Cousins Sleepover 2009

Joe and I had planned a Cousins Weekend to include Davis and Carter this fall. The invitations went out. The invitation was for "Pizza, Popcorn, Pajamas and Pancakes" and included a personalized pillowcase and popcorn! We started out Friday night at 6 p.m. with a "Make your own pizza" supper. Carter piled all of his ingredients on the table, and ate all the other ingredients. He was shoving pepperoni and cheese in his mouth the entire time. Davis made a picture-perfect pizza with his ingredients evenly spaced and the right amount of everything. Maddox had the most ingredients on his pizza (go figure) - that thing was like 12 inches thick. And, Joey was more interested in everyone else's pizza than his own! Who knew that you could catch a glimpse of each one's personality - and appetite- through this task? Then, we braved the Dowling playoff game. With three cousins on the team, it's hard to resist. Packing up 4 carseats in the car was interesting! And, getting them all out, and holding everyone's hand on the street....people stared at us everywhere thinking, "Wow- are those ALL their kids?" The boys could not have had more fun! Dowling scored and Davis would cheer the loudest! Carter did not stop smiling the entire time at the game. Here in this picture, Maddox is asking Carter for a hug. I was so happy to get that on camera! And, here we are all holding hands on the way back to the car. Future Dowling Standouts for sure! When we got home at 8:30ish, I knew it was pajama and popcorn time! Here are all the boys with their pillows and their Buzz Lightyear matching pajamas from Gma Bobbi! I wanted to squeeze every one of them!Here they are watching Toy Story together. They loved being together. And, when Toy Story's "You've Got a Friend In Me" song came on, they all got up and danced. Bedtime was a breeze! They went to bed with no questions asked! And, in the morning, I got them all up, put them in our room, and put on a cartoon while we got breakfast ready! I couldn't believe how they all stayed in bed! After breakfast, we danced, played, and then went to the park for an hour. It was a beautiful day out so the boys loved the park! The weekend ended at 11 a.m. on Saturday with four absolutely exhausted boys! Here are some memories:

* We were a little worried about Carter because he loves his gma bobbi so much right now! But, our worries were wasted- he loved every minute of his time with his cousins! He was in heaven- he never stopped smiling! And, at the game, he turned to Gma and said, "Bye, Gamma!" and wanted to go home with us!
* Carter said "thank you" 92 times. And, Davis listens so well. These two boys are polite and well-mannered and made me think Joe and I have some work to do on our own boys!
* Carter let go of a hand in a parking lot and I looked over and Joey had tears streaming down his face. I said, "Joey- what is wrong?" And, he said, "Carter is not holding anyone's hand and he will get ran over by a car and we will never see him again" and burst out in tears. He is so tender-hearted. He really thought Carter was going to be gone at that moment. It broke my heart.
* We were all playing and something scared me and I said to Davis, "Davis- did that freak your freak?" And, he looked at me and said, "No, Aunt Holly, it broke my heart."
* Carter did not miss a meal- he loved supper, he loved breakfast, he loved snack time, he loved popcorn. And, he did not miss a poop either- 3 times!
* All 3 boys peeing at the playground. I put them on a hill and the pee ran down it obviously and the boys freaked out. Joe told me that he'll handle bathroom breaks from this point on. Guess I didn't consider the hill factor, or the fact that they were all standing too close to each other and are not good at aiming yet.
* I walked Davis into the bathroom so he could go, and Davis told me he didn't need help and that if I did help him that my hands would get wet with his pee. Thanks for the warning, kiddo!
* Joey and Davis doing EVERYTHING together.
* Carter wanting to tackle Joey over and over and over and over. Joey being so gentle with him.
* Joey saying to me, "Mom, don't worry. I am going to help you take care of all of these kids."
* Maddox helping Carter find his favorite car every time we lost it!
* Watching all the boys dance and Maddox trying to teach his new moves to everyone. And, if I had a dollar for every time a boy said, "Watch me! Watch me!", I would be rich.
* Davis and Maddox slept together in a full bed without one problem. It was adorable!!

What a great time! Although four boys four and under is a task- Joe and I felt like we got to know Davis and Carter that much better. It's hard because when we're all together, we're usually with gma and gpa and other moms and dads, so we don't get much one-on-one time with our nephews. But, this way, we got to see their little personalities come out, see what makes them smile, see their own dance moves, and see how they interact with each other.


At the end of Friday night, Joe and I commented how lucky we were to have such great nieces and nephews. We could not love them any more!