babysitting

When I got up today my arms were a bit sore. That's odd, I thought, I wasn't at the gym yesterday... Then I realised it was from hauling a 20-month-old around for a few hours! My friend Galia's little Sebastien is getting so big! I was nervous about babysitting him because it had been so long since we'd hung out, but he was a little angel. We played at Templeton Park and it was so fun to see him tackle everything. He learns like a sponge. "Hold on tight, Sebastien", I'd caution, hovering behind him while he launched himself up a swinging chain-laddery thing. "Tight," he'd echo, and up he'd go, learning the first time, then smoother the 2nd time, then mastering it the time after that. I love his sense of humour and the fact that he doesn't laugh at my bad french. (His mom is bilingual.) "Chaud!" he exclaimed when the piece of pasta he'd grabbed was too hot; "Lave les mains", as pasta sauce dripped from his grabby little hands, his face, his hair... We played at the park, splashed each other with the hose on his balcony, wrestled with the wild pasta for dinner, and had a final stroll about the neighbourhood before bed. It was debatable who was more tired at the end of it all!
It's so fun getting to watch your friends' kids growing.