Good Evening!
Back from niece- and nephew-sitting. It started off with the usual "Where's my mommy?!?!?!!?" trauma for my niece, Alyssa, but due to the intervention of my nephew, she settled down pretty quickly.
"Uncle Jojo, if she watches her Care Bears, she'll calm right down."
So, John Michael loaded up the DVD player, hit play, and, lo and behold, Alyssa stopped crying. Then she and her brother just sat in the big recliner in the living room watching various adventure of the Care Bears for the next hour or so.
While they were watching the Care Bears, I took out my camera-phone and took some pictures. Now if I can just figure out how to post them here - the format is strange. But they both are camera hogs, so it was a nice way to get Alyssa even more comfortable with me.
After building Lego castles in the basement, it was time to get ready for bed. John made sure to tell me that he takes his shower after Alyssa takes her bath. And Alyssa made sure I knew which soap and shampoo to use. Of course, earlier in the evening, when I would say, "Hey, it's time for a bath," she would say, "No." But as soon as it was 8:00, and "Time for bed," she just went through her routine.
After her bath, John Michael took his shower. All by himself. While he was cleaning up, I got Alyssa dressed for bed - she even took out her pajamas for me. She told me where her hair brush was, and that I had to read to her too. We read some Mickey Mouse adventure book - and, actually, John Michael read to her too.
After all the reading, Alyssa told me that she sleeps with her light off, but she has her own special light behind her bed - a night-light. And then she told me that I needed to lie down with her while she went to bed. So, I did what she told me, and once she was asleep, I quietly left her room, and headed over to John Michael's room.
John Michael was already under his covers, but he wanted someone to read to him too. So, I read him the Mickey Mouse adventure book - something about Father Time and his missing Millenium Clock. However, unlike his little sister, he does sleep with his light on - and the door cracked open just a little bit.
All in all, it was a wonderful evening. They are really wonderful kids. And John Michael is a great big brother, very protective. And Alyssa is a great little sister.
When my brother and his wife called in to check in on things, they were actually surprised they were in bed on time - well, almost on time - and that Alyssa had actually calmed down after the "scene" when they were leaving the house.
And tomorrow, I will be attending John Michael's school musical, "Go Fish!". He apparently even has a "BIG" two-line solo in one of the songs.
I can't wait!
