Daniel's 1st Sleepover!

Daniel got to have his very first sleepover at Grandma's house this week- for three nights in a row, too! He was SO good for them and he kept to his routines very well, and they all had a lot of fun! I'm super proud of Daniel! I sure missed him, but it was great to know he was doing so well.

Since our c-section was scheduled (at the last minute pretty much, but we were still ready for it), it made it very easy to plan things for Daniel and my parents. I had Daniel's bag and a bin of food all packed weeks ago, and with a few last minute additions, he was ready to go. Grandpa Gary came over to our house very early Thursday morning to be there when Daniel woke up, while we headed to the hospital to prepare for Annabel's delivery.

Daniel knew Pop-Pop Gary would be there to wake him up and that we would be gone and he handled that very well. I was so proud of him. Cute story: I was talking to a neighbor on Wednesday afternoon while we were outside and she wished us luck "for tomorrow"; Daniel immediately stopped drawing with chalk and chimed in to the conversation, "Pop-Pop coming over!" He knew what was happening "tomorrow"- I loved that! It also never ceases to amaze me how much he listens when you think he's busy!

Aunt Christina was at Grandma Cheryl's house to greet Daniel when they arrived later on Thursday morning, so I have her to thank for some fantastic pictures of Daniel's first day at Grandma's.

There's my big boy!

Daniel sports his "Big Brother" shirt...and a cheese face!

Checking out the luggage!

Playing "pretend nap"

Daniel apparently would color for looooong periods of time!

In all, they had a lot of fun, playing with all of Grandma's toys, old ones and even some new ones! Daniel enjoyed coloring and watching videos, too. Grandma and Grandpa took turns reading to Daniel for bedtimes. And since Daniel was there for a long time, he even learned the names of their cats (up till now he only knew Lucy, the dog; the cats never really stayed around long enough to get to know them!). It was funny because he came home and looked at Zoey and said, "Not Joey, ZOEY!" (Joey is Uncle Brian's cat and he looks sort of like Zoey- they're both gray.) Thanks again, Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Gary for having Daniel to stay over at your house- that was such a big help! We're so glad everybody had a good time.

We're glad to all be back in our own beds now. My little boy is now such a BIG boy, having spent a few nights away from his Mommy and Daddy! And now we've also paved the way for more sleepovers...someday (you'll get your turn, too, Grandma Mary Kay!), when our schedules are normal (wait- what's that?!) again and our lives are a little more settled down. For now, we're a very happy family of four, together in our home!