Our Third Child! (for a few days)

While Susan and Eric went skiing in Zermatt, Jack, Kate and I had the privilege of babysitting Teddy for a few days... it was a great chance to see what it might feel like to have three little ones - and a good reminder how grateful I am that our mother was able to do this all with such grace.

All in all, it was a fun week - the house was a lot messier and the days longer, but they were filled with fun moments - and it was really neat to see Jack and Kate behave as older cousins. Jack was so sweet and giving to Teddy - very patient with his little cousin, and very helpful to me. He transformed many of Teddy's toys into new objects (see above) and was great at watching over his little cousin - telling me whenever Teddy tried to put something in his mouth, and making him laugh whenever he was a little sad. Its amazing how different a 4 year old is with a baby - compared with how Jack was when Kate was a baby.

Kate started the week with star performance - she gave Teddy her stroller, her crib and her highchair - and was so excited to have him share them all.... but by the end of the week, she had decided that "No, Teddy!" was her favorite phrase, and took to coming to tell us, "I pinched Teddy. I kicked Teddy, etc." Luckily, her Auntie Susie is VERY forgiving (and could empathize a little bit, having been the middle child) - but it was hard on her mother to see this normally very sweet little girl demonstrate her tyrannical side.

Both sets of grandparents sent us fun packages that arrived during the week - giving us lots of arts and craft projects to keep us busy - which was much appreciated, since we spent most of our time at home (with back-to-back naps, how do other families ever leave the house?). But the best part was my alone time with Teddy while the other kids were at school or napping - it was really neat to get to know my nephew 1:1 - he is such a happy, easy-going baby... and it was fun to really get to know his personality.

Susan and Eric returned on Thursday evening (via the Glacier Express) and we had a fun dinner and reunion when they returned. More on our weekend together in the next blog...