Countdown to Cousins

I'm not much of a risk taker, but I took a big one a few weeks ago. I told Louis that his largest bunch of out-of-town cousins would be coming to town to help celebrate his birthday.

It's a risk because we're headed into November. We have to worry about illness and--apparently--weather. The cousins have been sick and shoveling out over the past few days.

But telling Louis they're coming next weekend is a risk I'm willing to take. After all, the anticipation of the cousins' arrival is just so much fun.

Their last visit--the weekend of Michael's baptism--is still fresh in our minds.

Cousin visits are sort of like a trip to the beach, but without the sand and water. Last time Julia, Gregory, Mary, and Paul came, we even had costumes to try on.

Do you recognize the rat? Neither did his little brother.

Louis was so intrigued by Michael's response to the rat costume that he asked to wear it over and over again. I was struggling with whether I would be a worse mother if I didn't let Louis wear the costume he loved because it frightened Michael or if I let Louis scare Michael with his costume on Halloween night, and then we noticed Louis was having an allergic reaction. His face was getting terribly itchy and staying that way long after we took the costume off. Sad as this was to discover, it made the decision easy. Louis is not a rat.

He was briefly disappointed but quickly moved on to a ghost costume--which he was content with until he changed his mind on his costume this morning. Thank goodness for cousins and their hand-me-down costumes. But I can't tell you what they're wearing tomorrow night because that may still change.

What won't change is our enthusiasm for the approaching cousin visit.

We'll see Paul, who shares our boys' appreciation for vehicles...

...and Mary, who has developed an interest in Pleasant Goat--or at least one of the characters...

...and Gregory, who would seem like a superhero even if he hadn't just turned 7 and lost a tooth on his last trip to town...



...and Julia, who is empress of Chimerica, the country over which Louis and Julia co-reign. Last time I checked, they even have a national anthem.



Michael doesn't know they're coming. At least I don't think he does, even though he understands quite a bit. But he enjoyed the last visit thoroughly. He made buddies with Paul.



They bonded over stickers.

Well, not just stickers, actually.


See, Paul happened to have this bag of M&Ms.



Paul is a fourth child--and used to sharing. Michael is used to maneuvering in to get what he wants. What does he want? Whatever food is nearest. M&Ms are a particular favorite.


It was the beginning of a sweet friendship, although one of the Ms in this picture looks a bit disappointed, perhaps.

Don't worry, though. Mary has plenty of fun when the cousins come to town.

And so does a certain almost-birthday boy we know.


Yes, we're pretty excited around here. In fact, it's hard to tell whether Louis is more enthusiastic about the actual birthday festivities or the cousins' arrival. We're counting down to so much--Halloween, Louis's birthday, Michael's birthday, and Christmas.
But the cousins' arrival? That's first.

And, as long as everyone stays healthy and we don't get any more of this odd early snowfall, we're sure to have a weekend of fun.