Auntie Donna Gets to Babysit

July 17, 2011

The other day, I got a call to pinch-hit as babysitter for my darlings, Miss Morgan and Miss Marlo. My own beautiful girls are 18 and 12, as you probably know if you've visited this blog more than a few times, so it was a delight to revisit little girlhood for awhile. When I got there, Marlo--one of the happiest babies in the world--was on her tummy in the living room, amusing herself with some bright and colorful toys. Morgan was watching Yo Gabba Gabba on the tv. (As a side-note, let me just say that Yo Gabba Gabba was kind of creepin' me out--almost as much as Teletubbies did back when Danielle was little. Give me Blues Clues and Bear in the Big Blue House any day!) The girls both broke away from their pressing activities to greet me when I came into the room. Don't you just love the unabashed joy in the greeting of a little one who is happy to see you?

The first thing I did was whip out the camera. It's what I do. At first Morgan wasn't in the mood to have her picture taken, which is a little surprising, because that kid is sunshine personified. She wasn't in a bad mood, though--she just said politely, "No thank you, Auntie Donna," when I asked if I could take her picture. She was more than happy to serve as director, though, for Marlo's photo shoot, and offered up the helpful hint that Marlo loved to see her pictures after they were taken. And my goodness, did her little face light up at seeing her pictures in the view finder! After awhile, Morgan decided she'd like to have a few of herself as well. In this picture, by the way, Morgan is hugging sissy, not choking her. She is so good with her sister and really loves her. : )

After pictures, Morgan went back to the tv show for a few minutes before declaring it time to go in the backyard to play tag. Of course, Marlo doesn't play tag just yet, so it was just Morgan and me. A two person game of tag is not the norm, but it was no deterrent to Miss Morgan. Tag, you're it. Tag, I'm it. Tag, you're it again. She didn't seem to care at all that there was no one else who might keep her from being the next 'it' once she tagged me. It didn't matter; she just loved playing the game.


Then, just as suddenly, the game was over. Back to Yo Gabba Gabba. (Who IS that creepy dude in the bizarre wig?? She might have loved him, but I'm pretty sure some of my nightmares that night were born of having seen this guy on tv earlier in the day.) Marlo and I played peek-a-boo for a bit, and then we were off to the backyard again, this time for a round of hide and seek. Marlo accompanied us for this game, because I didn't want to go into hiding when I was babysitting. People frown on that sort of thing in a babysitter. So Morgan hid, and Marlo and I found her. (She doesn't realize that her giggles are audible even when she's out of sight.) Then Marlo and I hid--not well, I might add. Nana's backyard doesn't have a lot of hiding spots for an overgrown adult holding an infant. We awkwardly ducked behind the patio table, but we were no match for the super-sleuthing skills of Morgan. Her turn led her to hide--in the same spot as the first time-- but Marlo and I listened to her giggles for a little while before we 'found' her again. At that time, even she recognized the limitations of Nana's yard for hide and seek, and we went back to tag.


After some serious tagging, we decided to come in and have a quick snack of yogurt (Marlo had a bottle) and in no time at all, Nana was back from her doctor's appointment. Auntie Donna got lots of hugs and kisses, and gave promises to see the girls soon, and then I was headed back home to my own beautiful grown-up-way-too-much-for-this-nostalgic-mommy kids. I adore the absolutely amazing kids my own children have grown up to be, but sometimes I really, really miss the wonderful world that toddlers and infants inhabit. I'm so thankful I've got family and friends who will let me 'borrow' theirs for a little while sometimes.