It Takes a Village...of Plastic Houses.

So, the Grandparents C have really done it this time. (Andrew's parents. Mine would never do something so audacious and defiant. ;-) ) Andrew's mama called and told us a big box was coming for Christmas. Knowing Andrew and his mother and their plastic playset war, I was confident it would be something large for the girls to climb on. Now, Andrew swears he hates plastic playsets, but I'm pretty confident he's bluffing to get his mom stirred up. (Which is also funny in itself, because if you've met Mom C, you know nothing stirs her up. So she can pass along plastic playsets all the livelong day without a backward glance.)
As the story goes, Andrew's mom had a playhouse in her yard and told me Lucy would love it. Lucy was about 15 months at the time. I thought it would be fab, but Andrew said "No way is that thing coming to our house." So Andrew's mom loaded it up and brought it up right away, of course. When we moved, Andrew said, "No way is that thing coming to TX." So I told the movers to make SURE it went on the truck. Of course. When it got to TX, Andrew stuck it out in the backyard, pronto. The girls played with it on the warm days, but it got pretty cold here, so they'd forgotten about it.

So the "BIG BOX" shows up. It is, indeed, a brand spanking new playhouse, complete with periscope and slide. Perfect. Andrew huffed and puffed and stuck the box in the closet. We decided to give it to them when we got back from WA. So naturally, our first night home was spent building the playhouse. Ever assembled a pre-fab home with a bush baby wrapped around your leg?
Upon seeing the bountiful assortment of plastic molded pieces, Molly's eyes lit up. She knew this would be especially fun.

And it was. Andrew shouted, "I think I'm ready to try for baby number three, honey!"

Well she just helped and helped and helped!

As you can see, Daddy LOVED having such an attentive helper.

And what happens when you realize that the Christmas present is way too big for your ten month old??

You bring in the house that fits HER, of course. (Take a really close look at this picture. This is Molly going over the slide at breakneck speed. Her knees are actually in the air. She was so excited that she was actually just nosediving over the slide backwards. I love this kid.)

So after buidling the new house, it's too cold to take it outside and too big for Molly. So we bring in the smaller house for Molly. We now have a neighborhood of plastic homes in our living room. Ohhhh Mom. You've really done it this time. The funniest part is that Andrew really couldn't say a whole lot about it. We had the space and we had absolutely no reason NOT to have a neighborhood in the living room. The girls were just tickled! Andrew and I had a very nice evening, just watching them fly around the living room, shrieking and giggling together in their houses.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! You've made our winter a whole lot warmer with your gift!