My house in empty. Rooms that once held sleeping babies have reverted to mere storage units. My kitchen cubbards are full of dishes and there are more than enough forks to go around. Even the dishwasher sits idle, waiting for a load.

Unc-a Dan and Auntie Suzy are back home and Tutu and Papa are in LA leaving Leina and I to our own devices. While they were all here, it was chaos. Eating in shifts, shuttling kids to and from parks and stores, trying to nurse the sick one and keep the other two entertained with different toys. Chaos. But it was also wonderful.

Yesterday, as Kevin and I sat down to a very quiet and docile dinner, I told him that I understand now the benefit of having a big family. There’s a kind of chaotic love that only manifests itself when you have siblings and cousins and aunts and grandpas running around under the same roof together. As my due date approaches, Kevin and I had begun to wonder if maybe we’ve messed up a good thing. Leina is so happy and easy. Adding another girl to the mix will mean disrupting our lives and well oiled routine. But after this family visit, we realized that sure, it’s tough to have siblings, but there is also something magical about family that outweights all other burdens. So bring on the little sister!

Leina adored her cousins. Daniel was sick the whole time and pretty much stayed on the sofa with a parent and some kleenex but Leina still found him fascinating. She’d go up to say “hi” and ask how he was doing. At one point she told him to “wait” while she went to get something to make him “feel better.” She rummaged around in the other room and returned carrying Daniel’s favorite stuffed animal, Spot.

Sammy was a ball of fire. He ran about, babbling in his big baby voice, and showing Leina all kinds of neat tricks she didn’t think about before. Like climbing up on her kid table, playing with sticks, and pounding on the sliding glass door with various objects. One thing we quickly realized is that Leina is quite the bossy boiler (to quote Thomas) and she adored mothering Sammy. She would direct him where to sit, or run after him to make sure he had his hat on outside. She did pretty well with sharing but there were the unavoidable pulling matches which I thought here pretty darn cute. Usually, Sammy would win and toward the end he’d learn to grab and run. Of course, Leina’s running commentary helped. Once, Leina watched Sammy playing with some plastic worms. She must have decided she wanted to play with them too because suddenly she announced, to no one in particular, “Weina gwab it” and then she proceeded to do just that. Adorable.

Leina also adored Unc-a Dan. She would lie her head on his lap and rub his leg with unfettered affection. Auntie Suzy was the song lady who could amaze Leina with a song for just about every situation. Papa retained his title of “silly” and Tutu introduced her to her latest favorite book, The Hungry Catapiller. I can’t even count how many catapillers I have drawn to date but I will soon pass my previous Frosty record at this rate.

Yes, bringing our whole family together was a recipe for disaster that turned into a resounding success. Don’t know when it will happen again, but I sure am grateful that everyone took the time and hassle to come and visit. And, as Leina asked me this morning after seeing no one downstairs to greet her, “back soon?” To which I could honestly reply, “I sure hope so.”