For the first time all week, the boys and I got to spend an afternoon at the house. We didn't go anywhere, aside from our morning stroller walk, the biggest part of which my oldest son proclaimed, "Shew, I tired. Connor ride a while?" and then in the very next breath asked, "Connor play in the fields today?" You have to love the contradictions, even if they sometimes drive you crazy.
This afternoon we had a fun visit from our friends Andrea, Bailey and Jake, who my son still refers to as "Billy & Jake," even though "Billy" is a pretty little girl with long brown hair. She doesn't seem to mind though, and the two seem to get along really well. They're both bossy and dramatic, and it's fun to watch them interact and be surprised to see that their new friend is pulling tricks they themselves usually try to pull on their younger brothers. There were lots of instances of bossing, pouting, and even a bit of hitting and kicking. Andrea tells me Bailey is into boyfriends these days, so I'm wondering if Connor will fall into that category now. Isn't hitting and kicking a good sign at their age? If nothing else, he offered some pretty cool toys to share.
We played with cars and trucks (imagine that, in our house), and we had a big game of chase in our maze of a downstairs. A fun snack of milkshakes and McFlurries followed the initial mania of seeing each other and checking out the play area (which, of course, turned into the aforementioned game of chase). We eventually got out the big bouncy slide to jump around on (instead of our couch, which was what all of the kids wanted to do, apparently). And we ended the afternoon with a little sliding and swinging on the play set out in the back yard. Poor Jake, all he wanted to do was see the "Dog! Dog!" and play with him. We were not afraid that Buster would hurt him, because he's friendly, but we worried that all of the excitement might result in some knocking down, a little vicious tail wagging, and some stepping on toes (my dog is the champion of this, all 165 lbs. of him coming down on your foot and digging in with his sharp toenails, which is especially fun if your barefoot like I usually am).
Neither Bailey nor Connor was ready for the afternoon to end. He whined, and she pretended not to hear Andrea when she mentioned they would be leaving soon and again when it really was time to go. Jake and the little guys seemed okay with whatever was going on. Our little happy-go-lucky kids. Of course, Xander was in bed at the end of it (my sleepyhead) after practically falling asleep in my arms in the backyard at 4 p.m., and Sawyer was tucked away in his corner window playing, oblivious to one and all. Perhaps only Jake is the happy-go-lucky one!
A fun visit and a great way to end our crazy and chaotic week (they're all getting that way, unfortunately). Mommy definitely had a great time catching up with an old friend, in between all the toddlers running around and screaming (happily, for the most part)!
Connor is probably the happiest of all, because in addition to our afternoon of fun, he's off on another weekend adventure with Grammy and Pappy. Tonight he's travelling with Grammy to visit and spend the night with Great Grandma Kitty and the Kremer family, to see some hot air balloons and then to enjoy a little fall festival at a local church. He may even get to stay another night with Grammy and Pappy tomorrow. Have I mentioned that he's our "have suitcase, will travel" kid? When he saw me carrying bags down the stairs (something that usually makes his little brothers cry), he just grinned. "That's my bags!" he told Pappy, who was here to pick him up. "Connor go, too!"
And off he goes, yet again, on another fun adventure . . .