Weekend Wonders

This weekend there were lots of activities and action.

Saturday morning Ryan, Evan and I met our friends Tobin and Meredith at a huge Pumpkin Patch/Dairy Farm, while the Daddies went on a bike ride.

Fortunately for me, the main play area was fenced in, and when we arrived at 10, the crowds were not as large as later in the day. Why is that fortunate? Because as soon as we got through the gate, Ryan took off like a shot. (he's usually so good about stopping and freezing, listening, holding my hand) Evan in his own way was ambling along stopping and looking and generally not hurrying. I found myself in an in between. I didn't want to run after Ryan and leave Evan, who was closest to the parking lot, and the cars, and I felt helpless because I couldn't see, or catch Ryan. In hindsight I should have just picked up Evan and ran after Ryan, but I honestly didn't think he'd go so far so quickly. Thankfully Meredith was just getting through the gates, heard me screaming for Ryan, and told me to go on, she'd watch Evan.

Somehow, Ryan, must have seen the giant pile of dirt littered with all forms of dump trucks, diggers, backhoes, and bulldozers, and could not contain himself. I found him, on the other side of the dirt hill yelling "DIGGERS". He spent the next hour there, while Evan was a few yards away playing with the "ojo balls" (basketballs) I sat/stood on the hay bales in between with my head on a swivel.

This place was just too big for me to do alone. Especially after a long hard week. I felt stressed the entire time. I was never close enough to either boy to feel comfortable. I had to leave Ryan in the soccer area as I noticed Evan attempting the climbing wall. I got Evan up on the play structure, and Ryan was gone. I found him a few seconds later, and some lady said to me "oh, I wondered who he belonged to, he was trying to get into the porta-potties." Great. I slunk off muttering to Ryan.

I finally felt safe on the hay ride, both boys at my side, in a confined space with Meredith, Tobin and their friends. (This was really the only time during the day that I was able to talk to or even see the other Mom's more than in passing, as I dashed to and fro after wayward children.)

On our hayride we were fortunate to see the birth of twin calves. I didn't realize cows could have twins, I guess I should have, but what are the chances that my twins could be there to see twin cows being born? Evan seemed to be okay with the whole rope tied around the babies legs tied to a fence to help extract the cow from the birth canal. (Might be because of his own experience of being yanked out of my birth canal by his ankles?) Ryan on the other hand, lost his freaking mind. He was genuinely SCARED. It was a cry I've almost never heard from Ryan. It was so, so, sad. I held him on my lap, with one arm, and rocked him. Of course, my other arm was wrapped around Evan to keep him from jumping out of the truck.

Thankfully, after the hayride, Scott and Philip had returned from their ride, and I was relieved from duty.

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You all know our struggles with Evan and Eating, well we may have hit upon something. I'm not holding my breath, but he's saying the right things, and he may have swallowed some bagel this morning.

He really wants to go in the bouncy area at Sea World. But its only for kids between 37" and some other number that is irrelevant to me at this point. I told him he was not big enough yet, and that in order to get big and tall, he has to eat, and swallow. I gave him examples like cheerios, pasta, fruit, veggies, bread, anything that I could think of that we had placed in front of him this week. Now, every time we talk about the bouncer, we talk about getting big and strong, and how chewing and swallowing is how we get big and strong. And by we, I mean Evan.

(This also seems to be working for sleeping)

Keep your fingers crossed that we have found THE motivator for this kid. How a bouncer and not chocolate, I'll never understand. If this kid didn't come out of me I'd swear he wasn't related.

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Evan: "Hanging like Gibbon" (as he hangs off the arm of the couch)
"Swinging like Gibbon" (still hanging off the arm of the couch)
Ryan: "Eating like Gibbon" (in response to Evan)

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Evan: "I get sun stamp at soccer on grass after pa-pa-chute, sitting" (remembering events at soccer where we have not been in three or four months)

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