This weekend our friends Erin and Billy came to Raleigh to visit.  They moved to Charlotte about six months ago.  It has confused their 3 1/2 year-old son that he now lives in the city of Charlotte and that is different from his little friend.  When Will walked in the door, I couldn’t believe the tall, lean, little boy he had become.  Will always called our daughter “Baby Charlotte.”  He obviously couldn’t call her that now.  He looked at the toddler before him in slight disbelief before the two took off to play.  I got to snuggle their newborn son, Nate.  It was a great time.

Erin and I are lifelong friends.  Kindergarten was when we began our storied friendship.  I’m sort of in love with these pictures I snapped of Charlotte and Will together.  When I look at them I see their mothers.  The young friends we were are echoed in the faces of our babies.

I hope your Labor Day was this happy.

How nice was it to have a holiday in the middle of the week?!  Our little firecracker made it memorable.  We decorated her wagon and headed to downtown Apex, NC for their little kid-friendly festival and parade.

Two of Charlotte’s BFF’s, Cadence and Josh, joined her for the parade.  I use the term loosely as it’s really a stroll down the block among hundreds of other kids with their faces painted.  It’s cute, really.  It’s tailor-made for toddlers and preschoolers as it’s held between 9am-noon.

Among the hundreds of star-spangled tots were their equally patriotic parents.  I was amused at the crowd and the similarities in our parental paraphanalia.

Almost every parent had some or all of the following:

• A decorated Radio Flyer Wagon-  Many had the identical streamers and star stickers I found at Target.  I did not upgrade to the glitter star door-hanger from the store’s 4th display, but the more enthusiastic parents had several of them.
• A yuppie jogging stroller- This seemed acceptable to have in lieu of the Radio Flyer.  Particularly if your older child was riding their tricycle in the parade while one parent waited with the infant in the stroller.
• Diaper bag or backpack- Stocked with Goldfish or some organic snack that wouldn’t melt in the sun.
• Sippy cup-  Each had the child’s name on it in the form of a silicone band or dishwasher-safe sticker.
• Expensive DSLR camera- The parent in no way had mastered all its features.
• iPhone-  To take pictures with instead of the DSLR.  Some pictures had to be uploaded to Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Tumbler/Foursquare etc.  I mean, are our children really doing something if we don’t put it on the Internet?
• Overpriced sunscreen- No doubt from Target.

Poor Miss Charlotte only made it halfway down the block when she saw Daddy and started crying and reaching for him.  She was smiling and waving up until then.

I was so happy strolling in all that silliness.  I mean, we are in a country where we have the freedom to raise our children however we choose.  There are women in other parts of the world who can’t relay the ups and downs of parenthood or spout their opinions on the Internet everyday.  I do.

Today I happily celebrated my freedom by participating in social media.   Happy 4th of July, everyone!

I think all parents of little singletons wonder what it would be like to raise multiples.  Greyson and I got a little taste of caring for “twins” this weekend when we babysat the son of our good friends.  Charlotte and Josh are just four weeks apart.

Murphy’s Law of Two Toddlers-

1. When one is ready for a nap, the other isn’t.
2. When one gets a snack cup of crackers, the other will want one even if you already asked them if they want one and they refused.
3. When one starts to smear food around while eating, the other will kick up the messy because they think it’s funny.
4. When one has a fresh diaper, the other poops.
5. When one is happily playing with Elmo, he/she suddenly MUST play with the Mickey Mouse the other has.
6. When we play Jason Mraz’s Sesame Street version of “I’m Yours” called “Outdoors”, we’ll have to play it five times in a row.
7. When one has a paci, they will take it from the other child’s mouth out of jealousy.
8. When there are five nearly identical rubber duckies in the bath, both toddlers must hold the same one.
9. When there are two toddlers in the home, the dog will be fatter and happier.
10. When there are two, it is double the giggles, double the fun, and double the sweetness.

Greyson and I laid in bed Saturday morning laughing, even at 6:00am.  The sound of their chatter coming from the monitor woke us up.  We looked at the screen and saw Charlotte standing, looking over her crib at Josh.  He was standing in the Pack ‘N Play.  They were pointing at each other and grinning.  Their baby babble and squeals were indecipherable.  The only thing we understood is their delight at seeing their friend when they woke up.  It was a fun weekend, despite Murphy.