hour or so talking like an auctioneer and trying to show you every item they own or wrangling you into reading 20 books to them in one sitting. But oh how they love you dear family. It's really just a matter of time before Cooper catches on or at the very least gets swept up in it all. You think it's crazy now...just wait. :D
