Rainy Day With Friends

Today we were supposed to go to the zoo, but the rain continued for yet another day, so we were stuck inside. Thankfully our friends we were supposed to meet at the zoo were able to come here instead for a little playtime, lunch and more play. Koen, although seemingly excited about his friends' Jonathan and Faith visiting, acted so bizarre while they were here. Seems that there was no switch between ages 3 and 4 and we are still in this weird, frustrating and difficult at times state of being. Ugh! He didn't want to share his trains, but was good about sharing pretty much everything else. He would play with J & F for a little while, then he would just do his own thing and was often just instigating frustration with Tav or whining to me about something unnecessary. I didn't have the energy for it today. How do you deal with this behavior when it is so different from what you experience on a regular day? It's so frustrating. My friends must all think he is the biggest snob/spoiled brat or something, but really he does pretty well most days now when we are in our daily grind. How come when I try to plan something that he should enjoy it backfires on me? Thankfully, Tavin is not at this stage yet and his little friend, Luke and his mommy, Allison, also visited with us. The two little guys were adorable. I'm bummed I didn't get any pictures of them. Luke walks already and Tav is quite quick on his knees, plus the older kiddos were a little chaotic, so with all of that there was just no chance for a photo opp. Oh well, hopefully next time. The mommies had a good time trying to get in a few broken conversations as would could throughout the time together amidst the crying, whining, playing, etc. I think some people think being a mom is a breeze, well, today was proof that that is certainly not the case! The kids did really well at lunch (of course Koen complained most of the time and asked to eat his friends' food instead of what I had prepared for him...unbelievable!). Here are Faith, Jonathan and Koen eating away on a healthy, whole wheat coconut chocolate chip bar I made to share. Thanks Krissy and Allison for coming over today. I really enjoyed your company and look forward to our next time together (and hopefully a more balanced and content Koen!).