nieces

Thank God for teenage nieces who like to baby sit.
These last few days leading up to Christmas can be crazy hectic. I had a few things I still needed to get yesterday for Christmas Eve dinner, in addition to cleaning, laundry and baking. The thought of accomplishing everything on my to-do list with a 5 month old on my hip was daunting. Not to mention the feeding, bathing and diapering required.
Fortunately, John has a 13 year old niece who is amazing with children. In exchange for a night away from her brother, we get a babysitter. We're trying to build her confidence so that we can have a babysitter for date nights. She's comfortable with the bathing, diapering and entertaining aspects. She's still getting comfortable with the feeding and getting to sleep part of it. I can't say that I blame her, Dominic can be determined not to fall asleep and not to burp.
So Tiara spent the night Monday. I woke her up when Dominic got up yesterday and handed him over to her. In between check marks on my list, I relieved her. But other than that, she was his full time caregiver yesterday. As I was out and about, I just kept saying to myself, "Thank God for Tiara." I couldn't imagine trying to get in and out of the crowded stores toting a car seat with a 17 pound child in it.
She did such a wonderful job that we couldn't bear the thought of taking her home. So she stayed with us last night as well. Hopefully the experience boosted her confidence enough that she might be willing to watch Dominic for date night. But even if we just use her for relief on hectic days she is a huge blessing and we are thankful.

Dominic's addition: Santa comes tonight! I've been practicing waiting up for him! Me and Mojo have been REAL good. Merry Christmas!