It’s every grandparent’s dream!
“Would y’all mind keeping the boys for the weekend while we go out of town?”
YES!
And so it came to be that two male fledglings stayed with PawPaw and JJ last weekend.
Easton ages in for the Terrible Twos at 2 years 9 months, and Asher times in as a Light Weight at only 3 1/2 months old.
Janet likes babies, but they intimidate me like I was a lost kitten in the dog pound. I like it when they can say what’s wrong, like Easton, so it was perfect!
When my daughter and son-in-law dropped them off, they were semi-apologetic.
“Hey! We’re no rookies! Besides, they’re both as laid back of kids that there are.”
My son-in-law shook his head. My daughter raised an eye brow with a smile, “Well, wait till nighttime”.
Psft! We got this!
Nighttime came.
Easton laid down on a pallet in our room and was out like a light!
Asher was in a pack-n-play. He fell asleep right on que after his 8:30 PM bottle.
Good grief! How much easier can it get?
However, we should’ve gone to bed then, right then! Instead, we laid down about 10:00ish.
Some babies are like poltergeists. Poltergeist babies make for long horrible, haunted nights without any shut eye at all.
Asher though is more of a heavenly cherub that gently wakes himself up when his caretakers lay down. I guess that’s it. Something had to start him cooing for the Friday all nighter.
As soon as our heads hit the pillow, Asher stirred.
If his pacifier fell out, he whimpered. Not a blood curdling scream, but a soft whimper, one just loud enough to keep you up.
But if the pacifier was in his mouth, he still whimpered. Not a demanding whimper, but a “It’s just so hard to find good help nowadays!” whimper.
We’ve been through it before, another level, another time. (See story here.)
And I’ve had some horribly long nights before. (See that story here.)
Asher isn’t fussy. Not at all!
He’s quiet enough to still be really, really good, but just loud enough to keep you from falling into a deep sleep. And the little booger did that, all, night, long!
We were rested ahead of time, thank goodness, but sleep deprivation overtakes you in the passing lane!
Even so, we hit the ground running Saturday morning, with coffee.
A full pot. And stout.
All day Easton was glued at the hip like a mini-me. It was great!
“We” burned a brush pile, and he’d throw sticks. “We” painted outdoor tables and chairs, while he played.
“We” drove to several stores, while he ate cheese puffs.
I had plenty of masks and Easton wanted to play wearing a mask “game” I invented.
Adult masks don’t fit toddler heads, so most of the time he was holding it up.
After our second stop, Easton handed me his wet mask. He’d started licking the inside of it. It was orange from cheese puff dust.
In the next store, I glanced down at Easton riding in the shopping cart. He’d licked a hole right through the mask and was sticking his orange tongue through it at every person who came our way!
Back at the ranch, the boys couldn’t have been better, but when the sun went down, the chunky cherub returned.
Asher did it again! All. Night. Loooonnnnggggg!
Does it make sense that he is as good as gold even when he is awake, stirring, and keeping you up???
But when does that baby sleep?!!
I’ll say this! NOT, at, night!!
About 2:00 AM, I thought about throwing Janet under the bus. I could sneak to another room and get some quiet sleep for at least a little while.
The plan was genius, but I didn’t. It wouldn’t be fair.
Instead, I got up and laid on the floor acting like I was caring for Easton while she gave Asher a bottle.
I finally fell sound asleep, and ten minutes later jumped out of my skin when Easton sat up and yelled, “Mommy!”
Adrenaline from his screaming caused me to sit up too, even if it was a foggy, move at a turtle speed adrenaline rush.
When I handed him his water bottle, he squinted and realized I wasn’t Mommy. In a disappointed tone he whispered, “PawPaw”, then plopped back down to sleep.
That’s a chopped liver for supper feeling!
By then Asher’s bottle was done. He came in as lively as a sparking, downed power line.
Pacifier out. Whimpers.
Passy in. Whimpers.
Leave alone. Whimpers.
Stroke head. Whimpers.
Wet diaper.
Janet changed it while I “took care of Easton”.
Still, Asher whimpers.
Last ounce of bottle. Whimpers.
Finally ….. sunlight.
After the night owl had another bottle, Janet dressed Asher in clothes my daughter had packed.
You know what my daughter did?!
When she packed the boy’s clothes, she put in a shirt for Asher that says, “FUN NEVER SLEEPS”.
I think she did that on purpose!!
It’s true, but it ain’t funny, Shawnna! Fun Bucket hardly slept at all!!
You know, there are reasons grandparents don’t have babies!
For one, we don’t bounce back from lack of sleep like we used to. It’s more of a splat, like an overfilled water balloon dropped from a roof onto concrete.
No bounce back. Just splat.
So we splatted and hit the ground crawling Sunday morning.
Thank you, God, for making coffee beans.
All three pots.
Double scoop strong!
Easton and Fun Never Sleeps were happy angels in the daytime and had a blast!
At 5:35 PM, they were both delighted to see Mommy!
JJ and PawPaw made it! And quite frankly, (to give a politically correct grandparent statement) wouldn’t change a single thing about it!
WAIT! Wait, wait.
Maybe one little bitty change! Next time, a shirt that says “FUN SLEEPS ALL NIGHT”!
Hi Jeff, cute reminder of days gone by. I’m thinking that T-shirt choice was deliberate. Awfully cute though! Thanks for sharing, I love reading stories about what happens to OTHER folks! Blessings!
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I agree, Bruce! I’m certain my daughter had mischievous thoughts when she made that deliberate shirt choice!! And yes, it’s always better when it happens to someone else, Bruce! Peace, my brother!!
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Likewise to you and yours Jeff. Love in Christ- Bruce
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Beautiful grands! I mean beautiful Fun Buckets! 🙂 That quip cracked me up 🙂 Gosh, I remember those sleepless nights! My neighbor adopted two boys a couple of years ago and just had a baby last week. The sleepless husband asked me if I had any advice this morning. I just gave him two thumbs up with a “You got this!” smile. That’s the best I could do – oh, those sleepless nights! 🙂
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Lol! Thanks, Robyn!! You’re dead on with your advice to sleepless parents!! Two thumbs up, “You’ve got this” AND the hardships do dull in the memory over time! One day when you have grands, (many, many moons from now), sleepless nights will be nothing but a faint memory!!! 🙂
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Good job! You both deserve a medal for this . We used to have our grandson when he was pretty much a baby and then a two year old and then came the blissfull time at about age 4 when I would give him a choice: If we are going to the zoo you will need to get dressed. So you choose, stay here and not go to the zoo or get dressed and we will go to the zoo. He thought about it and went to get dressed. A couple of times on that weekend he had to discover I meant it. The ability to make a choice is a wonderful thing for small kids.
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I love that Anne!! It is a natural response to consequences to decisions that even small children can make! I can see him skipping off quickly to get dressed to go to the zoo feeling like he is in complete control which makes it easier on you! Perfect!!
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Hi Jeff,
How awesome you got to enjoy those 2 sweet little angels for the weekend! Good job keeping them entertained and helping grandma!
Beautiful family! Blessings! ♥♥
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Thank you so much! We have a large family, and love each and every one of them!!
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We’re so waiting on these days. Our son is 28 and tells us nothing about his love life. I was the same way when I was a young man. If I tell them anything, that will just lead to a bunch of unnecessary questions.🤣 We didn’t know the last two girlfriends existed until they broke up, and he called us because he was upset. We got a call a couple of weeks ago, and this time He called to tell us he moved in with somebody. I maintain the only reason he told us is he wanted his mail forwarded, and he knew we were coming out for a visit in a few weeks. I’m getting my second poke tomorrow. I won’t tell him this , but I hope this is the one. I want some grandkids.
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Without question, kids are great, but grandkids, they are absolutely superb!! Maybe it’s the season of life as a grandparent when the gray hair brings a little more wisdom, or the experience gives us more confidence, or maybe it’s just because there’s more life in the rearview mirror than the front windshield….I don’t know. In any case, you are going to love, Love, LOVE being a grandparent! And here’s to you so hopefully your son will make that soon!! 🙂
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Love your entertaining stories about your family! I can totally relate since we have grand baby #5 arriving in October, the second girl. The two oldest boys are 10 and 8, so they’re easy (except when they get riled at each other and start a sibling war), but the two youngest are 9 months and just turned 3. The 3 yr old needs constant supervision so he doesn’t sneak out the front door or smear butter all over the walls while I’m trying to make toasted cheese sandwiches. The baby wants to be held all the time, which puts a strain on the back and makes doing anything else more challenging.
The last time they stayed the night, my husband and I (Mo and Mia) decided we wouldn’t offer to do that again for a while! Tons of fun, but exhausting, and recovery time takes a couple of days, while we drag around complaining about new aches and pains we’ve developed as a result (I think working nights is taking its toll too). Every time the younger ones are with us, I’m reminded why God designed people in their twenties and thirties to have children. As grandparents, at least we can give them back!😉
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Ha, ha! You are spot on, Mia!! We have eleven grandchildren right now and the older they are, the easier! And you are so right that those in their 20s and 30s have babies by a God designed reason! Lol!
Yet, when it is all said and done, just like y’all we would do it over and over and over, treasuring every minute of it, even during the chaos of sleepless nights, the crying for unknown reasons, and the I want my Mama fits! Part of the advantage of our stage of life is knowing that life itself whisks by! Peace to you and yours, Mia!
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