Oh to be 3 (. . . going on 4)

The life of a three (almost 4) year old is filled with wonder, awe . . . and teenage angst? There are days when it seems Maggie is 3 going on 13. One minute she is laughing and having fun, the next she is crying with her lower lip out so far she might actually trip on it, all while yelling at me that she will never speak to me again. It is a constant job to keep her busy but not too busy. Boredom and over-stimulation lead to equally large meltdowns.

After a few weeks of fun with her cousins, Maggie, Zoe and I went to the lake for a visit with Grandma and Grandpa on Lake Hubert. Maggie usually enjoyes reveling in the one on one attention she receives at the lake, but this time she really missed the constant activity of her cousins and their neighborhood. The first full day here we got out all of Maggie's toys including her tea set, dolls, bean bag toss game, books and puzzles. Grandpa made the driveway safe to ride her tricycle and scooter. He also readied his boat for a ride around the lake. We pumped up the tires on Grandma's bike and the trailer so I could ride it to Nisswa a few miles away. After peddling my way, trailering Maggie, to Nisswa, playing tea party, reading and puzzling with Maggie and joining her on a boat ride, I decided I wanted to sit and check my e-mail. 

Grandma and Grandpa had played a ton with her and needed a break as well. Maggie did not like this idea at all. After I told her for the 3rd time that I didn't want to play dolls, she looked at me, rolled her eyes, threw head head back and indignantly cried - YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED WITH ME ALL DAY!  As she stomped her foot, crossed her arms in front of her, and pouted, I thought to myself, boy she needs a friend to play with today. What I said to her was "HUH????" and  proceeded to review the day with Maggie, pointing out all the things we did together. I also glanced at the clock to see if it cocktail hour and/or bed time yet. Unfortunately, Nope. What are we going to do???

Enter Lilia. A few cabins down from my parents place their friends, the Holbrooks, reside. Jay, Maggie and I have spent some wonderful evening chatting with John and Mary Holbrook. Often, those conversations revolve around Lilia, their grand-daughter who lives in Germany. She and Maggie are a lot alike. They are both almost 4. They both talk like 8 or 9 year olds. They both keep all adults on their toes. We always finish the conversation saying one of these days we'll have to get the girls together.

Fortunately, on this trip, we are all at the lake at the same time. The very next morning, (yes I made it through the night, after swimming in the lake with Maggie and Zoe, and then somehow making it to her bed time) we called the Holbrooks to see when Lilia could play. Thankfully, she needed some playtime too. Though still jet lagged, Lilia came over for a few hours of playtime with Maggie. The girls ran through thousands of bubbles generated by the Gazillion Bubble Machine (one of the best inventions around, in my opinion). Then they worked on puzzles and played with the kitchen set. 

Then we really got into it and made M&M cookies. The girls helped put the ingredients in the bowl and then, after I scooped the dough onto the cookie sheets, the girls added "the right" amount of M&Ms on each cookie. 

Once we cleaned up the kitchen, it was time to head back outside for another round of bubble dancing. This time the girls wanted to use the sand toys to scoop and pour water while I made Oobleck (a science experiment from my teaching days). By the time Lilia went home, both girls

 were worn out! 

The girls decided a few days later that they would like to play together again. This time we went to Lilia's house. There, the girls hunted for toads in the window wells, caught fish in the lake and watched them swim around in a washtub. They made large Lego compounds, played with puzzles and chased each other around the house. Much time was spent keeping toys away from Johanna, Lilia's younger sister, but it was all part of the fun. Then Lilia's dad, who is a chemist, made Glup which is like Silly Putty. After all that activity, the girls began to feel a little grumpy and we decided it was time for lunch. Both girls wanted Macaroni and Cheese - not surprisingly. Fortified for the afternoon the girls decided to try their hand at Turtle Racing in Nisswa. 

                                

While neither of the girls won their heat, both had a blast. They cheered their turtles on like champions and consoled each other over a large chocolate ice cream cones.  

If it weren't for Lilia and her family, I might have lost more of my mind. Not only did I walk away, both days, with a tired and mostly sated girl, but I also got to chat (albeit with many interruptions) with Jill and Thorsten, Lilia's parents. It was great getting to know them and their daughters. Hopefully we can coordinate our vacations to lake in the future and spend more time keeping the pouty lips at bay.