Grandma Sally's Birthday Weekend

Grandma Sally's birthday was on this past weekend. The boys really wanted to spend the day with their Grandma. So, I dug down deep to find some courage and traveled to Tampa with the boys for the weekend. Daddy was working and was not able to make the trip with us.

On Thursday evening, Mike and I got the boys ready for bed and gave them their bedtime bottles. Once they were fed, we loaded them up in the car seats and Mommy and boys hit the open road. They boys were WONDERFUL on the trip down and I made it in one stretch without stopping. We made it to Tampa around 11pm and boys woke up for a little while while we brought in all of the "stuff" and got the room set up. Once I was ready to put the boys down to sleep, what did I find.... Grandma and all three boys playing... yes, playing... in the living room. It was approaching midnight and Grandma wanted to play! Her words, "I don't want to wait until morning." After convincing Grandma and the boys that if we go close our eyes it will be morning before we know it, I was able to get the four of them to go to sleep.

The next morning, I was getting the boys ready for the day and bringing them downstairs one at a time. Grandma was feeding Jared and I had placed Wesley down on his back to wait his turn. I went back upstairs to get Andrew ready for the day. When I came down the stairs, Wesley was on his belly. He had rolled over for the first time!!! I placed Andrew down on the floor and within 10 minutes, he rolled over from back to belly for the first time as well. The boys were really showing off for Grandma. In addition to the rolling, Wesley also found out that his feet were really neat toys and spent the entire weekend playing with his feet.

Zack spent the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's and was really great with all of the boys. He would play with them and entertain them. At one point he was playing with Jared and when he walked away, Jared started to cry. Once Zack came back, Jared stopped crying. We told Zack that it would not be long before the boys were able to follow him right up the stairs and play on the Playstation with him!

On Saturday, the boys met some more friends and family. Mary and John Landsburger came over to visit with the boys on Friday. On Saturday, the boys met Sylvia and Calvin Lyons. In addition to meeting new people, the boys were able to spend some time with Grandma Pooka and Aunt Joan.

On Sunday, Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim joined us for the traditional Sunday breakfast of pancakes and bacon! Andrew joined in another family tradition, the weekly football picks. He helped Uncle Lance with his picks. During all of the meals at Grandma's, the boys would hang out in the bouncy seats in the middle of the kitchen. They were so cute!

After the boys took their morning nap, Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim helped feed all of the boys and load them up in the truck for our return trip. I was not able to make it in one stretch like the trip down. I had to stop for a bathroom break. I had the boys stroller and I loaded them up and rolled down to the bathroom. This was the boys first experience in a public bathroom. The handicapped stall was large enough for the stroller and me so we all rolled right into the stall. We drew a lot of attention but made it in and out of the rest stop in less than 15 minutes. After our stop, it was nap time. I gave the boys their crib blankets and crossed my fingers that they would drift off to sleep for the remainder of the trip. Jared and Wesley followed my plan but Andrew did not understand why he was in this seat during nap time. He was fussy for a large part of the remainder of the trip.

At 4pm, we were still about 45 minutes away from the house and it was time to eat. I pulled off at another rest stop and drove around to the picnic area. I took the boys to one of the picnic tables and we had our 4pm bottle. I fed them all and changed everyone's diaper. It was really pleasant to have a "picnic" with the boys and the weather was lovely in the shade. Once done, we were back on the road and then we made the last stretch of the trip to meet Daddy at the house!

It was wonderful to spend the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. However, the highlight of the weekend for me was learning that I can travel alone with the boys and survive! I was worried that I would not be able to just take off for a weekend like I use to. After this experience, I learned that the mental cage I had put around Tallahassee is gone! The boys were wonderful during the trip and adjusted really well to a new environment.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!!