Visitors

It seems like every year in May, we are spoiled with visitors and this year we have an especially full calendar. Last night, we had over our friends from Hong Kong. They said that their daughter Bella had been chatting all day about going to visit her friend Ella. Ella, of course, just gave me a baffled look when I tried to talk about it. BUT when they walked in, Ella immediately started shouting and dancing in circles in excitement. I couldn't believe that she really remembered who Bella was, although I don't know why. I think that since she looks so much like B, I just assume that she has inherited all this characteristics, one of which is a remarkably short memory (he will heatedly deny this, but trust me. I live with the man and I tell you, there are laboratory rats with better recall.) Anyways, they definitely remembered how to play together and had every single toy in the house emptied onto the floor in Ella's room within about 20 minutes. After that, they did laps through the living room/dining room, chasing and giggling, occasionally crashing spectacularly into the furniture and comparing boo-boos.

It was sweet to see that they there is a mutual adoration. Ella follows Bella around with big adoring eyes while Bella wants to try out everything that Ella has/does. So Bella, despite being perfectly used to the big potty insisted on using Ella's little one. Apparently she did an enormous poo and then tried to put it in the big toilet. I'll just cut this story short and say that we needed an entire back of Chlorox wipes and a change of clothes before she could leave the bathroom. Never a dull moment when these friends come to visit. Anyways, that is why in the photo Bella is wearing this funny hooded robe and Ella is in her pyjamas. If one girl got to be naked, the other immediately had to tear her clothes off. If one of them had to put on night clothes, well, we had better dig out another set tout de suite.

The night ended with both of them laying in Ella's crib, fighting over the duvet and reading story books. They are so sweet together and I am completely disgusted with the photos that I took. This is just about the best one and doesn't capture their cuteness at all.

It sounds like all we did was chase after dirty children all night and try to keep them from committing hari kari on the coffee table. Not at all. We parents had plenty of time to work through the three bottles of wine on the table. God, I forgot how much my liver works when I am with Elizabeth! She is as mad as ever. I found out that the broken foot she mentioned in one of her emails was nothing less than the result of falling off a bar at the end of a drunken night out. See this is what is the matter with my social life here in Paris- no one I go out with would be likely to have that injury. But, you know, I wouldn't even mind ending the night in the ER if it was for a good cause like drunken revelry. I have decided that I will be using up my next batch of air miles to fly out to Hong Kong, next time I see a promotion on flights. And if I don't come home on crutches, I will consider the trip wasted!