Photoless Playdates

It's my vacation week from school, so Finley and I have been taking full advantage. Yesterday, we went over to Dave and Mary's house to visit with Henry who is 6 months Finley's senior. What a difference 6 months can make--Henry towered over Finley, was significantly more coordinated, and seemed to have a longer attention span than our little gnat. The boys bounded around from room to room and Finley had a blast exploring a houseful of new-to-him toys. Finley spotted a toddler rocking chair and wanted help getting into it, I obliged, and he surprised me by knowing how to rock back and forth! Where does he learn these things?Henry has the most adorable wooden kitchenette and Finley LOVED checking out all the pots and pans stored in its cabinets. However, his favorite item was a kid-sized push broom he discovered. Finley loved sweeping up all around the kitchen and into the living room. The carpet in the living room posed a challenge, but he persevered to get back to the smooth wood floors. I must use this new interest to my advantage at our house! At one point, Henry squeezed himself behind his train table and played there for a while. He bent over to get something and Finley thought he was playing peek-a-boo, so he looked under the table from the other side. They went up and down a few times just smiling and laughing. So cute! Finley tried to get back to where Henry was since it looked like so much fun there and for a few seconds, the two kiddos were standing next to one another pressed between the fireplace and the train table. Adorable! Where was my camera? The same place it was all afternoon, zipped in its pouch in my zipped bag. Ug.

After making a huge mess of their house, it was time to rush home for dinner, bath and bed. What a great playdate--both boys played happily and both moms were able to chat and relax (well, sort of).

Today, we ventured way outside of our usual routine and drove down to Connecticut. Our friends, Kelvin and Stacy, along with their adorable daughter, Aliza, moved down there in the fall and I'd been waiting for an opportunity to pay them a visit. Leaving after breakfast this morning, we arrived at their new house around 10am. The kids played a little while we got set to visit the JCC for some indoor playing fun. Aliza was an expert at the JCC's "playscape," but Finley wasn't so sure of the awesomely huge, climbing structure. Bummer. He did test out one of the slides and seemed happy enough just running in and out of the playroom. We had "lunch" and I use that term loosely since again Finley was more interested in running around, chatting, and cracking himself up. I couldn't get over how brave and bold he was being in a brand new place, which is probably why I didn't bother trying to force any food into him. Why mess with such joy? We finished up in family room, which was full of trains, blocks, a play kitchen, a fish tank, and lots of other toddler mesmerizing items.

Back at Aliza's house, Finley was suddenly interested in eating so he had some chicken before we attempted to get both kids down for a nap. Finley fell asleep easily but only slept for about an hour and twenty minutes, while Aliza took longer to fall asleep but slept for over two hours! Ah well :) Finley came downstairs to play while Stacy and I had some time to chat and catch up. Finley basically occupied himself while we talked in their playroom. He showed Stacy one of his favorite ways to play these days, which is to make "soup" in a pot or bowl and then offer a spoonful for you to taste. He shared his soup with both of us, but eating most of it himself. So cute to watch! He'll stir and stir, taste, stir and stir, offer you a taste and on and on! This time it was broccoli, cheese, and tomato soup--tasty, right? After all this, he had a real snack of yogurt and fruit before Aliza woke up. Finley was a real chatterbox during his snack and Stacy kept remarking how verbal he was--what music to my ears! Not really words, but it sure seemed like he was explaining some complex thoughts.

Aliza and Finley got to play a little more together before we had to hit the road. Aliza said a very sweet "Bye, bye, Finley" so it was sad that he wasn't in the mood to give her a wave back, sorry chicka! We all hugged and promised not to wait too long until we get together again.

We got home easily in just under two hours and amazingly Finley didn't fall asleep! I just kept passing him new toys or books to occupy him and it worked! Though the "Noisy Trucks" book was a mistake--occasionally hearing a fire engine siren while flying down the highway was a bit unsettling to say the least. Dinner, PJs, and off to snoozeville for Finley as soon as arrived home. What a great day!

But alas, no good photos. I have a few that I may try and upload tomorrow that I took at the tail end of our visit , but I'm pretty sure that none of them capture both kids' smiling faces--which just wouldn't be representative of the fun we had today :)