Playing with Rachel and Michael

Hello! This is Cindy. :) Nellie is still waiting for her operation, but I think she's sure to be okay! Don't you think so? Today I got to look after Catherine's little sister Rachel, and Carrie's brother Michael. They're four and five year old, and they're really cute! I love playing with them. :)

Anna let Rachel play with her doll Inga for the day, and she just loves her!
We started off playing Snakes and Ladders for a while, and Michael won most of the games. Finally, he and Rachel got a bit tired of it, so we decided to find something else to do instead.
"What shall we do, Cindy?" Michael asked me while I packed the game away.
Rachel got up and ran to the window.

She could only just see over the windowsill if she stood on tiptoe, and she looked sadly out at the grey clouds.
"We can't go outside..." she told me, with a sigh. "It's all rainy."
I thought for a few seconds, and then I had an idea. "Do you want to play with a ball?" I asked.
"Yes!" Michael and Rachel cheered together.
"Alright," I said, and I went to fetch a ball. I sat down on the floor with it and explained what we were going to do. "Rachel, you sit over there, and Michael, you sit down there, and we'll roll the ball between us, and catch it. We have to say who we're rolling it to before we push it."
"Okay," said Rachel, as she and Michael sat down.
"Can I roll the ball first?" asked Michael.

Rachel didn't seem to mind if he went first, so I said he could, and rolled it to him.
"Can I start?" he asked.
"Yes."
"I'm going to roll it to you, Cindy!" he said, and cheerfully rolled it over.

"Are you ready Rachel? I'm rolling it to you."

 Rachel caught it, looking very happy, and then a bit confused. "Who do I give it to?" she asked.
"Anyone you like," I told her.
"I'm giving it to you, Michael!"

We played 'rolling the ball' for quite a while, but eventually Rachel and Michael asked if we could play something else.
"Alright. What do you want to play?"
While they thought, I got up and put the ball away.

"I think we should play dolls!" Rachel said when I got back, hugging Inga.
"Nooo," Michael groaned. "I don't wanna play dolls."
"What do you want to play?" I asked.

 "I'll show you." Michael got up and ran out of the room.
 He came back in a moment and sat down again.

"I want to play with the parachute-man!" he said happily. "It's got a tiger!" He was holding a little parachute toy that Carrie gave him yesterday - the parachutist was a cute little tiger instead of a soldier, like they normally are.
"I don't wanna play parachute. I want to play dolls..." Rachel said, frowning sadly.
I wasn't sure what to do, but then I thought of something they would both like.
"I have an idea," I said smiling.

"What?" asked Rachel.
"I'll show you in a moment."
Rachel watched me with great curiosity as I went over to my bed and pulled a book out from under the pillow. It was a book of little prayers for children, that I was given when I was little, and I knew it had lots of beautiful pictures inside that Rachel and Michael would love.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It's a book of prayers. And it's full of pretty pictures. I'll read some of it to you, and you can both look at the pictures too."
Rachel smiled. "Yay!"
"You sit on the edge of the bed, and move up a bit, and I'll come and sit next to you so you can see the pictures."

 

"Come on Michael," I said, patting the bed on the other side of me. You come and sit here and we can look at the book together."

Michael got up and came to sit next to me.

I opened the book, and they both leaned in to see the pictures.

They liked the little prayers, too, and we spent ages sitting there and reading, until the early afternoon, when they went back with their sisters. :)
I had a lovely Saturday with Michael and Rachel. I hope you had a great Saturday too! :)

Kirsten and Molly's Sleepover

Hello! I'm Nikki (the dolls' owner, not the doll :)). Last night, Kirsten invited Molly to come round for a sleepover, and I took some pictures! :) He's the story:

Kirsten was anxiously pacing up and down at the door, waiting for molly to arrive.
"Where is she?" she said to herself. "She said she's be here less twenty minutes from now!"
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Kirsten ran to open it.

"Molly!" she cried. "You're only fifteen minutes early! What happened?"
"Hello!" Molly smiled. "I'm sorry. It's freezing cold out there, and it rained all morning, so it's very muddy."
"That's okay! Come on in and take off your sweater."

"Thanks," said Molly, as Kirsten closed the door.
"I like your outfit," said Kirsten.
"Thanks. Yours is pretty too."
"Thank you!" Kirsten said, blushing a little. "Give me your sweater to hang up." Molly handed her the sweater.

"What've you been doing today?" asked Molly.
"Oh, not much. How about you?"
"Same," Molly smiled. "What should we do?"

"You wanna go outside?"
"But it's dark!"
"It's fun to go out in the dark sometimes!" Kirsten laughed.

"Open the curtain," said Molly. "It's also freezing out there, and if you take a look you won't wanna go out anymore!"
Kirsten pulled back the curtain and they looked outside.

It was a cold, dark night.
"You're right!" said Kirsten. "It does look cold! Alright. How about we play some games?"
"Like what?"

"Come on, I'll show you. I'm sure I've got something in this drawer!"
"Okay. What's in there?"
"Just some junk and things... Ah! Here it is!"
"What?"

"These cards and pick-up-sticks!"
"I love pick-up-sticks!"
"Great! I do too!"
"Can we pay snap with the cards?"
"Sure! Which first?"
"Cards!"

They went to the table and sat down, and Kirsten opened the cards.
"You wanna deal?" she asked.
"You can. I'm too slow.

"Alright." Kirsten divided the cards evenly between them. "You start," she said.

Molly picked the top card off her pile.

"Ooohh! Nine!" said Kirsten.

She put down her card. It was also a nine!

"Snap!" they both yelled as fast as they could. They laughed.
"I think you won that, Molly," said Kirsten.
"Okay, thanks!" Molly took the two cards, and they each put down another one.

Soon they were tired of playing snap.
"Should we play pick-up-sticks?" asked Kirsten.
"Yeah!"
They packed away the cards, and Kirsten took to rubber band off the pick-up-sticks.

She let them fall into a pile on the table.
"You go first," she smiled.

Molly took a stick from the pile, careful not to move any of the others. Her second one knocked the pile, though, so it was Kirsten's turn.

She took quite a few before moving any others.

When Molly picked up the last one a while later, they counted their sticks.
"I have nineteen," said Kirsten.
"I have fifteen. You win!"
"Yay!"
"Fair enough, since I won most of the snap games," Molly laughed. "What should we do now?"
"Well, we could - oh, no! It's getting late!" Kirsten said, looking at the clock. "We'd better get ready for bed or my mom'll come and make us!"
Molly sighed.
"Alright," she said.

"My bed's big," said Kirsten, "so we can both fit in it."
"Cool!"
"We'd better get changed."

"Alright," said Molly. "Wait a minute! Oh, no! I forgot my nightgown!"
"You did?"
"Yes! I left my bag back at my place!"
"Okay. Don't worry. You can borrow one of mine!"
"Are you sure?"
"Of course! I'll just go get one."
"Oh, thanks!" Molly, sighed, relieved.
Kirsten ran to her closet.

She came back in a minute with a pretty nightgown over her arm.
"Is this okay?" she asked. "It's a little summery, but I've been wearing my warmer one."
"That's fine! I just don't wanna sleep in my clothes!" The girls laughed.
"Here, then." Kirsten handed Molly the nightgown.
"Thanks!"

They started taking off their day-clothes, and Molly got a little tangled up.
"Molly," Kirsten giggled, "you look funny!"
"I... can't... get... this dress... off!" Molly mumbled from under the dress.
"I'll help!" said Kirsten, pulling the dress over Molly's head.
"Thanks!" The girls took off the rest of their things and put n their nightgowns. "Can you button the back for me, Kirsten?" asked Molly.

"Sure, if you can do mine!"
"Of course I will!"
"Good then," said Kirsten, doing the button on Molly's nightgown.

When she was done, they turned around and Molly did hers.

"Thanks," said Kirsten, pulling the blanket aside. "Do you want my ragdoll, Rebecca?"
"We can share!"
"Okay. I'll leave her in the middle then, so she can be between us... Which side of the bed so you want?"
"I don't mind."
"Well, I'll take the wall-side, so if you need to get up you won't have to wake me up first."
"Okay."

Kirsten climbed into bed.
"You get up now," she said, wriggling to the far side.

Molly came up after her, and they pulled the blanket up.

"

"Molly?" said Kirsten.
"Yes?"
"Goodnight."

Molly yawned.
"Goodnight, Kirsten," she smiled.

They lay back, and, after their long day, fell straight asleep, and didn't even stir when Mrs. Larson came in and turned out the light.

And then the room was dark...


BEHIND THE SCENES NOTES: If I ever thought that making a photostory was easy, I don't now! For the picture where Molly remembers her nightgown, I had to climb under my bed! Then, Molly fell into Kirsten, so I had to get out and pose them again, and then I didn't like how she looked, so I tried to pose her from under the bed, and she fell again! I went under the bed for the 3rd time, and, bumping my head and then lying flat (chin included) on the floor, realized I couldn't take the picture at a good angle from under the bed, because it was too low, but out of the bed was too close! That's why it's such a funny angle. Also, the truth is, she was meant to have a nightgown, but I forgot her backpack in the first photos, and my camera was running low, using the last batteries in the house, so I couldn't take unnecessary pictures. Instead, I decided to have her forget it and borrow one of Kirsten's, lol! :)