Daddy, In Over His Head

Before we get to the title story, I have a couple quick pictures to share. First, Cate is the biggest copycat in the world. Will never copied like she does. If Mommy or Daddy is doing something, she usually feels like giving it a try. If Will is doing something, she definitely gives it a try. So last weekend I picked up some drinks from Starbucks for Jenna and me. After a while, Cate was all over Jenna and snatched away the cup sleeve thing. Soon enough we look over and Cate is having Starbucks too:

The mom of one of Will's friends gave us a cute little pink potty for later when Cate is potty training. Well, like I said, if Will is doing it, she is definitely trying. The evidence:

Two quick points on this picture. No, we didn't actually let Cate try to go to the bathroom. We aren't insane enough to be potty training her at this age and at the same time as Will. And yes, they are sitting on potties in our living room in front of the TV. We occasionally let Will watch an episode while sitting on the potty. It probably isn't the smartest thing to do, but we don't do it often and whatever--you do what you gotta do sometimes.

Onto the title story...Yesterday morning, Jenna had a thing at church for her upcoming ACTS retreat. That meant I was in charge until noon. We started with a trip for Donuts with Daddy (Will and I let Cate tag along). At 10, we had a joint birthday party for Miller and Helen (Miller is Will's age and Helen is close to Cate's age). After Donuts with Daddy, I got us organized. I punched the address of the party into my phone so I would have directions. I got the diaper bag together. I had the presents waiting for me so I wouldn't forget them. Of course, the act of loading the two of them into the car was chaos, and I got a little flustered. I ran back in the house and grabbed my phone and the diaper bag, and we took off. We get a little ways down Forest Lane and I realize that Will is sitting in his seat but he isn't strapped in. Awesome. Way to go, Daddy. You really nailed that one. So we pulled over, I strapped him in and turned back to go when I realized that the presents weren't in the car. Double awesome. Oh well, Will, Cate, and I have winning personalties and the presents will get there enventually (thanks Jenna!), so no one will mind.

My handy phone directs us to the party. After turning onto their street, I put the phone up thinking I would see the party. Sure enough, there it was with balloons and a bunch of cars out front. We unload and walk up. I was a little confused because the invitation made it seem like a safari theme for the party, but the actual party appeared to be an Alice in Wonderland party. Whatever, we can roll with that. We let ourselves in and are greeted at the door by a very nice couple who introduce themselves. I introduce us and proceed into the party. We spent like five or ten minutes there. I was bewildered. I didn't see Miller or Helen or their parents. And Will was clinging to my leg. Then I noticed the sign that said "Happy Birthday Hannah." We were at the wrong party. My kids are both under the age of three and I have turned them into party crashers. We let ourselves out. On the way out, the guy I met at the door told me they knew we were at the wrong party. As the door closed, I could hear them laughing at us. I'm glad they were amused.

Anyway, we marched down the street and went to our party. We had a ton of fun. The Creature Teacher came and the kids got to pet a snake, a chinchilla (I think that was the name--let's just agree to forgive any names from here on out), a sugar fruit flyer, a bright green and orange frog of some sort, a ferret, and a hairless guinea pig. There was a bounce house, a sandbox, and Chick Fil A nuggets. We partied hard. Jenna came toward the end and brought the presents so we weren't total freeloaders. Anyway, the kids had a blast and wore themselves out. As proof, I offer Cate in the car (notice the party favor still in hand):

That's it for now.