When Karl first received the call to Trinity, we visited Davenport 3 or 4 times to go house hunting or just get to know the area. We would always stay with the Warnsholz's because they welcomed us with such open arms. One Saturday morning we went to brunch with the Warnsholz's daughter and her family. We knew that Matt had once taught at our school and giggled at the idea of seeing "Mr. Schmitzer" again. We soon fleshed out that Matt was also a Frankenmuth native and rolled our eyes at the small world of the LCMS. At brunch, Jill and Lois brought up the idea of me watching their youngest daughter Hallie a few days a week. At the time I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my time at home, but eventually came to the conclusion that it would be good for me to watch her a few days a week just to help out with finance stuff and to give June a playmate.
It is hard to believe, but those first few months were tough. Hallie cried a lot and I learned early on how committed and persistent she can be. (Loyal and stubborn are two other descriptors I might use.) She was nearing 3 years old and June was only 10 months, so there wasn't much for them to play together. I struggled to entertain them and the thought definitely went through my mind that I wasn't cut out for this parenting thing. Eventaully, we worked it out. Hallie started to play independently much more and then started to take an interest in June. We really looked forward to Hallie days because she definitely livened up the house.
This is September 2009 - I remember this being a challenging picture to take. From early on, Hallie acted the part of older sister. I remember teaching June to crawl backwards down the stairs in those first months of watching Hallie. I can still hear Hallie's worried voice ringing through the house, "Backwards, June, go backwards." She was so worried that June would forget to go backward that she would start telling her to go backwards before they got within 5 feet of the stairs. I used it mainly as an early warning system to pinpoint at what point I needed to get upstairs to help the girls come down.
November 2009
December 2009 - As June became more mobile, she started following Hallie everywhere. I remember playing hide and seek with the girls and it would frustrate Hallie to no end that June wouldn't hide in her own spot but always hid with her. Thankfully, we had some good two person hiding spots, like the bottom of the linen closet, behind the crib, and of course, closets.
February 2010 - The great thing about having Hallie around is that it encouraged me to try arts and crafts and sensory projects that were really beyond June's age level. I know June enjoyed the activities just as much as Hallie did. Making a mess is always better when there are two kids to enjoy it. Having Hallie around also made me think about starting Toddler Tales because I was already digging through books trying to find interesting projects to do with her, so I might as well use them on a larger scale. Hallie attended Toddler Tales for the first year and a half with her grandma Lois. It was a sad day when I had to explain to June that Hallie couldn't come to Toddler Tales anymore because she was in her class at school. It did make it easier to swallow when I said we still get to pick her up after Toddler Tales.
That spring I also watched Sarah and Faith, two other girls from church a couple days a week. I always tried to have them over on Hallie days to multiply the fun. Hallie enjoyed playing with older kids, but June was often left in the dust behind all these kids who could run, and she was only starting to walk.
From early on, June idolized Hallie and would do things for Hallie that she wouldn't dream of doing for Mom. Here June's copying Hallie while she sings "Pitter, Patter, hear the little raindrops." I think Hallie has always enjoyed the opportunity to be looked up to and to be the leader in the relationship. She knows that June worships her, but she has never really taken advantage of June's affection or been heavy handed with her leadership. Every girl needs to be bossy sometimes but amazingly, these two girls have almost always kept that to a minimum.
May 2010 - The thing about Hallie is that she has a very active imagination. Any toy can be anything and June loves to play along. Hallie's grandma, mom, sister, and other sitters tell stories of the pretend play they were forced to play with Hallie where Hallie dictates every move they make. I've never been party to these games because while at our house, Hallie uses June as a playmate. I have always loved standing in the kitchen cooking or cleaning and listening to the pretend play in the other room. June listens intently as Hallie outlines how the game should be played and who will be playing which role. Most of the time, at some point, June will not fall in line with what Hallie thinks she should be doing and I'll get called in to mediate the situation, explaining that June doesn't necessarily want to be the baby or doesn't know how the game should be played.
August 2010 - During the summers I don't have Hallie as regularly, but often when I do have her, her older sister Hannah comes too. Already June thinks Hannah is marvelous and can say her name "Ha NAH'". Hannah's also a great set of hands to have around. She's very helpful and loves to hold June.
One of our regular activities when I have Hallie on Fridays is to go the Bettendorf YMCA to swim in their zero depth entry pool. The girls LOVE going to the pool and unfortunately I don't have any pictures because my hands are usually full keeping the two of them from drowning. They push each other to try things in the water that on their own they may not do. June wants to keep up with Hallie and Hallie wants to show June just how awesome she is as a "big sister."
Hannah was the first person to try to put June's hair in pigtails. I didn't even know her hair was long enough to get rubber bands around them, but this is super cute, right?
One of my favorite stories from this era is when Hallie tries to teach June to say her name correctly.
Hallie: June say Hawee
June: Hayee
Hallie: No, June, not Hayee, say Hawee
June: Hayee
Hallie: No! Ms. Kendra June's not saying Hawee right!
As Fall 2010 rolled around, we started branching out on Hallie days trying to maximize the time we spent with her. I had planned to take a maternity leave of sorts from watching Hallie mainly because I wouldn't have the ability to haul three car seats in the back of the PT Cruiser and didn't want to get stuck in the house for the whole winter. While I was looking forward to having a break from "work" I was worried how June would handle the time away from her best friend. We would still see her often, but not for whole days anymore.
Halloween 2010 - After Ruben was born, Hallie was the first to tell me that she thought "that baby in your tummy was a girl, but it's not. It's a boy." She was so disappointed. Hallie and June got to trick or treat with the two new teachers, Melanie Heggemeier and Brittnie Besel while I stayed home with baby Ruben and handed out candy at our house.
December 2010
After a few months of only one Hallie day a week, our Buick died and we bought a van. Hallie was once again back at our house two days a week and thank goodness. June was really starting to miss her. Hallie loved holding baby Ruben but didn't ask too often to hold him, because first of all, he was a boy and second of all, now June's really getting old enough to play with her!
January 2010
March 2011
April 2011
Sept 2011
What would June's life be like without Hallie. I try to imagine sometimes what life would look like if I had said, "No" to Jill's request to watch Hallie. I know for sure that I would not be as prepared to parent a 2 year old. I also know we wouldn't laugh as much. Having Hallie as a surrogate big sister has taught June so much about friendship and sharing and fighting and playing pretend and what it means to love. Karl and I often joke about how June's world revolves around when and where we'll see Hallie next. If I'm struggling to get June dressed and in the car in the morning, I just have to mention that we're picking up Hallie and all of a sudden I have a completely compliant child. So, for now I've spent enough time talking about their relationship, now it's time to see where it goes from here. See you on Tuesday Hawee!
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