Adventures in Baby-sitting, Part 1
Part 4
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| Trey is standing on a stool and Nate is on the right. |
Last weekend I had two of my nephews from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. Nate is 4 years old and Trey is 2.5 years. They are very active and love to be silly. Trey imitates just about everything that Nate does.
Right after their parents left on Friday afternoon I think they were just playing, but I can't remember the details. We were still at my parents' house but it was just my mom, grandmother, and the boys and I. Somewhere I got the crazy idea to take them in public so soon go to Chic-fil-A and let them play on the small, indoor playground. So around 4 or 5pm the boys, my mom, Grandma, and me went to the Chic-fil-A near my house.
Testing the Boundaries with Aunt Kerry
It was about this time the boys decided to test me out, I think. "Let's see what we can get away with!" Before we even got in the car, they decided to run the other way, laughing. After taking their hands and leading them to their car seats, we were on our way.
The testing game continued in the car. They decided to scream (just for fun) as loudly as they could. I asked them to stop but it was too hilarious for them to stop. We arrived at the fast food joint and when we got inside to stand in line, they decided they wanted to pull on my arm and not stand up. Of course, we were surrounded by people, but I told Trey in a firm voice to stand up and he did for a minute.
As we sat down to eat they didn't act very hungry and took turns jumping on the seat and then sliding under the table to try to escape. I did insist that they eat some before they played and they did. My mom ended up with Nate in her lap and Trey was right beside me with my arm around him. They finally figured out that they weren't going anywhere until they ate something.
After playing for a while they were ready to go to my house. My mother and Grandma had already left. So, we arrived at our duplex with a trunk full of their belongings. Hmm... There was no way I could carry it all in one shot so I took the boys in the house and told them to wait while I made a couple of trips to the car.
Terrified By the Dog
My mistake was not introducing them to the dog first! Chico, my year old Shih Tzu, was in the kitchen, behind a gate, but when he sees someone new he gets super excited. He jumps up and down and cries. Evidently, this put some fear into the boys! I was afraid, though, that if I waited to get the stuff out of the trunk that it would be dark and I would totally forget about it. Then, I would have had to run outside to grab a diaper and pajamas and stuff. I now realize that would have been much better than having the boys terrified by the dog! I have to say that my dog is great with kids and he didn't do anything to harm them.
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| Silly Chico! |
So, when I got everything in the house I needed to let the dog out, but Nate freaked out and said, "No! I don't want you to let him out!" This made Trey get scared, too, so Nate started screaming for his Daddy and Trey started screaming for Mommy! For a minute, I seriously considered taking everything back to the car and spending the night at my parents, without the dog.
I knew, because of past experience, that if I left the dog in the kitchen he would continue to jump around and want to greet our visitors, therefore being even more obnoxious. Also, the sooner the boys got to know Chico, the sooner they would realize that he would not hurt them.
Long story short, after much screaming, letting the dog out of the kitchen but holding Nate (Trey must have been on the recliner), I decided to create a diversion. "Hey, guys it's bath time!"
I don't know why, but BATH TIME SAVED THE DAY! Once they got in the bathtub with the new Ferrari Hot Wheels we bought, they were like different children. While they were in the bathtub they even talked about playing with Chico when they got out. Huh?!
And so it was that they were calm and learned to love Chico in a span of about 30 minutes. Whew! I wasn't sure if I still wanted a dog after that fiasco!
to be continued...
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