Tiny Glimpse Into Parenthood

This past weekend we watched our niece and nephew so my sister and her husband could have a well-deserved weekend away. Nate and I absolutely adore Sydnee and Taylor, so we were happy to have that time with them. These two kiddos are so god darn cute and smart, I’m glad we were able to have them all to ourselves for a bit.

Here are some snippets into our weekend, minus the numerous “I want a snack,” “let’s watch a movie,” etc. etc.

Sydnee (who is three-and-a-half) is a master negotiator. When I put her to bed, she said, “Okay Shaina, leave my door open, turn my music on, and sit in my chair.” So I obliged. Half hour later she was calling out so I went up to her room and she asked for her music to be put back on. And for the door to stay open. And for me to sit in her chair. So I obliged again. Half hour after that she was crying so I went up there and she wanted her music turned on again. I just hugged her for a little bit and she finally fell asleep…until 3:00 AM. All the while, little guy slept all night until 8:30 in the morning. Bless him.

In the morning we made muffins with Sydnee while Taylor was still sleeping and played at home until mid-morning. We took them to an indoor playground in Woodbury. It was pretty cool, but a little too advanced for their abilities. I was a proud auntie though. Taylor was happily running around and climbing up the pseudo rock wall to go down the slide all by himself. Over and over. Sydnee is so social and kind to complete strangers. She befriended a little girl who was not so sure of Sydnee but Sydnee kept on saying, “Hi, I’m Sydnee, I’m three, what’s your name?” They then took turns going down the slide. Cuteness.

Fast forward to Sunday. We were getting ready to go to Noodles for lunch. We were playing in the living room when we told them we were going to go to a restaurant (Sydnee loves restaurants, maybe because she thinks all restaurants have a playground like McDonalds). She was cool with the idea until we told her it was time to get ready to go. She all of a sudden wanted to go play outside. Cue the toddler tantrum. She hesitantly put her coat and boots on while bawling. I went down to her level and asked “Hunny, what’s wrong?” to which she responded, “I don’t know!” I then just hugged her to acknowledge her feelings and she stopped crying. It’s times like these, which are obviously on a very small scale, that really make me think about how much kids are rushed and told what to do. Obviously there are things to do and places to be, but I can’t help but feel bad about it sometimes. Kids take such joy in the very moment that they are in. It really is a joy to watch if you take the time to notice.

I love knowing these kids’ quirks. I’m so lucky that I do. Some of Sydnee’s saying are turning into classics. For example, if you ask her, “Sydnee, do you know what we are doing tomorrow?” she will say, “Yeah.” But if you then ask her, “Well what are we doing?” she will then say, “I dunno, can you tell me?” Or if you say something she didn’t hear or understand she will say, “whatchu say?” It’s so freaking cute. Taylor loves dip. He calls ketchup bop-bop. Sydnee had to explain that one to me. If Taylor sees something that he wants, his eyes get big and he points and yells. His cuddles are the best. When you get him out of his crib after a nap, he always cuddles you for a little bit before he fully wakes up. There are few things better in life.

My sister makes being a mom/parenting look so effortless (most of the time, hehe). She would probably disagree with that statement, but if you are around her a lot in different situations, she always seems to have control and handles life with such grace. I can only aspire to be as good of a wife and mother as she is. She is raising two amazing children…I can only imagine how much these kids will accomplish in life.

Nate and I are grateful that we are able to spend so much time with Sydnee and Taylor not only because we simply love spending time with them, but it also gives us a chance to practice teamwork and figure out our “parenting” style, even though we aren’t parents yet. Nate is so good with them; it makes me even more excited to see him as a dad in the future.

Lastly, both of our arms hurt from playing with and picking up the kids. Seriously.