"we could totally do this"

After dropping off Megan and Tommy at their hotel Friday, I was a bit worried that Ethan would never stop crying for his parents.  I tried several approaches, alternating between speaking to him in soft dulcet tones, to completely ignoring him hoping he would self-soothe, but he continued to cry for the entire ten minute drive from the hotel to Gabe's dad's house. My plan was to bring the boys over there to go swimming, so I tried using this fun fact to divert Ethan's attention away from being apart from his parents.  Loud squeals in return.  When I got to the house, I called Gabe to come outside and surprise Ethan. He opened Ethan's door, popped his head in, and said, "Hey bud, wanna go swimming with uncle Gabey?"  Ethan happily said, "yeah!" and that was that.  My husband is a God-send.  From that point on, neither kid even whined, let alone cried.  We got the boys in their swimmers and spent the next hour playing in the pool.

We worked up an appetite after all that splashing, so we headed over to my parents' new house to visit and eat some all-American grub: watermelon, applesauce + Taco Bell. ;)

 My busy-bee-DIY-home-renovator-mom finally got to meet Blake! :)

My parents purchased a home on an acre and have spent the last year renovating the property.  I was so excited to bring the kids over to explore the yard and the back orchard, and Ethan loved seeing the neighbor's horses and watching the hawks fly overhead.  Next time we'll bring his quad over...

When we got home, it was bath time {so fun!} for the boys, then E brushed his teeth and we popped in Alice in Wonderland.  I remember showing that movie to E the last time we babysat him, so I hoped he would still dig it.  B fell asleep after chugging his bottle, and E kept looking over at me and rubbing his eyes, so I asked him if he wanted me to turn off the movie so he could go ni-night. He whispered, "yeah," then turned over and passed out.  Really?!  I had no idea it would be that easy to put the kids to sleep!  Gabe and I looked at each other, stunned, and Gabe said, "we could totally do this." 

The boys slept like champs until 7:30!  Gabe + I wondered why we were wide awake at 6.

Gabe made Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes for E, and I warmed up some baby cereal for B.  I was happy that both kids were 'morning people' and Bowie was happy to serve as babysitter while Gabe and I cleaned up the kitchen.

Before the triple-digit-temps kicked in, we took all four kids--including the furry four-legged ones--for a nice walk around the neighborhood.  

While B took a nap when we returned home, Gabe headed out to work and E and I colored a few pages in his Peanuts Halloween coloring book.  He said he wanted to color a picture for Bakey, and about four pages in, Bakey woke up.  

The three of us gathered on the quilt on the floor and watched my all-time favorite movie, that I was more than thrilled to expose E to, Labyrinth!  I was so glad he was in to it, and even cracked up at a few parts.  After the movie, we had a snack, then it was time to pick up Megan and Tommy from their hotel. 

Our house felt kind of empty and quiet without the kids, especially since they wore out the dogs so much that they were passed out in the front room for the better part of the day.  When I asked Gabe if he was ready for another baby slumber party, this time with our other friends' baby, Chloe, he replied, "next month."  :)

{all iPhone photos/video}