Mara and Katelyn

This weekend, we experienced another parenthood first. It seems that each child gives you different challenges, different struggles, even different joys. I would put this latest development in the category of funny stories that I never want to forget...another reason I love this blog and the way that I can quickly freeze these little moments in time to be able to remember when the kids are bigger and I somehow can't remember all of these little things that, right now it seems impossible that I would forget. 

Sunday afternoon Mara started referring to Katelyn and talking about her in very detailed descriptions. She has been extremely vivid in her imagination lately- even having temper tantrums about not being able to go to school for a tap dancing show she needed to be there for. She even carried her "tap shoes" with us to church in the hopes that I would take her to her school after church. But Katelyn was a new one. She told us she was 4 and had purple hair. She was drawing pictures for her and asking us to take her to deliver them to Katelyn.  We dismissed it as pretty normal imagination type stuff- we are no strangers to the imagination stuff. Remember all of the long hours we sat on the stairs while Joshua recited lines from The Polar Express at this same age?  Or all the days I spent being the Green Goblin from Spiderman?  But this was a new one. 

On Monday when I came home from the office, I was immediately greeted with information about Katelyn. Apparently she was coming for supper. When Grandma opened the garage door to leave for home (happily, by the way since apparently this Katelyn talk had been going on all day long) Katelyn came inside. After that she ate dinner with us (we had to get her her own chair after Lauren caused all manner of calamity by apparently sitting on top of her...quite a risk when no one besides Mara can see her.). She had her own plate too. Of course. She got tubs with the girls and even communicated through Mara that the water temperature was too hot. She decided to stay overnight and shared Mara's pajamas and her bed. In the morning, we learned that she snores. 

I will be honest and tell you that while I am amused. I don't know if this is normal 3 year old behavior or whether we are dealing with some sort of problem, but it seems innocent to me at this point.  So far it is very comical and has had all of us literally laughing out loud in recent days. 

Who knows how long Katelyn might be with us. But hey...welcome to the circus, Katelyn. Make yourself at home.