Sister Wives, Walking Blankets, and Cupcakes

I have just a few hours left to post in the month of June. We were in Flagstaff, AZ, for a month, and it was pretty heavenly as vacations go. Perfect weather--cool nights and mornings, bright sunny days. We saw the Grand Canyon (big, pretty). I got to see JS and Erin and Miss Abi, whose eyes really are that blue! I read a bunch of novels for pleasure. April and I discovered the Wildflower Bread Company, which is in the category of Panera but puts Panera to shame, and vowed to sample each of their beautiful baked goods (yes, we can! and we did). April babysat me as much as the girls, as she kept me company when Sam was out on several trips to remote areas to do some photography, and when he was working on a book project that lapped over into our vacation time by a bit. April is pretty much the fifth Fee, adored by all. By the girls because she can make everything into a fun game (even fingernail clipping! I am in awe). By me because she effortlessly managed to keep the toys under control, unload the dishwasher, clean up after dinners, and keep the laundry going (without being asked to do any of these things). By Sam because having her around meant he and I could check out the movie listings and decide to leave the house to see a movie that began in 30 minutes (an unprecedented level of freedom). I began calling her "sister wife."

Plus we stayed in this big house with a professional kitchen and a bathroom that was the size of our master bedroom at home, which was fun. Most of the toilets even had their own rooms, which was interesting, and surprisingly useful because Gillian could hang out in the bathroom without running her little hands all over the toilets all the time.

While we were there, Gillian started really walking. She'd taken steps before, but crawling--her odd little crabby crawl with one knee down and the other leg swinging wide in a big gallumping step--was still her preferred mode of transportation. Now, however, she walks everywhere, and our videos from the trip show her transition from slow, uncertain shuffling, to active toddling. She also developed an addiction to chocolate milk while we were gone. I've tried diluting it gradually, but when I got past a certain point, she handed the cup back to me, said, "All done," made the baby sign for "more," and then said, "Chocolate."

Allison Clare also took a step forward while we were gone--she figured out how to undo the zippers on her little tent bed, and since Gilly was in the Pack-n-Play, we started letting her sleep in a big-girl bed in their room. She would take the opportunity to roam around the room before she got back into bed to sleep, and occasionally she would fall asleep stretched out in front of the door, like a very lazy and ineffective watchman. Since we've been back, I've let her sleep on her mattress on the floor instead of in her crib, telling her that she could sleep there if she stayed in her room, but that if she came out of her room, she'd have to go back into her crib. Today after an hour of naptime, I heard two sounds from upstairs, wondered about them, then distinctly made out the sound of a door closing. I went upstairs to discover that she had left her room, had dragged a pillow and a laundry basket from our room, and was racing back to her room covered entirely in a blanket, like Caspar the Friendly Ghost. I think she thought that because she was under the blanket, I wouldn't see her; I'd just be like, "Hey, there's a blanket walking around."

She loves laundry baskets. She likes to sit in them--always has. There was a round one at the vacation house; she sat in it and piled a blanket on top of herself in a dome and announced that she was "being a cupcake."