To Do: Week with SuperNanny

From the day he was born (ok, even before that!), Parker had a #1 fan...our 11 year-old niece, Natalie.  So we came through on our promise to have her come stay with us with summer for one whole week.  Natalie's magic touch when Parker was colicky gave her the name "SuperNanny."  And a few weeks ago, we put those nanny skills to the test.  Right here on Sesame Street!

Ask Natalie about her week, and I bet she will tell you about her really Cool Aunt?  Why?  Because...

Cool Aunts let your brother, Nathan, only stay for the weekend, but you get to stay with your Aunt, Uncle, and new baby cousin for a whole week by yourself! No parents! No brother!

Cool Aunts are totally grossed out when you capture the frog from the window well, but let you call it your pet for a few hours.  Natalie named it Hermit (Kermit's cousin...hello...this is Sesame Street people) and later released it in the neighborhood pond.

Cool Aunts let you do whatever you want with the baby.  Natalie got a true workout carrying the 18lber up and down the stairs, all around the house, outside, etc.  She tried so hard to get him to sit up on his own!

Plus, Cool Aunts say "yes!" every time you want to change a diaper or give Parker a bottle!

Cool Aunts let you have complete control of the tv remote (except at 7am)--even letting you watch the same episode of Good Luck Charlier over and over again if you really want.  (Did you know she is having a boy?)

Cool Aunts take you shopping every day!  Sure sometimes it was to the grocery store or to make a return for me, but Natalie loved to push the cart through the stores...though I'm a little scared that she will be driving a vehicle in 5 years :)

Yes, they have a CAT playground at the mall here :)

And when Cool Aunts take you shopping, she buys you lots of cool stuff!  Sweet little Natalie deserved a few rewards for her work this week!  Sparkly sunglasses, lockets to share with her 2 friends (she's been looking for these forever she informs me!), tye-dye nail polish, and yes, darling shoes that she kept showing off to me!

Cool Aunts let you take naps when Parker naps...because that baby is taking away your beauty sleep!

Cool Aunts make meals that kids like, and introduce you to Tacos in a Bag!

Cool Aunts make sure the week include lots of crafts!  We made bleach pen t-shirts, a painted burlap door hanger that Natalie designed, and a modge-podge American Girl bulletin board.  There was lots more we wanted to do, but we just ran out of time!

Cool Aunts take you on the bike trail...and we rode 5 miles!  It wore Parker out!

Cool Aunts take you to the splash pad so you can take Parker in the cold water for the first time.  He didn't love it, but didn't mind it as long as Natalie was holding him.

Cool Aunts make sure the days are packed with fun activities, like jumping at Monkey Joe's.

Cool Aunts let you make homemade ice cream (and even your favorite flavor--cake batter).  AND, then we made a special watermelon cake for Parker's Half Birthday (another blog of his birthday to come).

After returning Natalie back to her home near St. Louis, this Cool Aunt just laughed when Natalie and her friends used Parker to play a game of Hot Potato.   (If he cried, you were out!)

Cool Aunts let you decorate Parker's stroller for the neighborhood 4th of July parade and walk uphill, super-fast, when it's 105 outside :)

Cool Aunts may be nervous when you take Parker into the swimming pool, but you would never be able to tell.  

But most of all...Cool Aunts are married to really Cool Uncles!  Because we all know that whenever Matt was home, Natalie was full of smiles and giggles and crazy adventures (even riding in Parker's bike wagon thingy).

We truly had such a good time having Natalie around.  There is no doubt that Parker loved the extra attention, and I loved the extra help!  She could hardly wait till Parker woke up from his morning nap so the fun could begin!  I think I had just as much fun as she did!  And I'm starting to think that IF we want another kid, it may be a good idea to wait 10 years so Parker can be the helper!  Kids can be kind of handy to have around sometimes :)