I just hosted my first big play date.  Four 2 year old girls and two baby boys at our house at one time!  Of course, the other moms were there too, or that really would be an accomplishment.

I really enjoyed having our little group over here.  I was worried that we wouldn't have enough toys to keep everyone happy, but we did.  Natalie had awesome behavior; she didn't mind sharing most of her toys.  While she didn't join in on all the games, she did get excited to see her friends and joined in some.  William was great until the very end, too.  I had a craft planned, but we didn't get to it.  The girls seemed happy with that they were doing, so I didn't bring it up.  I hadn't planned a snack, but some fruity cereal in a bowl worked great.

I always like seeing how are kids are different and the same.  Natalie still seems to be the most talkative, but she also interacts the least, or maybe it is that she has the most reserved personality.  Natalie also deals with sharing the best, but really only because she isn't fighting for the same toys because she is doing her own thing.   Its interesting to see how one little girl listens so well to her mom while another is having a lot of trouble with tantrums.  They are all within five months of each other, but there is such a spectrum of what they can do. For example, Natalie can drink from a juice box, but not a cup without a lid, but the other girls have different combinations of these skills. 

I also really enjoyed being around the other moms.  For example, its nice knowing that all our kids are doing the same with potty training.  Or to hear two of the other moms joking about their sex lives in a way that completely mirrors my own.  Or to know that the other girls have all also dropped f-bombs at some point. These are very comforting coming from other moms.

I'm glad I brought up doing these play dates once a week.  Not only is it nice to have something to do on Fridays, but it will be really great to see the kids grow together and get to know the moms more.  It also just feels nice hosting, sharing what we have in our home.