First Sleepover!

Shane and Daniel had their first sleepover Saturday!

Daniel arrived at 7 PM and the toddler hijinks followed quickly.

Naturally, I video-taped some of them!

Both boys are big on physical play. I don't know many parents who can say, "I dumped my son off his mattress and he loved it," but Mike, Jessica, Carrie, and I all belong to the same club.

Shane likes to look at himself in the camera if you couldn't tell.

The boys roughhoused hard for the first bit before watching an episode of Mickey to recover. Daniel's more picky than Shane when it comes to TV. Shane was happy the flashing lights were back.

After the episode, Carrie cooked pizza and all the boys ate!

Finally, we had some story time before lining up for bathroom breaks and bedtime.

Carrie was hard at work setting up the room while I read.

Carrie made the (wise) strategic decision to separate the boys' beds on opposite sides of the room. We figured that they'd keep each other awake if they shared a bed or were too close.

She was right, of course. The boys stayed up for another hour or so. They managed to do it really quietly, though. I was impressed!

The first time I intervened was after half an hour when I still heard faint whispering. I opened the door and two heads poked up from Shane's bed! I hadn't realized they were moving about that much! It was very cute.

I made them separate in tucked them both back in, because that's what a father is supposed to do at a sleepover. If it had been a work night and I was worn out, I might have been annoyed. Since it was the weekend, I thought it was hilarious and endearing.

I used to love spending the night with friends as a kid. There was always something thrilling about it. It was a rule that the lights going out didn't mean going straight to sleep (unless there was a trip or something planned for early o'clock...or, as I got older, the lights didn't go out until waaaay late).

The boys slept fine once they were down. They woke Carrie and I up at 6:45 AM ready to play. Carrie took the helm with breakfast and morning play until Daniel's Dad picked him up as we got ready for the 8 AM service. Shane did not want Daniel to go. Then Daniel was sad when he saw us drive away ("...my Shane!")

It all went very well. Carrie and I were happy to have Daniel over so that the boys could play and Mike and Jessica could go to a birthday party.

Ironically, before the sleepover, the boys spent some time together.

Mike and I took them both to Home Depot...

...then they ran in Daniel's backyard....

..., and played with the bounce house and bubbles before my birthday lunch.

(I swear they were so much cuter and excited BEFORE I pulled out the camera)

We saw Daniel's family outside after we returned from Nana and Pop's. Carrie asked about trading sleepover nights sometime in the future (Little did we know, their babysitter cancelled on them beforehand!).

Daniel started to push Shane.

It was nothing malicious, but it was definitely a toddler testing new things and boundaries. Daniel was stuck in time out multiple times. He even pushed Carrie once.

Before Daniel came over, Jessica and I talked. I wanted to know, "What exact behaviors do you want me to correct? How do you want me to play it?" Jessica taught in Egypt, so it was somewhat similar to what you'd imagine goes on every day at my job. She even gave me their garage code in case things really went south.

Daniel was an angel. Shane was the brat, at first.

For the first 15 minutes, Daniel could do no right by Shane. He played with the wrong toys, and when he had the right toys he played with them wrong. He tried to pet Roxy at non-Shane designated times, you name it! Shane would bawl and cry and pout over every little thing. If I asked him to be happy, or if I put a positive spin on things or tried to distract him he tell me "I can't do it!" and cry and/or end up in time out. I could not get him to be a happy camper for more than what felt like a few seconds in a row.

How do you teach flexibility? How do you teach "let the other kid have a toy, too?"

Clearly, it all worked out. Both boys enjoyed themselves and we enjoyed having them. The whining stopped after I took both boys upstairs to Shane's room and away from all the toys. Then they got a simultaneous time-out after a bump and I discovered they liked being dumped off a mattress.

The next round will be when Shane spends the night with Daniel's family. I wonder what stories they'll have to tell!