First Sleepover!

Before I share how much fun my son had at his first sleepover away from home... I'm going to brag about my Supermom friend Laura who hosted the sleepover. Laura and I met two years ago at storytime in the library with our boys and I wanted to be her friend immediately. I'd been living in Ohio for about one month...it was during the hell of winter and I'd just found out I was pregnant...so obviously no more red wine (to soothe my angst), no more hot caffeinated coffee in the mornings (which is what I really craved since moving to Alaska, I mean Ohio), and it goes without saying that I was a thousand miles from my family and friends. So when I first met Laura and her two sons, one of whom was Davey's age, I had to work hard to play it cool. You see I was lonely crazy girl. After just a few minutes of small talk, I wanted to tell her she was my new BFF. I was thinking 'I like you a lot! Our boys will be total buds!' But it's a prudent dance making friends in your 30s. I could've very easily spooked this poor girl right there in the library... there's nothing weirder than a hyper stranger asking for your phone number and planning playdates right away with your kids. Lucky for me after she and I talked a while, she sweetly exchanged numbers with me and offered for us get together. That's when The North Pole Ohio started to get a little better for me... at the start of our friendship. Two years later, not only have our oldest boys become total buds, they're also in the same preschool class. And Laura has become like a sister to me. She now has three boys and I have two and we get all five of them together for playdates as often as possible.
When she called this week to ask Davey if he'd like to have his first official sleepover at their house... you could say Davey was a tad excited. One second he was normal and the next he was literally running, leaping, yelling, skipping, big-eyed, happy hyper boy. I guess he thought it was a good idea. I was excited for him too but I kind of expected he might get homesick...he's only four years old. I remember a few sleepovers when I was young that I was ready to get back home when it was time to sleep or when I woke in the middle of the night. Not this little man of mine. From the time I dropped him off, through the entire night and even the next morning... David Tre had a Blast. In fact, the stinker even threw a giant fit when it was finally time to come home the next day! It was really a fantastic experience for him and made big Dave and I realize how mature our firstborn baby is becoming. And my friend Laura just amazes me. Fearlessly, she took care of her three boys and my oldest for an entire day almost entirely by herself... she is one of those Supermom friends of mine that unknowingly teaches me a million things I didn't know about how to be amazing. Also, she texted me these fantastic pics throughout the evening and the next morning...

David Tre (left) eating dinner with Graham (center) and his younger brother Michael

Close to bedtime, David is reaching into his sleepover bag pulling out his stuffed animal friends and his pajamas.

Boys are snuggled up and David is sharing his Tooter the Turtle with Graham.

Graham is realizing now that his buddy Davey is sorta a bed hog.

The next morning...brushing teeth

Smiley and eating at the breakfast table

more fun playtime

And I think this picture captures it all...His first sleepover was such a big success