Friends Forever.

Last week marked the last week Tanya and I are going to be swapping childcare. During the school year, I watched Maylee on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. She watched my boys for the day on Thursdays. I definitely got the better end of the deal because I actually got a day *off* and she had to work when Maylee was here. Plus I was adding one easy five year old and she got stuck with hyperactive boys, ages two and four. :) I think both of us thought the trade was even at the end of the day, but I'm gonna miss it like crazy.

Of course I'm going to miss my day *off.* But even more, I think, I'm going to miss Maylee. Or Matty's gonna miss Maylee. Or I am. Okay, we both are. They turned into such good friends this year. They're too little to know that "girls are cool, boys drool." They feed off each other creatively and I've loved watching them play. Matthew has learned so much from her the past year as well.

I hope we can find a way to make sure they continue to be friends. Now that Maylee is heading into kindergarten, she'll have a whole new set of friends. I'm hoping she'll continue to love to play with boys for awhile (all her best friends are boys, far as I can tell) so that their relationship continues to grow. They're only 16 months apart, so they can be there for each other their whole lives if they choose. Blood is thicker than water, right?

At any rate, it's been a pleasure. A gigantic THANK YOU to my sister-in-law Tanya for this past year. This has been an amazing year for me. In the midst of much change, I'm grateful for your constant presence. You're a rock star.

And to Maylee...come over anytime! We already miss you. XOXO

(PS I have a framed copy of this picture for Maylee...)