Bounce Bounce Bounce!

To add to my feeling of being quite old, one of my favorite kids just turned 5!!! I have been babysitting the Snow boys for about 3 1/2 years. I started babysitting them when Nate was 3 1/2 and Grant was 1 1/2. Grant barely talked and Nate loved Dora. Grant turned 5 last Friday. Nate is 6 and will be 7 in May and their youngest brother who was born shortly after starting to babysit them, is now 2 1/2. I have spent many of my summer days, school evenings and weekends with these boys. I love babysitting because they are so much fun and brighten my day. They say the silliest things such as "ka-kee" apparently means chocolate milk. Who knew? Along with other fun terminology like "baba," "binkie," and "bebe," in English are bottle, pacifier and blanket. i am sure mothers can relate to such words. Bennett is learning to talk more frequently and recently learned to say "mix". I am quite proud of him!

Over the years I have known them, my mind is still blown to think how old they are. Each brings a special quality to their fun personalities. Nate is the adventurous one, always curious and wanting to learn more. He comes up with the coolest games and now loves Starwars as each young boy seems to become intrigued with at one point or another. Grant is the quiet one; he does not talk much except when he has an exciting story to tell. He always listens and does as he is told even if he says no first (trying to be tough), he always listens happily. Bennett, the youngest, looooves"Go, Diego, Go" and will demand to watch at least one episode a day. He is quite demanding and gets fixated easily on one thing at a time. He looks more and more like his parents everyday and ceases to amaze me with his knowledge constantly.

Overall, I love these boys to death and would do anything for them. They have taught me more than I could have ever learned from reading a book about raising children. they are not always easy but always worth being with. They have taught me patience and to laugh at myself and my mistakes. Whether peeing on me while trying to change a diaper, coordinating bedtimes, making dinner, playing in the sprinkler (with no extra clothes to change into) or bouncing for hours in a bounce house till I can no longer breathe, they have made my time with them adventurous and fun. Even when I am in a bad mood, they brighten my day and reassure my want of being a mother someday to have adventures with my own kids. But until then, I will enjoy hanging out with them.

mothers are amazing,

Meg