These two are trouble...

You know Elisa is feeling better when she is back to running around the apartment like a mad woman and wants to have a friend over for lunch. Okay, it was really my idea, but she didn't seem to mind that Kristin and her daughter Juliet were going to drop by for a bite of chili and some afternoon fun. These two girls have been fast friends since Kristin and I were both heavily pregnant and shared a cab back from the city after meeting in our newborn care class at Real Birth. Yes, in utero friends. Is that possible? Well, they didn't exactly have a choice, but seeing them conspire and play together at 18 months is a sure sign that they are onboard with our playdate scheduling and impromptu visits.

Here they are last week after music class hanging out at Juliet's coloring in the living room. Elisa was intrigued by the crayons and we have since purchased her a set of her own. I'm not near the artist that Kristin is, but the rough drawings and her "filling in the shapes" has provided quite a bit of amusement so far.

Juliet also likes to get her groove on and was showing Elisa how to rock out on the guitar. It even plays The Police. I was impressed. This girl knows her 80s rock classics.

But today our playdate turned a bit more dramatic than usual. While Kristin and I chatted away in Elisa's room and Nacho and Patrick had the kitchen covered, our girls set to wandering about. Nothing unusual there. Normally, they can't go too far in this apartment before they are running back to us, and we'd been playing for an hour or so without any tantrums or problems. Of course, that should have been a sign they were collaborating a little too well. First, I heard Kristin walk to the living room and shout back, "Uh, where are the girls?" I was almost to the bathroom and I flung the door open wide thinking they were in there. No luck. Then I heard her say "Ohhhh, they're OUTSIDE!" Incredulous, I dashed to the front door of the apartment and beyond and saw Juliet 20 feet down the hall, and Elisa making a mad dash--arms flailing and giggling all the way--back towards me. Barefoot. Of course, the first thing that came to mind was how the heck the door was open but this we figured out since we had just welcomed Patrick into the apartment and the door hadn't shut fully. But then to think that these two girls approached the door, saw they were this close to freedom and then made a break for it is just, well, it's kind of scary but mostly hilarious.

Nacho and I both thought it was a good thing that they didn't head straight to the stairwell out our front door. Instead, they ran towards the elevators and were apparently chasing a ball most of the way. The fact that four adults failed to catch this maneuver is pretty shameful. But now we know better than to let these two out of our sight. It can only get worse, right? ;)