The Big Brother's Vacation

Before Brendan was born, we decided we wanted the "big boys" to stay with my folks. We didn't want to separate the boys (they are attached at the hip) and they only get to see my folks once every few months so we thought it would be nice for them to have some face time with them. Sean had never slept at my parents house without me there, so we thought Liam needed to be there as well, to have a bit of "common" for Sean. Plus, I do have quite a few rules when it comes to my kids and I knew my mom would abide by those rules. Not only did she follow the rules I set, she exceeded them by getting Sean to fall asleep in the crib (we had been laying down with him then putting him in the crib) AND she succeeded in getting him to sleep in the crib ALL NIGHT. This additional bonus from mom would have been enough of a gift when Brendan was born. BUT, she (being the planner she is) also bought us a double stroller. DOUBLE WIN! Having Sean go to sleep in his own bed and staying there all night has really helped us out. Mom=Awesome.

Liam had ear drops for an infection and had been fighting us with those...it was a battle. Kicking, screaming (he actually kicked me in the stomach while I was still pregnant) and what should have taken 5 minutes would take 30. In just two days at her house, she'd gotten him to lay down and accept the drops as well as lay still for 5 minutes while they worked...with no screaming. Again, my mom is awesome.

The boys had a great time with Ma'am and Papa. They helped Ma'am in her garden, rode with Papa on his tractor, played with Maci and Austin (neighbor kids that are their age) and she even brought them down to Des Moines when I was missing my big boys just to visit again.

But herding a four year old and 15 month old is like herding cats. As you can see in the video David took below. They had come to visit us and mom was trying to get them back to the car.

My parents were even thoughtful enough to send us pictures of the boys...to show us what was going on. My mom, being the great mom she is, even wrote down nap times, sleep times and number of diapers and bathroom events for both of the kids so I would know what happened and when. For the third time, mom=awesome.

We need to make it to Glidden more often to visit. Once every three months isn't near often enough. I do believe the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" and the boys are sure fond of Ma'am and Papa. Here are a few pictures of the boys spending time with Ma'am and Papa.

 Sean LOVES Sweet Corn...mmmmm.

Sean and Liam in the IH chairs watching cartoons.

You can see Sean contemplating the fact that he's trapped and Liam is outside of the play pen..."how do I get him back" is written all over his face.

Sean says, "I'm trapped? Well, I've got your nipple."

The boys had a great time with Ma'am and Papa and with the constant updates, the documentation and pictures and videos uploaded in (almost) real time, I never had to worry about my boys. Which, I believe, helped keep my stress level down and assisted in my healing. Thanks Ma'am and Papa!!