I like things that Nap.

This weekend I learned that things that nap are the very best things. I like things that nap.

We kept my 9 month old nephew Samson for 7 hours on Saturday. My sister had a wedding to shoot in Austin, and we were nominated as babysitters. I was more than happy to do it, he is a cute kid and I hadn't seen him in over a month. My limit is usually 3 weeks before I feel like I've missed too much. Since our last visit, he's started walking and eating pretty much anything you put in front of him. 

I was proud that we managed pretty easily all day, with minimal fussing. Of course, there were two of us and I did get Sam to nap for almost an hour. Nap time is when I like babies the best. I also learned that breast milk makes me gag, especially when someone squirts it across my face with the bottle. Blech. Thanks to my days as a nanny, crying does not phase me one bit, and neither do tantrums. However, poopy diapers definitely get to me, so I was very happy that the kid did not poop and I was granted that small concession. And bottom line? I was very glad Tim had this experience, if only to prove: they are fun to play with and cute to have around, but only when on loan. He loves Sam, but he was ready to give him back! Hah. I don't think Oscar will be getting any siblings any time soon.

Here's a photo run down of our day of pseudo-parenthood:

We took a walk around the neighborhood with the baby-wearing Ergo, in which I felt like Bianca from 10 Things I Hate About You having to wear the Empathy Belly Pregnancy Suit before going to a party.

Tim is the model babysitter. Clearly, the baby is being carefully monitored, and the sitter is being entirely attentive -- to his iPhone.



Oscar discovered that the best thing about babies is there is never a shortage of boogers, free for the taking. It's like an all you can eat pick buffet.

A naked baby appeared in our yard, so naturally we got out the hose to scare him off. Little did we know, naked babies love water.

After it was time to drop the munchkin off, we relaxed with an evening of nothing-ness. I wasn't as tired as I thought I'd be after 7 hours on baby duty, but I was relieved to be able to plop on the couch and cuddle with a furry creature who was not going to swipe me across the face trying to find my nose, or cry if I didn't make funny faces at him, and was perfectly happy being ignored and ignoring me as long as I shared my blanket with him.

Saturday evening after dropping Sam off, I also got a really sore throat. It came on so suddenly and was so bad that I thought I had caught a cold. I think now that it was just allergies from being outside all day and rolling around in the grass. As a result, we missed church with the Starey's on Sunday morning yet again, and slept in and recovered. Oscar was a cuddle-machine that morning. Somehow I think he always knows when I'm feeling bad. I also think he doesn't mind any excuse to lie around with another warm body. You can tell my eyes are all puffy in that morning picture.

Sunday afternoon Tim took Oscar to the park to play while I sunbathed in the yard, and then we did some yard work together. We're prepping to build a simple compost box, and put in a raised garden bed. After that, the house got quiet for a few hours while Tim and Oscar napped (again), and I did a little reading. Then we blew the whole evening finishing our taxes - hallelujah - and watching the truly boring Oscar ceremony. Not our dog, the awards. Our dog is not boring.