We survived!

Aren't these two cute and adorable?  Well of course I'm biased but having had them together on Saturday I didn't find them quite as cute as when they're on their own lol.

Both my sons and their wives had been invited to the same wedding in London so we were tasked with looking after Noah and Rory.  Both their other grandparents are too far away and there really wasn't anyone else who could step in.  Consequently hubby was informed that under no circumstances could he make alternative plans for the day - he was coming with me.

I'm thankful that he did - hats off to anyone who has twins to cope with (and as for triplets or quads....)  Makes me wonder how I coped with 3 under the age of 4 when mine were little but my Mum was around and I had friends who helped out too.

We looked after them at Rory's home - lots more toys and equipment there for them and the bonus of no stairs to worry about.  

And I had a plan - we would probably arrive during Rory's nap time so we could get Noah settled without having to cope with Rory too.  Fail #1 - Rory had just woken up from an early nap when we got there at 1pm so we were plunged straight in.  Noah had also already napped so the afternoon stretched out ahead of us.

I planned to let them play for a while.  Then we would take them for a long walk in the park.  Fail #2,  we got them all ready to go out (a major task in itself) and hadn't gone very far when the rain started.  And didn't stop.  We did walk a bit but Noah's buggy didn't really have a waterproof cover so we were forced back to the flat.

They actually played reasonably well together - well side by side - considering they don't see that much of each other.  Rory was a bit bewildered by Noah constantly throwing everything around and Noah seemed bemused at Rory getting up and walking away.  It was also the first time that we've ever really babysat Noah and he did get upset at times which was understandable.  Difficult for Rory to understand why I couldn't physically pick both of them up together though. 

Anyway we got to dinner time.  We'd taken our highchair over to make feeding them easier though we did have to keep them as far apart as possible in the limited space to stop Rory pinching Noah's food.  Both of them are good eaters BUT - Rory scoops up handfuls of food and eats quickly, Noah picks up food a piece at a time and savours it, therefore taking ages!  It was a bit tricky making Rory wait for his yogurt dessert but I didn't want Noah to leave his dinner if he saw Rory with yogurt.  We got there eventually.

Bedtime for Rory was a doddle - he understands that when his bedtime routine is done he will be put in his cot and left to go to sleep.  He doesn't like the last bit - he'll cry.  But only for a few minutes and then he sleeps.  He didn't let me down.  He was in his cot and asleep by 7.15 and we didn't hear another peep from him.

Noah was the opposite.  He got upset while I was seeing to Rory and Grandpa had managed to calm him and snuggle him and he'd gone to sleep.  I tried to transfer him to a buggy but of course he woke and then he was not happy.  I changed him and got him into nightwear and tried to settle him again but it took ages and I ended up just sitting on the rocking chair with him.  Eventually he gave in and got into a good sleep so I was able to lay him down on the sofa.  He was still asleep when the parents came home at 11 pm.

They managed to get him back here and into bed without too much upset and they'd all had a good time at the wedding so I was glad we were able to make that possible for them.  And of course I do love Grandsitting, just one at a time please!

On Sunday we hosted all of them, including Nathan and his Mummies for brunch come lunch.  I do like to try and do that when Noah and his parents are down from Nottingham but of course it is a bit hectic although at one point all the little boys were asleep.

Rory had the comfort of the travel cot:

Although he won't fit in that for much longer!  And Nathan fell asleep on Mummy.

I didn't get a pic of Noah asleep in his buggy -  I went in to take one and found him awake.

The little ones took their parents home early in the afternoon but we had Nathan here a bit longer as his Mummy went to see one of her friends and new baby nearby.  It's hard work looking after them and having them all here together but they are growing up so fast and I'm just so grateful to be able to spend time with them and watch them all developing.

I'm thankful that this week is half-term though and I haven't got to look after Rory.  A few days rest and catching up at home are very much needed!