Toddler pandemonium with guest star, Sonia

My sister, Erin, and her 21-month-old daughter, Sonia, came to visit this week!  The three kiddos got along like three peas in a toddler-sized pod.  The kids are finally old enough to really play together without super close parental supervision/direction, so we got a glimpse into the future where Erin and I can hang out and relax while our herd of kids roams around together.  

It was especially fun to see them pretending together, like when Charlotte and Sonia put themselves "night-night" on the couch together not long after Erin and Sonia arrived.

The rescue center slide was a big hit with all three kids.  It was surprising how well they (usually) took turns.

We did lots of exploring outside.  Sonia has been cooped up inside for a long, snowy winter, so she loved romping around in the grass.  The temperature got into the low 60s one of the days, so she was in heaven!  She especially adored following Connie the dog around outside.

Charlotte and Sonia conquered the mall playground together.

Sonia got to hold her first ice cream cone!  I think she liked it.

Then again, she also seemed to enjoy eating Peter's shoe.

Sonia tried dressing up as a fairy and decided she kind of liked it.

We must have gone outside to romp around at least once a day.  Such a nice treat after the cold winter we had!

Sonia met Charlotte's friend, Madison too!

While Charlotte was at school, we took the two little ones to Peek-a-boo Playtown.  Shhhh -- Charlotte still doesn't know we went without her.

Kids always put firefighter hats on backward!

At one point, Sonia grabbed a big plastic T-Rex and announced "snuggle!"  She then carried him around for quite a while and took him on several adventures.

Hey!  Does anyone notice that I'm drowning in a sea of plastic balls?

Such a sweet little smile on that girl!

If Peter could talk, he would have said "me too!" about a million times this week.  He was always about two steps behind the girls and desperate to join in on whatever they were doing.  Like here, during pants-free story time on Charlotte's bed before bath time.  Poor little guy.

We had such a wonderful time with you, Erin and Sonia!  We promise to come visit sometime very soon.