The Next Best Thing

A couple of weeks ago, my mom (Grandma Brenda) and niece (Lily, who you may remember from these - here, here - posts about embarrassing, Hallie-esque situations) came to visit. They only stayed for four days, but during that time they attended Will's elementary school's Field Day, Hallie's preschool graduation, Will's elementary school's spirit night at McDonald's, Will's last baseball game, Will's end-of-the-baseball-season wrap-up party, Will's end-of-the-year field trip, and a good friend's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. They also went with Hallie and me on three long walks, to four garage sales, to lunch at Chick-fil-a, and two trips to the park. Tagging along with your cousins is tough work for a three-year-old! At least she didn't poop on floor next to the Macy's Clinique Counter on this visit...

Everywhere we went, people assumed Hallie and Lily were sisters, which made sense because even though they look nothing alike, 1) there was only one mom and one grandma with them, 2) Lily looks as much like me (or as much NOT like me) as Hallie does, 3) they have similar personalities, and 4) I dressed them identically every day.

I can't help myself. I loved growing up with a sister, and because neither Hallie nor Lily will every have a sister, my sister Sara and I are trying our best to make sure Hallie and Lily grow up close in relationship, if not in proximity.

Here's the story of Hallie and Lily's visit, told through their matching outfits.

On the morning of Grandma and Lily's flight,
in Illinois, Sara dressed Lily in this outfit.

And in Texas, I dressed Hallie in the same outfit.

Lily told EVERYONE on the plane that she was visiting her cousins and, as a
result, many travelers enjoyed watching this matchy matchy reunion in the airport

They even wore matching pajamas.

They tried out their new 4th of July outfits for the field trip.

And their unicorn rainbow outfits coordinated nicely with their
matching Knuffle Bunnies for garage sale-ing and playing at the park.

They matched at Hallie's preschool graduation, though Lily
WOULD NOT wear little shorts to cover up her underwear.

All dressed up for a little shopping, a birthday party, and a photo bomb.

A casual look for the park, along with a second almost-photo bomb.

If you look really closely, you'll notice that their hairstyles, while mirror images of each other (Hallie's hair parts on the right, Lily's hair parts on the left), always matched as well. Yes, I'm a super dork.

I hope that one day these two little girls look back fondly on growing up as cousins. I hope they remember how much fun they had playing princesses and ponies and dress-up. I hope they remember how they loved to sing and dance (while wearing their matching leotards, courtesy of Grandma Brenda, that I missed capturing in photos) and perform duets of all kinds. And yes, I hope they remember that way back when, they actually enjoyed wearing matching outfits.

I also hope Hallie and Lily recognize that, even though they grew up nearly 1,000 miles from one another, their mamas did the very best they could to build the foundation for and then foster a strong, supportive, and life-long relationship between the two of them…that their mamas did the very best they could to give them the next best thing to a true sister.