playing house...

Yesterday, Matt and I watched our nieces, Avery and Atley, and nephew, Canon. Shelly, our sister-in-love is on bed rest in the hospital here in Dallas, so the kids are with her parents while Phillip works in St. Louis. Thankfully, he has gotten to come and visit fairly often. It has been a trying time for them, so we want to help as much as possible, and wish we could do more. Despite the situation, they are holding to God's Word and trusting in His promises.

With that said, yesterday was such a fun day... and a great pre-parenting experience for Matt and I both. Anytime Matt and I get to babysit together (which doesn't happen much) I feel like a little girl again, playing house. :) All my life I have wanted to be a mommy and I love getting to practice, especially when Matt is there. It is always a good little test for us... can we handle it??

The first time Matt helped me babysit was with my cousins kids. Lexie, now almost 2, was just a newborn and I gave Matt the job of holding her while I made us some dinner... the other three were already in bed, so just the three of us. Matt was a little nervous, and I should have been a little bit nicer about explaining things to him, but she was a newborn... she just laid there. He was doing good, but then panicked, just a little bit, when Lexie spit up on him :) Ok, I know, maybe a little rough first experience. I think he has always been a little afraid of babies (because in his mind they are "breakable"). The reason I share this with you is to share with you how proud I was of him after yesterday!! He has come so far :)

It was a busy day, and with 3 yr. old twins and a 15 month old, we were a little tired, just a little though ;) We tried to make the day fun for the kids and wanted to plan some activities so we weren't just sitting at home with them. So, we were off to Chick-fil-a to play in the play area and eat lunch. Then back home for a nap. A little craft project with paint ... I know, I was taking a HUGE risk with all those little hands, but they did great. Then off to the hospital to see Shelly. Back home for dinner and then time for bed. Whew, what a day! Doesn't seem like a lot, but getting all of them in and out of the car alone was hard.

The whole time, Matt was such a huge help! He put kids in their car seats, took them out, carried and put Canon to bed, and played sweetly with all of them. I was so impressed. And for all you wanna-be-mommies out there, seeing your man exceed at the daddy-role is more than enough to want you to have a baby really soon ;) At least that is how it is for me!

I guess, what I am trying to say is, baby you did an awesome job of taking care of our sweet nieces and nephew. Honestly, you surprised me. You were amazing, and I know you will be a great daddy one day. I have all the confidence in the world in you, knowing our boys will want to be just like their daddy and our girls will be daddy's girls :) Love you babe.

It was a great day with the kids. Sorry for the lack of pictures... forgot my camera and my phone is not cooperating. But, cute quotes from the day:

The girls loved wearing my digital watch and pushing the light button. Atley - "Look Avey, I have a movie on my arm."

Matt was "eating" the girls and I was saving them from him. As he was going to eat Canon, Atley yelled, "No, no. Don't eat him. Save me Lauen!"

Talking with the girls about going to see Shelly. Avery - "My daddy at the ZOE house."