Recently I've been babysitting kids just a couple days out of the week.
One day I watch a 2 year old girl, another day I watch an 18 month old girl and her 5 month old brother.
And I LOVE IT.
I really love the social interaction it brings Gavin.
He totally enjoys having someone else his age to hang out with!
He observes them closely and though they may not play together per say, they play along side each other very well.
Gavin, as well as the two girls, are all just wonderful toddlers. They are well behaved and they are a joy to be around.
Yesterday Gavin and the 2 year old girl filled my house with laughter and the pitter-patter of their feet. They had this game of their own going on. They would run to the end of the hallway, stop at the door, turn around and run back into the living room. They used the couch as bumper to stop themselves, causing them to fall down on their butts. Then one after the other they would get back up and do it all over again. They thought this was absolutely hilarious and tons of fun. They must have done it 20 times in a row before they finally wore themselves out. It was so adorable to watch them and very heartwarming for me to see my baby boy having so much fun.
Today when the other little girl was here, they took turns handing over the bowl of cheerios so they could both have some (it didn't take long for the snatching it from the other child happened, but it was cute while it lasted). It's so funny to watch them interact with each other too. Gavin doesn't really say very many words yet and what he does say, isn't used in context aside from specifically addressing me as mom and David as dad. He knows what you say to him most of the time though. Keep in mind, he is still only 14 months old. He's getting there. But anyway, the little girl (18mos) talks a lot. She says a lot of words and knows how to use them in context. And when she talks to Gavin, he just stares at her, observing her and I can only imagine his little brain working to try and figure out just what the heck she is even saying. She doesn't understand that he isn't on the same page as her so she just looks at him. His response usually consists of his own little baby babble. But it's all very cute, none the less.They are very entertaining to watch.
Toddlers, I tell ya!
Who needs TV?
HA!
It makes me so overjoyed to see my baby boy (he'll always be referred to as a baby if I have anything to say about it) learning, laughing and growing up. He's a happy little guy and that's all I could ever want for him.
I've come to realize JUST HOW MUCH I love to babysit other kids. I LOVE IT. I love the company it brings to both Gavin and I.
I love the responsibility as well as the challenge.
I really want to have more children.
Definitely not right now, but not too far from now either.
I want us to be better off than we are right now before we add to our family. I want it to be a comfortable addition. One that we are ready for.
But I'll tell ya, I cannot wait for the day!
I love being a mom. More than (literally) anything else in this world. I feel like I was never really living life to the fullest before I had Gavin. I didn't have a purpose other than the obligations of taking care of myself.
I didn't appreciate or embrace life as whole, until I had Gavin. He is my purpose, my motivation, my happiness, my love, my reason, my will to do all that I can to be the best person I can be for him.
He is my everything.
His is my life.
Nothing else matters except his happiness and wellness.
Everything that I do, I do in his benefit.
He deserves the world and I do everything I can to give that to him.
I feel like having other kids his age around benefits him so much.
I also feel like I benefit too. It makes me happy to have them here.
I get to be around an adorable, smiley little baby whom I adore. Which is great since I'm not yet ready to have another one of my own.
It's a great experience and I feel very lucky to be given the opportunity.
I feel really honored that I get to babysit them. It's always a wonderful feeling when someone else trusts you with their child(ren). It's a big job and it's very, very important. Not one to be taken lightly.
Gavin doesn't get babysat very often at all and when he is, it's only by family.
That's your life you're putting into someone else's hands. You have to trust that if it comes down to it, they will put your child's life first. They have to be kept safe and protected in any given situation that could occur.
Maybe not everyone views it as harshly as I do. But I don't take to the subject lightly.
Overprotective? Absolutely! Can you blame me? I don't blame myself one bit.
I could go on and on about the topic all day but I won't do that.
I think I've voiced my views and opinions on the subject enough for one blog.
I'm not even sure if it all makes sense together.
My hands are doing all the typing while I'm desperately trying to keep my brain from falling asleep over here.
Why I stay up so late is beyond me. It's pointless, really.
Well, maybe not pointless.
My house is silent. David and Gavin are both asleep.
I get to sit on the couch, watch my recorded TV shows, and blog.
All by myself. This is ME time.
I can actually hear my own thoughts and relax.
Some times I just get a little bit carried away with the whole 'time' factor and I push it so far that I'm falling asleep on myself.
So now that, that's happening I'm going to go ahead and go to bed.
Good night & thanks for reading!
