Babysitting the Boys

I love my nephews more than I can say, but I have to admit that I've never really babysat them on my own before this weekend. I offered my services so that John and Jill could escape to NYC for an overnight to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. So I left work early on Friday and drove up to Montclair to begin this adventure.

I arrived to find John and Jill almost ready to leave, Emerson was asleep and Sebastian was playing Wii. Nathaniel was at a birthday party and would be dropped off later. John and Jill finally headed out the door and an evening of fun began! We played Wii, we played Batman, we ordered pizza and garlic knots, I read to Emerson and everyone (including me) finally fell asleep around 10pm.

On Saturday morning everyone was up by about 6am. These kids are notorious early birds and they lived up to that this weekend. After getting Sebastian and Emerson baths and getting everyone dressed and finding everyone's swimsuits we piled into my car with Nathaniel sitting in between Em and Sebastian. Our first stop was Sunrise Bagels, which was an adventure, especially when all three boys decide and one time or another that they have to use the restroom, including in the middle of placing our order. Thankfully, at 7am on a Saturday, our fellow patrons were pretty understanding with all of our shuffling around. After that we got on the NJ Parkway and Turnpike to get to Grammy and Gramps' house.

There was emergency construction on the Turnpike, so we stopped at a rest area to give everyone another potty break (it was hot, I had to keep them hydrated) and pick up some treats (Reese's pieces and Twizzlers, yes it was about 8am). I also came armed with a pack of Silly Bandz to distribute as needed. Emerson fell asleep pretty quickly after our rest stop, but Nathaniel and Sebastian bickered like an old married couple for the rest of the trip. It was hard to stay neutral and not burst out laughing at some of the things they said.

Finally! We arrived at my parents' (Grammy and Gramps to the boys) and all got in the pool. The reason I drove to south Jersey was because Nathaniel had to be dropped off for Grammy Gramps Camp. Eventually cousin John arrived with his mom and we all had lunch. Mo headed back to her mom's and Grammy, Gramps, John and Nathaniel got on the road to DC! This left me, Sebastian, Emerson, my Aunt Marianne and my Grammy (Great-Grammy to the boys) at the house.

The boys watched a movie, I got to catch up with my Aunt and then they got back in the pool for another dip before dinner and getting on the road. Sebastian is really becoming quite a strong swimmer:

Em still prefers to stay on the steps or outside the pool, but this doesn't stop him in participating in the creative games that they come up with. They often involve pirate ships and sharks and other watery themes.

Here is Sebastian raiding Aunt Marianne's pirate ship!

And after a quick dinner of mac and cheese the little guys and I got on the road. They were both asleep after about 15 minutes on the road, and they stayed asleep until we got to my house. Sebastian woke up in time to share some dinner with John and Jill and I, but Em just kept on sleeping.

It was a really fun way to spend 24 hours, but I have to say, it was exhausting for me, too. After cleaning up the house a little bit, I fell asleep on the couch...