parentals and a birthday
We’ve really been on our game this past week. Our house has been clean, laundry folded, Jason and I have had time to read on occasion while the boys have been happily entertained for hours on end and…oh, wait, that’s because my folks were in town. Man, we really feel like we’ve got things together with my mom and dad around. We got a few extra minutes every morning while my parents read books, studied maps, tossed frisbees, and played games with the boys. We prepared and served meals without stress while the aforementioned things continued. We came back downstairs after putting the boys to bed each night and the dinner mess would be picked up, floors swept and the kitchen spotless. Really made us feel like we’ve got this parenting/life/work/marriage thing down. Everything seemed so smooth and seamless. But then they leave and reality sets in so stinkin’ fast. They have been gone less than 24 hours and there are GoLean Crunch crumbs all over the bathroom floor (mixed with some pee, unfortunately), dinner was a Pinterest disaster last night, Isaiah has been a hot mess as he has fought the good fight against nap and bedtime and I’ve been wondering who we could get to move in downstairs in exchange for potty training Isaiah and cleaning my house (or, at the very least, that bathroom floor).
A look back at their visit, which included Gryffin’s birthday party, among other things…
Isaiah, hanging with his pal, “Do-paw”
He’s got a pretty great “pout” these days
Thankfully, he also has a rad smile. And isn’t his hair awesome?
This was the day before the boys got haircuts. I’m always a little sad to see the curls go.
Still 3… just one more day until his birthday and he was SO excited
I cried when I put him to bed the night before his birthday – gazing at him one last time as a 3-year-old and getting all weepy.
We woke up the next morning to this sunrise and…
This guy! Speaking of haircuts…whoa!
Gryffin’s one request for his birthday was to have “Chocolate Rah-sants” (croissants) and NO banana (or any other fruit). Done!
Checking out a gift from Muti and Dopaw. Doesn’t he look old here?
Birthday hug from Papa
Isaiah chatting with Muti after the birthday breakfast
On the evening of Gryffin’s birthday we were treated to an incredible moonrise and we watched the birth video Jason made 4 years ago (don’t fret, it’s “sanitized” – except for the mildly scary belly bouncing at the beginning – sorry about that)
Next morning Jason and my dad took the boys out for haircuts while my mom and I got things ready for the party.
G-man checking out the party favors
Some of the guests… “Baby” Abe, who is not so much a baby anymore!
Sawyer, Gryffin’s new neighborhood friend
Lilly, the only big girl, hung by herself most of the time. Poor gal seemed a little out of her element with all the boys running around!
And James – Gryffin’s first-ever friend. They’ve been buddies for over 2 years now.
This was what the party was ALL about for Gryffin. The cupcakes. They needed to be chocolate. And vanilla. And they HAD to have sprinkles!
Isaiah took a few minutes to stop crying and carrying on and demanding to be held warm up to the party and all the guests. Here he is, finally relaxed and showing off his new ‘do
And… the after-party. Dopaw helping with something very important, I’m sure, and somehow both kids are half-naked (as per usual)
Whew. It was quite the week. Being a glass half-empty person means that I usually expect visits from my parents or friends, vacations, outings – anything I’m looking forward to, really – to be totally disastrous. So when we made it through the entire week without any drama (illnesses, injuries, major meltdowns, etc), I was sort of shocked. And elated! Maybe there’s more in that glass after all!