Double duty outing

Today was a busy day from the start. We went to my SIL's house for a family brunch. The kids were excited to play with their cousins and did very well considering they were playing with toys that would not come home with them. I saw Audrey getting very attached to a Woody doll talking to a Jessie doll, but when the time came to relinquish the dolls she said, "Oh, OK." and dropped them easily. Nikko was carrying around two DVD covers and darting from room to room. He was in the kitchen a lot hanging around me to see what I would be eating. When we had to leave, I was relieved that this time he didn't throw a huge fuss when told to say good-bye to the DVDs.

There was a moment when I was putting away something in my backpack when I saw all the kids in the living room, play and chattering with my SIL's in-laws sitting on the couch. I watched Maya and Ronin pushing cars off the table and laughing heartily. I saw Audrey sitting with the dolls making them talk to each other. Rex was also fiddling with a toy that I can't remember. And Nikko was flopping around on the carpet clutching the two DVDs, sometimes looking up at the ceiling and sometimes looking at the kids in action. He was mumbling jibberish the entire time. It bothered me to see Nikko stand out, clearly the oldest and the tallest of the cousins, but acting as if he didn't care about a single soul in the room and making indiscernible vocalizations. For a fleeting moment I wondered what the other people who didn't know Nikko were thinking.

We came home for a short recharge and then headed back out to Atz's place to celebrate the March birthdays. Nikko went back and forth from the upstairs with me to the basement where a few toy houses were. All the kids did well but I think by dinnertime for the adults Nikko was getting cranky. He was playing with the butter dish until I pushed it away from him and that set him off. He tantrummed in the hallway for a few minutes until Atz brought over a Tootsie Roll lollipop that placated him. But prior to that, Nikko was doing his tea kettle whining and I was losing my patience because I was tired, hungry and couldn't figure out what the heck he wanted. I hate that I was getting loud and irritable myself, but thankful that the lollipop was distracting enough. I should have factored in that Nikko could have been tired from a long day (and only one car nap).