Hanging Out With Lucas
I had the privilege of spending the afternoon with my great nephew Lucas today. His mommy and nana were supposed to take a shopping trip to Ikea over in Cincinnati today. I was in earshot when they were talking about the trip so I volunteered to baby sit since my work calendar wasn't booked yet and I was planning to be in the area to pick up Lindsay (Because of a work thing I'm spending my Friday's in Muncie this month so Lindsay is spending her weekends at Grandma and Grandpa's new place.)
Unfortunately Donna and Amanda's original plan fell through because his mommy had to work today - but he still needed a sitter so I got to hang out with him for the afternoon.
At just over 14 months old, this little man has a good solid schedule of napping, eating, and playing. He pretty much can get around all on his own, but is still contained by closed doors and baby gates - as long as you latch them completely. He's a totally fun bundle of activity and energy - mixed with just the right amount of cool, laid back kid.
His nana watched him this morning. I arrived during his nap. So he woke up to a strange person in his house. He adapted pretty fast though and nana was able to sneak out while I fed him lunch. From there, we were off and ready for some adventure.
We had a great time watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse re-runs off of the DVR - which included a showing of Partysaurus Rex (from Toy Story) which had us both dancing. Lucas loves to dance and sing - and he's got his own set of moves to the Diggety Dog song at the end of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. There was a lot of tractor riding too.
His nana awesomely prepped his afternoon snack and got everything ready so all I had to do was warm up his bottle this afternoon so definite thanks to her for making sure I knew where everything was and how everything worked. She watches him several days a week and I love seeing how close he is to both she and my brother. All her work and hints made my afternoon with Lucas go really smoothly.
My favorite activity, of course, was reading some books. We read some Dr. Seuss and I learned several things about trucks and tractors. Just like his mommy did when she was little, there are a few pages of books that you know he knows the words to by heart - he just hasn't started saying all of them quite yet. He's getting great at animal sounds and is really good with some of the car and truck sounds.
The biggest difference from spending time many years ago with his mommy and her brother and cousins - a difference I'm glad his nana clued me in to before she left - is that this kid is a climber - and this blue chair is his personal jungle gym. If you blink and aren't standing right there, he's trying to stand up and do a little jig in the chair. The boy has no fear. I have healthy fear for both of us so luckily there were no injuries on Aunt Nicki's watch today.
So, it was smiles all around today as Lucas and I had an awesome time playing and I loved getting to visit with his mommy for a little while when she got home from work. I so love watching her as a mom and seeing how calm and relaxed she is about the whole parenting thing.
It was a great way to spend a Monday and capped off an excellent weekend with Gayle followed by a nice visit with my folks last night which included a surprise dinner with Johnny and Donna and Susie. Being surrounded by family and friends is always an awesome way to spend your time and getting to spend extra time with this adorable little guy was a truly fabulous way to spend a Monday.