If you know me, then you know how near and dear I hold my friend Brooke. She and her family just bought a house in Nashville, and now that they have an extra bedroom, they may never get rid of the boys and I - especially not if every visit ends up being as fun as the one we had earlier this week!
I prepped the boys by telling them we were going to see Baby AJ. I'm not sure Jones completely understood.
"Goin' see the BABY! ... Baby Jonathan!"
I have absolutely ZERO idea where he got the name Jonathan, unless he's been eavesdropping on my calls with my friend Leslie who has a nephew named Jonathan. If not that, then, how? Regardless, he'd go on to call AJ "Jonathan" more than he called him "AJ," which was kind of hilarious and which will probably become a running joke between AJ's mama and me.
The boys and I had our typical "Tuesday with Daddy"lunch date on Monday instead. We headed out immediately after. I'd thought that, in so doing, the boys would sleep for the bulk of - or at least SOME of our drive. As you can see, Jones was VERY tired when it was time to hit the road.
"What are you doing?" "Sweeping. Yeah. I close my eyes, and I can SNOOZE. I am tired. Nite nite, Mama! I wah oo. Oh, we not take a snooze yet. I wah oo. Take a good rest. I'll miss you. Have a good snooze."
When we pulled away, I told them to take a snooze. Before he could, though, Freddie said, "Ghost!" and Jones said, "GHOST??!? I awake! I awake! I awake!" Ghosts have become prevalent around these parts with the addition of "Stooby Stoo" to our entertainment canon.
Finally, the boys DID fall asleep ... about 45 minutes after we left Waynesville. They proceeded to stay asleep for about an hour, which left another three hours for them to ... take in the scenery. Jones handled this relatively well. Freddie, on the other hand ... did not. About forty minutes out of Nashville, he finally lost his mind. I, in turn, lost mine, too.Before that, though, we drove through the tunnel in the Tennessee Gorge. The boys LOVE tunnels. I blame Thomas and the many tunnels on the Island of Sodor. When we got through the tunnel, Freddie said, "Again. Tunnel. Again." As if I could just circle back around like you do when there's no wait for the ferris wheel at the fair.
We finally made it to Brooke's adorable abode; when we did, we were greeted by Brooke and AJ, as well as my Furman friend Liz. Now, if there were such a thing as a Cuteness Olympics, Liz would win the Gold Medal, and there wouldn't even be a silver or a bronze, because no one comes even a little bit close to the cuteness of Liz.
We visited with her and her boys for a little while, and then, it was time to play a little before dinner. Jones was instantly OBSESSED with "Baby Jonathan." He'd do his little, "He's so cute!" face where he puts both hands right up on either side of this lips. All three boys played AMAZINGLY well together, though Freddie was definitely more stand offish with AJ than Jones was. They spent a lot of their time riding their bikes and tractors in this great playroom off the kitchen.
When bedtime came, I'd thought that Jones and Freddie would fall quickly asleep. After all, we'd had a long day; Nashville is on Central Time, and they only had a one hour nap. That's not exactly how it all went down, though. They were both bunked up in the spare room, and they two of them talked for THREE.STRAIGHT.HOURS.
These boys, who have been in bed by 7:30 almost every nite of their entire lives, stayed up until 10:30, talking to each other from one Pack and Play to the other. At one point, Jones was crying, because his tummy hurt. I heard Freddie, whose heart is truly ten sizes too big, saying, "JoJo kay?" Or when JoJo would get quiet and it'd seem like he was falling asleep, Freddie'd wake him, saying, "JoooooooooooJoooooooooo" in a super sing-songy voice, and the whole thing would start again.
The next morning, they were at it again - 5:30 a.m., I heard Jones say, "Freddie! You 'wake?" Needless to say, they were separated the next nite. Freddie's Pack and Play fit perfectly in Brooke's guest bathroom, and the three of us slept SO.MUCH.LONGER.
To have had the long days and shortened naps that they did, our three toddlers held themselves together amazingly well. They loved playing together in "Baby Jonathan's" bed - the best part probably being his "TV"with its non-stop Baby Einstein show. On Tuesday morning, the boys were playing in the crib when Jones saw Brooke's husband, Michael, walking down the hallway. Jones said, "Wook! It's dat baby's dad!"
Well, what's HE doing here?!
The rest of the day was spent doing a photo shoot in Brooke's backyard and another one at her parents' farm. The pictures she got are PHENOMENAL. I always think my boys are being completely uncooperative when she shoots their pictures, but she always manages to get so many great ones. I don't know how she does it. I also don't know where I'll put all of the prints I want to get from this shoot (will post my favorites as soon as I get them in the next few weeks).
At the farm, Freddie took to the tractors and the animals as quickly as I expected him to, and Jones was as standoffish as I imagined he'd be - though he did start to warm up just before it was time to leave (of course). That nite, the boys went their separate ways at bedtime, while Brooke, Michael, and I watched the UK / Alabama game (which Michael was thoughtful enough to DVR for me!) and then a Mike Birbiglia comedy special (which convinced Brooke and I that, if AJ was gonna be "Jonathan," Jones should either be "Jonesie Bag of Donuts" or, more simply, "Joe Bags").
The boys slept long and hard in their separate rooms (and I decided to delay bunking them up together at home, because OH, MY GOSH, if they slept that little every nite ...), and we headed home the next morning after an amazing, incredible, absolutely awesome stay.
If Brooke and I said it once, we said it a million times how grateful we are that our boys were such quick and easy buddies, and I was honestly AMAZED at how all three kept it together, in spite of all being out of their routines and in new places and with new people. They just acted they'd known each other forever - and, given the volume of time their mothers spend on the phone with each other, they pretty much have.
Both of my boys were instantly warm to Brooke and Michael, as AJ was with me. And while it was EXHAUSTING keeping up with three toddlers who were, most of the time, sleep deprived, it wasn't STRESSFUL. They were, by and large, very agreeable and obedient and made me want to nurture their little relationship, because EVERYBODY needs a baby "Jonathan" in their lives (I swear I'm gonna quit calling him that ... some day - "Joe Bags & Jonathan" is going on a t-shirt, I'm telling you that).
I think I've captured everything from our first (of many, I hope!) visits with the Morgan family. But Brooke, if I've left anything out, please let me know!
Oh, and when we got home, it was very nearly bedtime (mercifully). As soon as he got to the top of the garage stairs, Freddie headed to his room to get his "SHOE MON!" The foot fetish remains in full effect. The boys then watched a little tv, and when I could tell they were at the end of themselves (because they started chronically disobeying), I sent them to Freddie's room while I got ready in the bathroom.
A few minutes later, just as I was thinking how well they were behaving by staying in the room, Jones ran down the hall and said, "HELP! We made a mess! It's a ghost (told ya we have a lot of those around here)!"
I walked in to Freddie's room (which was neat, if not, necessarily, clean before we left) and found EVERY.SINGLE.DRAWER AND LAUNDRY HAMPER HAD BEEN EMPTIED ONTO THE FLOOR. "We tried to make a rocket ship out of clothes," Jones explained. He then immediately said, "We need to clean it up."
Yeah. That'd be nice.
The boys proceeded to clean up the disaster they made, and while, clothes-wise, I have no idea what's clean and what's dirty, because it's all been crammed into two big baskets in Freddie's room, and I have NO idea when I'll get around to sorting it, I was SO proud that they cleaned up their mess - and of their own initiative!
I told them when they were done that, while I wish they hadn't made that huge mess, I was REALLY proud of them for admitting to it and cleaning it up.
Somehow, these two are really, really good boys. There are definitely moments when I have to pull the car over ... twice ... in ten minutes (please see above), but for the most part, they give me a lot to brag about - and oh, so much to remember.
We visited with her and her boys for a little while, and then, it was time to play a little before dinner. Jones was instantly OBSESSED with "Baby Jonathan." He'd do his little, "He's so cute!" face where he puts both hands right up on either side of this lips. All three boys played AMAZINGLY well together, though Freddie was definitely more stand offish with AJ than Jones was. They spent a lot of their time riding their bikes and tractors in this great playroom off the kitchen.When bedtime came, I'd thought that Jones and Freddie would fall quickly asleep. After all, we'd had a long day; Nashville is on Central Time, and they only had a one hour nap. That's not exactly how it all went down, though. They were both bunked up in the spare room, and they two of them talked for THREE.STRAIGHT.HOURS.
These boys, who have been in bed by 7:30 almost every nite of their entire lives, stayed up until 10:30, talking to each other from one Pack and Play to the other. At one point, Jones was crying, because his tummy hurt. I heard Freddie, whose heart is truly ten sizes too big, saying, "JoJo kay?" Or when JoJo would get quiet and it'd seem like he was falling asleep, Freddie'd wake him, saying, "JoooooooooooJoooooooooo" in a super sing-songy voice, and the whole thing would start again.
The next morning, they were at it again - 5:30 a.m., I heard Jones say, "Freddie! You 'wake?" Needless to say, they were separated the next nite. Freddie's Pack and Play fit perfectly in Brooke's guest bathroom, and the three of us slept SO.MUCH.LONGER.
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| Jones ADORED AJ's sock monkey jack in the box, which Jones carried around calling "the monkey box." |
Well, what's HE doing here?!
The rest of the day was spent doing a photo shoot in Brooke's backyard and another one at her parents' farm. The pictures she got are PHENOMENAL. I always think my boys are being completely uncooperative when she shoots their pictures, but she always manages to get so many great ones. I don't know how she does it. I also don't know where I'll put all of the prints I want to get from this shoot (will post my favorites as soon as I get them in the next few weeks).
At the farm, Freddie took to the tractors and the animals as quickly as I expected him to, and Jones was as standoffish as I imagined he'd be - though he did start to warm up just before it was time to leave (of course). That nite, the boys went their separate ways at bedtime, while Brooke, Michael, and I watched the UK / Alabama game (which Michael was thoughtful enough to DVR for me!) and then a Mike Birbiglia comedy special (which convinced Brooke and I that, if AJ was gonna be "Jonathan," Jones should either be "Jonesie Bag of Donuts" or, more simply, "Joe Bags").
The boys slept long and hard in their separate rooms (and I decided to delay bunking them up together at home, because OH, MY GOSH, if they slept that little every nite ...), and we headed home the next morning after an amazing, incredible, absolutely awesome stay.If Brooke and I said it once, we said it a million times how grateful we are that our boys were such quick and easy buddies, and I was honestly AMAZED at how all three kept it together, in spite of all being out of their routines and in new places and with new people. They just acted they'd known each other forever - and, given the volume of time their mothers spend on the phone with each other, they pretty much have.
Both of my boys were instantly warm to Brooke and Michael, as AJ was with me. And while it was EXHAUSTING keeping up with three toddlers who were, most of the time, sleep deprived, it wasn't STRESSFUL. They were, by and large, very agreeable and obedient and made me want to nurture their little relationship, because EVERYBODY needs a baby "Jonathan" in their lives (I swear I'm gonna quit calling him that ... some day - "Joe Bags & Jonathan" is going on a t-shirt, I'm telling you that).
I think I've captured everything from our first (of many, I hope!) visits with the Morgan family. But Brooke, if I've left anything out, please let me know!Oh, and when we got home, it was very nearly bedtime (mercifully). As soon as he got to the top of the garage stairs, Freddie headed to his room to get his "SHOE MON!" The foot fetish remains in full effect. The boys then watched a little tv, and when I could tell they were at the end of themselves (because they started chronically disobeying), I sent them to Freddie's room while I got ready in the bathroom.
A few minutes later, just as I was thinking how well they were behaving by staying in the room, Jones ran down the hall and said, "HELP! We made a mess! It's a ghost (told ya we have a lot of those around here)!"I walked in to Freddie's room (which was neat, if not, necessarily, clean before we left) and found EVERY.SINGLE.DRAWER AND LAUNDRY HAMPER HAD BEEN EMPTIED ONTO THE FLOOR. "We tried to make a rocket ship out of clothes," Jones explained. He then immediately said, "We need to clean it up."
Yeah. That'd be nice.
The boys proceeded to clean up the disaster they made, and while, clothes-wise, I have no idea what's clean and what's dirty, because it's all been crammed into two big baskets in Freddie's room, and I have NO idea when I'll get around to sorting it, I was SO proud that they cleaned up their mess - and of their own initiative!
I told them when they were done that, while I wish they hadn't made that huge mess, I was REALLY proud of them for admitting to it and cleaning it up.
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| Joe Bags with "the monkey box" |
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| On the way to the farm, the boys sat three across. When AJ cried, sweet Freddie handed him one of his Matchbox cars. "Here go," Freddie says. |
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| He did GREAT with the potty - no accidents! |
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| worn out from too much fun - on the drive home |
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| pit stop selfie at the Pigeon Forge exit |
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| "Yeeehawww!" |
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| "ZUUUURRRRGGGG!" |
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