Late last night, Josh and I brought home three very tired little boys from a weekend at the lake (Connor was coming home after more than a week with Grandma and Pa). The drive back was uneventful, other than the fact that all three boys decided they were hungry a mere 45 minutes after we left the cabin (and had a rather large meal). They wolfed down an entire LARGE 10-piece chicken nugget meal and french fries, and even got part of MY large Coke (the only reason we really stopped in the first place). I really think they would eat McDonald's every day, if given the option.
So we spent the last few days alternately chasing three little boys around a non-childproof house or the wrap-around porch, taking them out in the "boat on the water," taking stroller walks in the neighborhood (which has lots of rather large hills, I might add), and watching them play with "new" toys and fall in love with grape Kool-Aid as their new beverage of choice in their sippy cups. Oh, and finding them completely unwilling to sleep most of the time. Connor resisted nap times, afraid he was going to be left behind while we all went out on the boat without him. The twins never do well in strange places, but Sawyer was nearly the death of us all. The boy woke up around 4 a.m. both mornings. 4 a.m. - surely he cannot really be my son with those sleep habits! Grandma quickly marched upstairs and put him back in bed, but it didn't last long. By 6:30 or so, he was ready to go again. By the end of the weekend, one look in the door from Grandma sent both boys running back to the bed, be it nap time or bed time, when they were trying to stay up and play in their room!
We also learned that we definitely have at least two water babies on our hands. Connor can never get enough swimming. He kept telling whoever was driving the boat to "Stop!" every five minutes while we were actually moving. He wanted to stop and swim, AGAIN, you see. And he would stay in the water for hours and hours if you let him, never getting tired (or at least pretending not to be - you could definitely notice a slower stroke later in the day) and never wanting to get out - not even with the attempted bribes of drinks or snacks. Sawyer, though hesitant at first (mostly because of the bulky life jacket he's not worn much), eventually got into it by laughing and splashing and kicking his feet in the water. He still wants you to hold on to him in the water, but Connor has moved on from this stage. He likes to swim back and forth to people and seems as comfortable by himself as when he's with someone. Xander was not much for the water this trip. In fairness, he was tired and fell asleep the minute the boat started moving and didn't wake up until it was time to go back to the dock. But even if he'd been awake, given our recent pool outings, I don't think the lake water would have made him any happier than the pool. We'll have to keep trying with him, or find something else he likes better at the lake.
We had a good weekend, visiting and catching up with Grandma and Pa. We got to eat lots of good food, mostly slow-cooked on a charcoal grill (something we're both too lazy and impatient to do at our own house). And we got to spend some time in the water and at the cabin, watching the boys as they played and got to escape the walls of our house for a change. Connor loved his trip the most, and was a little sorry to come home. As we were packing things to go last night, Xander was standing by the gate crying, afraid of being left. Connor, on the other hand, looked once at me and once back at Grandma, then said, "Connor stay with Grandpa. Babies go home."
Clearly we'll have to take the boy to visit again soon. I've already heard about seeing "Grandpa later tonight!" and going "Boat on the water later tonight! After while!"