Older Friends

We had a pool party last weekend with several of our neighbors & the girls had a blast. It was kind of a last minute thing, but 2 other families came over & 2 of their daughters are the girls that Sadie plays with the most. 1 of the girls, Presley, is 1 year older & the other girl, Hadley, is 2 years older. Most of the time Sadie will tell you that Hadley is her best friend:

 

And this is a good thing & a bad thing. It is great because she literally lives across the street so it is very convenient for them to play & they play together great. Plus, we get along great with her parents so I always enjoy visiting while the kids play. And they are a great Christian family so I have felt comfortable letting Sadie go over there by herself.

 

The bad thing? She is 2 years older :( And she has older siblings so she is much more mature than most of the kids Sadie hangs out with. Unfortunately, she has learned a few things I wish she hadn't yet, but I guess that's going to happen, right?

 

Sweet Presley is right in between the 2 of them so honestly when they all 3 get together they normally play ok. Until this weekend. Sadie learned how to "copy" people you know, where she follows them around, says what they say, does what they do, etc. Unfortunately, Hadley & Presley did not think this was fun & kept calling Sadie a baby & asking her to stop doing it. It wasn't anything major but Sadie got her feelings hurt a couple of times. Like I said, these situations are bound to happen sometime so they are definitely learning experiences.

 

On a different note, Presley's tooth fell out while she was eating dessert so that was a positive learning experience for Sadie! She thought that was pretty cool getting to see the tooth & learning about the tooth fairy :) I didn't get a picture of Presley after, but here she is with her sister Kiley before:

 

 

Like I said, Sadie didn't sulk the entire time. I checked on the kids one time & they were playing soccer - boys vs. girls:

 

 

Presley & Sophie were the cheerleaders on the swing because they didn't want to participate in the soccer game. But almost everyone took turns jumping off the grotto:

 

 

Kiley & Sophie stayed in the pool & splashed around instead. We are so thankful to have great neighbors who we enjoy spending time with & feel safe around. And I am so glad Sadie & Sophie have built in friends who live close by - even if I get nervous about the things she will learn from her older friends!