Growing up as the youngest child made me spoiled in that I was never really responsible for any younger siblings. There is a relatively large gap between myself and my older brother (nearly 7 years), so for the most part, it was just me and my parents alone together after both of my brothers moved out. I was also one of the youngest neighborhood kids, so there just wasn't a lot of opportunities for me to practice my future mothering skills.
All of that said, I haven't been around a lot of kids. Sure, at church there was always a baby to be passed around, but usually I was too busy socializing, fulfilling my calling or, let's be real, chasing after boys to have any time for peek-a-boo and patty cake. Plus, if you know anything about my father, you know he is always the one to hold the babies and never let them go. Thank goodness he finally has some grandkids, no thanks to me.
Speaking of grandkids, that's actually the subject of my post. This weekend, I went home to visit my parents in my hometown, and help them babysit my adorable niece and nephew for the weekend. It was my brother and sister-in-law's first anniversary, and they headed to Reno for a few days of R & R, leaving the kiddies to myself, my mom and my dad.
Happy Anniversary to Nate and Sarah! (Rylee and I at their wedding)
So, on Friday night I hit the road and headed up north. Although the drive can be nearly 4 hours with traffic, I actually love the opportunity it gives me to just, think. Or not think. I feel like I am constantly checking things-- my email, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, but being in the car you don't have to/can't, so it makes for a few hours of pure, interrupted time to gather my thoughts and work a few things out.
Saturday morning dawned bright and...HOT. Apparently the Sacramento Valley doesn't know it's fall, so it was nearly 80 degrees at 8 a.m. when I crawled out of bed to the sound of a teeny, tiny five year old voice chirping at my door, "Auntie Cait, are you here?!"
David!
I opened the door of our guest bedroom to a beautiful, blonde-haired blue-eyed cutie with a huge smile just waiting to be picked up and carried into the kitchen.
"Hey little peanut!" I exclaimed, a bit groggily, as I swooped up my darling niece, Rylee, and we sauntered into the kitchen where Grandmama (as my mother insists she be called) was making some french toast for us. Perfect way to start the day.
A few minutes later, the men of the house appeared, Papa and my nephew David, who just turned one.
Now, David is the absolute most charming little creature I've ever come in contact with. He has this darling little smile and charges around the house on the chubbiest little legs I've ever seen, getting into EVERYTHING. He pulls open cupboards, eats dirt and grabs literally anything he can reach, so he has to be under constant supervision. He's cute, but a lot of work. I don't know how my sister-in-law does it!
The rest of the day consisted of lunch with my Grandfather (so, Rylee's Great Grandfather) at Olive Garden, and then a little girls outing with just me and Rylee. We got ice cream, did some shopping and just generally has some quality auntie time. I had to use nearly all of my will power to resist buying her a cupcake Halloween costume (apparently she already has a costume, boo), and we of course hit up See's Candy, one of my favorite places to visit when I got home.
Upon our arrival home, we were immediately put to work in the garden, harvesting some veggies for our evening salad. Mother and Father are way off into growing their own food (such hippies, I love it!), so Rylee and I headed our to the garden to pick tomatoes and carrots.
Rylee and I in the garden
After an amazing dinner, we watch one of my all-time favorite movies, Rio, and headed to bed. Rylee set up her little toddler bed in my room and we had a grown-up girls sleepover, where we chatted long into the night (okay, like 9:30, Auntie Cait was way tired).
On Sunday, Mother gave a talk in church. Since my Dad is in the bishopric, this meant I had to sit with the kiddies by myself in the pew during sacrament. Luckily, Sir David was a bit sleepy, and if I rubbed his little head enough, he would lightly doze off--such a man. Rylee an absolute sweetheart (as always) and we survived the service with minimal disasters.
Hanging out with the kiddies always teaches me a few things. Listed in order of importance.
1. I do, in fact, really want children. They are hilarious and I can honestly see the joy they bring into your life. Their sweet, innocent and unconditional love is inspiring and definitely something I am looking forward to.
2. If I get the privilege of being a stay at home mom, I will likely still need a nanny. Or at the very least a housekeeper. Or a really, really helpful mother-in-law.
3. Germs are a fact of life. You know I hate bacteria, but with kids, it's a reality. I am going to be one of those moms chasing her kids around with a clorox wipe and hand sanitizer constantly. Great.
4. I am really grateful for all of the opportunities I've has thus far to live such a rich life full of experiences that have helped me grow. Finishing college, studying abroad and working in the city are all things I think will make me a better mom. I can cope with stress fairly flawlessly, and have a broad world view that I believe I'll be able to pass on to my little ones and hopefully help them have the ability empathize with others and get along with those who are different from them.
5. Having kids means always putting someone else first, which is why I am so glad I'll likely be a bit of an older mom. This kind of goes hand in hand with why I am glad I didn't get married super young, because I am not sure I would have had the ability to always put someone else's needs before mine 100% of the time in my early 20's. But, now that I am officially in my mid-20's I feel like I am more and more becoming mature enough to truly have the ability to think about someone else first, always.
Needless to say, I have since overcome my aversion to babysitting, thanks to my amazing, adorable niece and nephew.
All in all, it was a wonderful weekend, and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. I am so grateful for my brother and sister-in-law, I love them so much!
xoxo
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