A Visit from My Niece

Remember how I told you that my big sister had a baby? Well, one of her daughters came to stay with us for a few days while mamma & baby were in the hospital.

This 11 year old holds a special place in my heart because back when I was a teenager, before I could even drive, I babysat her and her brother almost every weekend.
They were so darn cute and they filled my heart with joy. And they still do!

This girl is the spitting image of her mother, a little lady, a proficient helper and a very sweet girl.

We took her back to her family yesterday evening and by the time I tucked my kids in bed they had asked
when she would come again approximately 100 times :)

Here's a little glimpse of our visit:

On Sunday I took her to meet the new baby. We couldn't hold him that day but he is healthy and home now!

On Monday we just goofed off.

On Tuesday we had a "pool party" with a couple of her girl friends... 

and of course my boy thought it was funny to spray them. He is a boy after all!

"You stay here fwoggy, I'll be white back."

  

a real frog in our pool?!

We visited the wildlife preserve yesterday- the peacocks were molting their gorgeous feathers.
She got to take one home (a feather, not a peacock)!

The ducks and geese were molting as well, but we all know... it's not the same.

  While she was with us she took it upon herself to teach my little guy to talk. This turned out to be quite a difficult task -she would ask can you say "taco"? or can you say "high five"? and he would smile and nod vigorously. She did teach him to say "yes" instead of just nodding- what a triumph! She was obviously proud of her success and she said "that's what I love about little kids, I can teach them how to talk."

I thought my little guy might grow tired of his rigorous speech therapy but this morning he found his play cell phone and called her name over and over. 

Yeah, I think he misses her as much as the rest of us.