Couch Flip

Last Tuesday, one of the things that made that night's dinner closer to our ideal was that I put the toddlers at a different table.

And that worked because 1) it makes more room for the rest of the family at the big table (we need a new table) and because #2) it was helpful to have the small busy bodies out of the way of us calm and mature folk as we dined. (...although the older kids often have their fair share of being restless and noisy. Hooray for date night)

Anyway, I cleaned all the little kids paint and marker and art work off of the little table, and I repainted it, and I've been bringing that table in for our sit down dinners this past week. Tonight reminded me that it is good to have them at a different table, cause they were getting up and down over and over again. If they were at the big table doing that, it would just make things more crazy. It was crazy enough tonight, but it was better to watch it from a semi-safe distance and not have them climbing up and down from the table where we were trying to sit and eat. Tonight Owen and Daniel were doing flips over the couch. I think Lily started it before she sat down to eat, and then Owen and Daniel took it from there. Up on the stool, lean over the back of the couch...

and flip! Down the chute he goes.

It was noisy but funny to watch. Their fun made Lily want to rejoin, so like I said, it's hard enough having the big kids sit down and hold still without trying to keep the toddlers seated too. Someday we'll have dinners like normal families? And we've gotten there some times, but those times took a lot more work. This is probably consistent with how our regular school night dinners look.

Corey commented "Dinner and a show..." Daniel's turn, showing that he can keep up with the big kids...

Daniel struggled to get over the couch, but once he was almost there, he'd pause and look or Corey "Dad! A dis! (Watch this)" "I'm watching!" and over he'd go, flip!

They were calling Corey's name the whole time. "I see you! I saw you! Ok! That's pretty cool..." "Dad! Dad! Watch this! DAD! Watch!" over and over. Corey commented as he was attempting to put his bowl in the sink "I wish I had another set of eyes on the side of my face..." so that he could look at them but also not have to keep looking at them, lol. These are the days, childhood comes with an expiration date. We'll try to enjoy childhood while it's here.