making my kid friends.

remember when bella met her BFF? it was a match made in heaven (or, hawaii, technically). except that bella kept trying to rip lia's face off. still. they loved each other.

this weekend, for the 4th, our friends came home to savannah. we are only about 2 1/2 hours west of there, so we JUMPED at the chance to visit!

this time, bella got to meet the whole family. ariyah played with bella, and kept asking her, "are you ok, bella?" and asking me what she could play with. i met ariyah right after she was born. and i instantly fell in love with her. over the next few months, i watched her begin to get personality. when everyone was done laughing at a joke, she would start to giggle. she would roll her eyes with the panache of a well seasoned 16 year old (at the ripe old age of 4 months). she did everything early, and i was as proud of her as i would be my own child! when she got a little older and could talk, i would walk in the door and she would say "hey jushy. where's joel?" i would tell her and she would say, "where's duke?". if joel would walk in the door, she would say, "go away, joel!". that's my girl.

jasmine, the middle baby, loved bella too. she would come over to me and say, "bella. bella. bella." and point at her. yes jas, that IS bella! then she would go hug her. we never got to know jas very well, because we all moved away after she was born, but now i see her sweet personality. she is sensitive, and when her little sister cries, so does she. she loves to snuggle. and she wants people to know what she is trying to say.

i don't know what kind of deal my friends made, because after these two, they were blessed with a 3rd little girl. bella's bff. natalia. this girl is intense. when she wants something, you know it. when they first met, bella would grab her face, her feet, her bib. this time when we put them together, lia could actually escape bella's attempts to eat her face. except, bella would chase her down and grab her diaper and make her sit back down.

it must be that whole first child thing. bella will be a bossy girl. just like her momma.

so we did what every mom friends do that have babies close to the same age. we put em in the tub! and they loved it for about 3 minutes. until bella got soap in her eyes and screamed.

they splashed and squealed. they were babies. in a tub. it doesn't get much cuter than that.

except when they have their jammies on.

hopefully, one day we will be stationed with our friends again and we can watch our kids grow up together.

---------------------------------

we did other stuff in savannah too. whenever i think of georgia, this is what i see

streets lined with giant old trees and spanish moss.

usually it's a dirt road. and big old houses. of course, i *know* all of georgia isn't this way. sleepy little towns, steeped in history and class. georgia peaches, who taalk liiike thiiis, whith that southern drawl. who call it "jaaaw-ja" and say y'aaaall.

i think i'm in the wrong era. but for a couple of days, that's where i was. walking down the cobblestone streets, with a nice tall glass of sweet tea.

now, back to reality. diapers all over the floor, waiting to be stuffed, and dirty dishes in the sink.