A Night on the Town

For the past month, I have been wanting to go out to dinner with the boys. I have been ready and the boys have been ready but I had trouble finding another adult willing to accept the challenge of having dinner IN PUBLIC with all of us. Mike's opinion on the subject is that once the boys are able to ask "can we go out to eat tonight," that is when he will say, "ok, go tell your mother we are going out to eat." I also tried to convince Grandma Sally to accept this challenge over Thanksgiving. But, she felt we should wait until the boys are eating finger foods.

While the boys are not ready to order off the menu, for some reason I felt this was an important indicator of being "normal." If I only had one baby, I probably would have already had lunch or dinner out at a restaurant. I doubt this will make or break the future of the boys but this was important to me.

Ms. Debbie and Mr. Tracy have been planning to spend a weekend with us and this was that weekend. Before the weekend, I sent an e-mail telling them there was a challenge waiting for them if they were willing to accept the challenge. As they are both fearless, they said "let's do it!" I was so excited!!

After the boys woke from their afternoon nap today, we started getting them dressed up in their going out clothes. Since we hang out around the house on most days, the boys are not use to having these strange things on their feet called shoes. As you can see, Wesley and Jared both thought their shoes were the first course of their restaurant dinner. With the boys all dressed, we loaded up in the truck and headed out with plans to eat at Applebees!

During their nap, I called ahead to determine if they had enough high chairs for all of us and they said no problem. Ms. Debbie had suggested maybe eating at Waffle House or that type restaurant. On the way to Applebees, we passed many locations with empty parking lots... Waffle House, Village Inn, IHOP... we considered stopping but kept on trekking to Applebees. When we arrived, the parking lot was full. Ms. Debbie hopped out to see how crowded it was and if there were 3 high chairs available. It was a little busy but they could seat us right away. We debated going to a more forgiving establishment but Ms. Debbie said.... "let's do it." We parked and decided it's GO BIG OR GO HOME!!!

We each picked up a baby and headed in to be seated. We each took responsibility for a baby (Andrew with Mr. Tracy, Wesley with Ms. Debbie and Jared with me) and we were doing it! The boys sat very well in their high chairs. The boys are use to sitting for a while in these type of seats as they sit in their table while their meals are made and then waiting as we clean each up after a meal. I think this really helped them prepare for sitting in a high chair while we were eating. The boys enjoyed looking around at all of the people, hearing the noise and there was a TV above our table showing the Florida vs. Alabama game. With all of this, the boys were entertained. Andrew enjoyed throwing each toy he was given onto the floor.

When our dinner arrived, we gave each of the boys a teething biscuit so they could eat while we were eating. Once they had their cookie, I think they were reminded that it was now their dinner time and this was not enough to fill their bellies. They boys started to get a little restless but this is the same time we paid the bill and were ready to head home. So we gathered up all of the babies and the shoes (which kept falling off during the evening) and headed out the door.

There were other babies in the restaurant. I did not see them but I heard them! Each time I would hear a baby cry, I was so proud of my boys who did not cry! When we sat down with three infants, I am sure the people around us though... oh no! The most annoying part of having us near them was probably the flash of the camera as I continued to snap photos. The boys were WONDERFUL during the outing and I am now convinced we could and SHOULD do this more with them. As we were leaving, the family at the table next to us asked if they were triplets and then told us that they were really good during dinner. I am so proud!

Tank you Ms. Debbie and Mr. Tracy!!! We truly appreciate your willingness to accept this challenge!!