Frenemies

My sister used to say that her daughter and my other sister's daughter were "best frenemies," because they loved being together, but they sure would fight a lot during the process. 

It must be a little girl thing. 

My sister-in-law was diagnosed with preeclampsia about 30 weeks into her pregnancy, which meant strict bed rest, which also meant that we got the pleasure of hanging out a little bit more with my niece Shasta. 

Meili and Shasta love being together, and they miss each other when they're not together, but sometimes it's hard to share and play nice when you're 2 and the only child in your family.

In the midst of the chaos, we sure had fun together!

 They look like they could be cousins usually, but when I dress them in almost matching jackets, the resemblance is even more striking.

 We had a pajama party and watched The Princess and the Frog. I promise this is the only time they sat down all weekend. But they sure are cute!

 Poor Shasta got stuck with the mismatched "pretty dress." She didn't even mind. As long as sparkly shoes, and a crown were involved, she was fine.

...And a random picture. Meili put the face on her Mickey Mouse pancake "all by herself." I thought it was picture worthy. (Note: Meili didn't realize chocolate chips were a necessary part of pancakes until she spent the night at Grandma's.)

Baby Animal Days

I think Meili's picture of heaven may be paved in manure.

Or at least it looks very close to this.

We went to Baby Animal Days at the American West Heritage Center. Petting animals, riding horses, and a train... 

Ah... paradise...

Holding a baby turtle. (I swear, she's not my child.)

 The Credit Union pays to have the baby bears come each year, so we got a little private viewing of the bears-which, I guess, meant less people standing in line with us. They were pretty cute though!

 Meili woke up that morning saying "Baby bears!" She was so excited.

 This is what all the pro jockies wear.

 She was not happy to get off the pony!

 No, this is not Meili. I rode with my niece so her dad could take pictures.

We just had to let her ride the pony one more time!

Treehouse Museum

My mom got tickets for Christmas for all of us to go to the Treehouse Museum. I went once before with a few friends, and I just have to say that I love all the things they have for kids to do. Meili loves that she gets to just play for hours without me telling her not to touch something, not to spill something, not to stand on something etc. 

With all of the craziness in my family lately, we were missing two of the sisters. But luckily, all the little girls got to go. Sadly, I was the only one who brought a camera-so sorry to all involved. You get what you pay for.