Swing With Me

Birthday party season is in full swing, and this evening we attended a party for one of Christian's buddies from school.  We are also friends with his parents, and so it was a fun party for the whole family.  I have a hard time with birthday parties sometimes.  All the kids are running around having a great time, and Christian is with me.  He is usually having fun, but I can't help but get bummed out that he isn't chasing the other boys around.

Our friends have a swing set, and I thought that would be a great way for him to interact with the other kids, but unfortunately, they didn't have a bucket swing, so I knew it wouldn't work for Christian.  But my realization was a little too late, and Christian had already decided he wanted to swing.  Full melt down mode commenced, and I frantically searched for a way out.  Then I saw the hammock.

I convinced Christian to calm down, and tried to get him excited about the other swing I found.  Within moments, he was squealing happily, bundled up in the hammock.  As I was expecting, Tessie appeared at my arm, wanting a turn.  But instead of getting out, Christian asked Tes to get in with him.  That was a little too risky of a situation for her, and she declined.  But Christian begged, and with a little convincing from me, she was in the hammock too.  It didn't take long for both kids to be having the time of their lives.  After a while, Nick came to relieve me, and since he provided a much crazier ride than I did, I was totally off hammock duty.  I couldn't walk away though, they were just too much.

Tessie, although coming out of her shell a little, was getting nervous when Nick swung a little too high or off kilter, and Christian just screamed for more.  My kids are a really good match for each other.  They both encourage the other to move beyond their comfort zone, and act as a support system when they do.  It is truly a beautiful thing to watch.  Especially when it is accompanied by insane giggling.