Recently Alex I have been doing a little bit of babysitting.
I don't personally remember the last time that I did and Alex had never done it by himself, until last week!
Friday I was asked to watch my visiting teaching companion's daughter for a few hours. Of course i said, "YES!" This little girl Emerson is everything that baby Gerber stands for. She is 15 months old now and although she can't form complete words, she gets her point across while roaming the house endlessly.
I was nervous at first thinking, "Do I know how to watch a 15 month old, what do I do with her the whole time? 2 1/2 hours is a long time, and do I remember how to change a diaper?" It's amazing what can leave your mind if you don't practice it. So as her mom was leaving me with all the instructions I started to feel ..... she does this on a daily basis, I can do it. I'm a woman - it's inherently built within me to have the capabilities to handle this.
Her mom shut the door and Emerson was off. I followed her around picking up things, putting them back, keeping certain cupboards closed, trying to get her to drink milk, and actually feeling sorry when she started to cry because all her food was gone. I never had to change a diaper, but at the time didn't care if I would've had to. I was so surprised by how little she needed to be "watched" and was actually entertained by her most of the time. My how the time flies when you're having fun. I was worn out and very impressed when her mom returned.... she does this on a daily basis - and she survives with a smile and positive attitude.
Bless you Riki!
The second opportunity came a few days later when Riki again mentioned she needed a babysitter for Tuesday night while we had our Relief Society dinner - I volunteered Alex :)
He went over right after work, and I met him after our dinner. Apparently Emerson's parents were going out after the dinner and so Alex and I finished the night off babysitting together. I was very impressed to see Emerson with clean diaper (changed previously by Alex) and a bucket on her head! Come to find out, he didn't feel the need to hover over her as much as I had. He was totally relaxed and completely in control..... until it was bedtime. We both tried different tactics for a few min. and then we just left her in the crib. 45 min. later when I had to leave she was still sitting up talking to herself. Determination of a 15 month old is amazing.
I was so proud of Alex for doing this on his own.... he will be a great dad some day. Especially if his kids like to play video games with him ;)
Believe it or not, we had had years without babysitting and our THIRD opportunity came only 2 short days later. Alex's brother Ryan and his wife had a party to go to Thursday and asked us to watch their 3 girls. I thought for sure this would be a piece of cake after Emerson.... and seriously it was. I have learned that if kids have each other to play with, babysitting is a breeze.
Their girls were so much fun.... we were laughing at everything they did whether it was really funny or not, kids just make us laugh. They are so impressed with the simplest things in life. We should try to be more like them. Thank you Jenny for giving us that chance, you have done an amazing job with them!
It's been an interesting week but we've had a lot of fun and we're learning a lot so that in the DISTANT future we'll know a little more, and be slightly more prepared to take on the joyous challenge of raising children :)
You all are heroes!!
I don't personally remember the last time that I did and Alex had never done it by himself, until last week!
Friday I was asked to watch my visiting teaching companion's daughter for a few hours. Of course i said, "YES!" This little girl Emerson is everything that baby Gerber stands for. She is 15 months old now and although she can't form complete words, she gets her point across while roaming the house endlessly.
I was nervous at first thinking, "Do I know how to watch a 15 month old, what do I do with her the whole time? 2 1/2 hours is a long time, and do I remember how to change a diaper?" It's amazing what can leave your mind if you don't practice it. So as her mom was leaving me with all the instructions I started to feel ..... she does this on a daily basis, I can do it. I'm a woman - it's inherently built within me to have the capabilities to handle this.
Her mom shut the door and Emerson was off. I followed her around picking up things, putting them back, keeping certain cupboards closed, trying to get her to drink milk, and actually feeling sorry when she started to cry because all her food was gone. I never had to change a diaper, but at the time didn't care if I would've had to. I was so surprised by how little she needed to be "watched" and was actually entertained by her most of the time. My how the time flies when you're having fun. I was worn out and very impressed when her mom returned.... she does this on a daily basis - and she survives with a smile and positive attitude.
Bless you Riki!
The second opportunity came a few days later when Riki again mentioned she needed a babysitter for Tuesday night while we had our Relief Society dinner - I volunteered Alex :)
He went over right after work, and I met him after our dinner. Apparently Emerson's parents were going out after the dinner and so Alex and I finished the night off babysitting together. I was very impressed to see Emerson with clean diaper (changed previously by Alex) and a bucket on her head! Come to find out, he didn't feel the need to hover over her as much as I had. He was totally relaxed and completely in control..... until it was bedtime. We both tried different tactics for a few min. and then we just left her in the crib. 45 min. later when I had to leave she was still sitting up talking to herself. Determination of a 15 month old is amazing.
I was so proud of Alex for doing this on his own.... he will be a great dad some day. Especially if his kids like to play video games with him ;)
Believe it or not, we had had years without babysitting and our THIRD opportunity came only 2 short days later. Alex's brother Ryan and his wife had a party to go to Thursday and asked us to watch their 3 girls. I thought for sure this would be a piece of cake after Emerson.... and seriously it was. I have learned that if kids have each other to play with, babysitting is a breeze.
Their girls were so much fun.... we were laughing at everything they did whether it was really funny or not, kids just make us laugh. They are so impressed with the simplest things in life. We should try to be more like them. Thank you Jenny for giving us that chance, you have done an amazing job with them!
It's been an interesting week but we've had a lot of fun and we're learning a lot so that in the DISTANT future we'll know a little more, and be slightly more prepared to take on the joyous challenge of raising children :)
You all are heroes!!
3 comments:
You guys will make great parents! Thanks for playing with our girls. -Ryan
Thanks again for being SO willing to watch the girls! They were SO excited to have you both come over. We can't wait to watch YOUR kids! You guys are the best!
Bless YOU, Elisabeth (and Alex)! You were so sweet to help me out. I enjoyed reading your views on Emersen. Hahaha.
BTW, I obviously found your blog. Thanks to Facebook. I seriously love you guys. We need to do another game night or something...
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