The house sure is quiet...

Yesterday during Kylie's nap I went through clothes that have been given to me (I have huge Rubbermaid tubs filled with great "hand-me-downs" from cousin Abby in sizes 2T, 3T, 4T and I'm now starting to get her 5T stuff!) trying to remember which brands run small to pull stuff out for this spring and summer. I was busy the whole time, so I didn't think about how quiet the house seemed (and weekends are usually a whirlwind for us) without Alexander until today.

Logic says that Alexander and Kylie shouldn't get along. Alex has been the "top dog" in his house all his life and pretty much digs being an only child in his house. Kylie isn't accustomed to sharing her caregivers and sure likes having mommy & daddy to herself. There are eight years between the two and their interests are worlds apart ~ Alex likes to study his New England Patriots cards and Kylie wants to bend them; Alex wants to play a modified version of 4 square and Kylie wants to roll the ball back and forth; Alex wants to play Ohio State "Buckopoly" and Kylie wants to wrinkle the money, move the pawns randomly, and throw the dice. Alex hates it when she cries, she hates it when he ignores her. I could give so many other excuses why the two "can't get along," but I have pictures to prove that despite the logical reasons that this young uncle and niece love each other dearly!

Kylie catches a ride up the hill at Reed Gold Mine.

"Can I have a scoop of that rice?"
Alexander helped cover and dig out several of her small toys.

"So do you think Baby Einstein videos made you smarter Uncle Al-e-dander?"
The farm one is the ONLY one Kylie will watch ~ they were both pretty worn out after spending the morning walking around the gold mine and chilled while I made dinner.

"What kind of bird is this one?"
Alexander patiently pointed out the birds in each enclosure at the Carolina Raptor Center.

Lost in the joys of ice cream...
Alexander kept saying, "Yep, she really is a Shultz, she loves ice cream just like Dad did!"

I loved spending an entire week with my little bro! Kylie enjoyed it too and by the end of the week had gotten pretty used to him being here. We had to call Alex on Saturday morning when Kylie realized that he wasn't here anymore. She got the biggest grin on her face when she heard his voice and said, "I woo ya Al-e-dander!" We hope he'll be back for another visit soon!