Baby Sitting Journal; the first 24 hours flew by!

Bye Bye Mommy and Daddy

La La la la la, Elmo's Song

I have just completed the first 24 hours of my 8 day babysitting assignment and so far; so good!!  When Alexis and James said good-bye to 14 month old Olivia as we left for her open-gym class, you could tell she knew that it was not an ordinary good-bye.  I think that she could read the ambivalence about leaving her on her Mommy and Daddy's faces.  She watched them as the elevator door closed and did not follow any baby prompts to throw kisses or wave good-bye.....and that was the only time so far that she gave us any impression that being alone with us was out of the ordinary or sad for her.  We chased her around the gym,  took her to visit her favorite cousin Sophie (a 7lb. maltese who isn't so pleased  that Olivia has usurped her first place position), braved the St. Patty's day crowds at Central Park and pushed her on the swings, ad nauseum!  It was great and would it surprise you to know that I was EXHAUSTED!!  When Alexis called and asked me what time I wanted the baby sitter to come, the last thing I wanted to do was to go out to dinner.

But here is what I learned on my first day of babysitting.
1.  Olivia knows baby sign language.  When I asked her if she had enough of the swing, she started making gestures with her hands.  I thought that she wanted me to sing The eensy, weensy, spider..... But when I tried to take her out of the swing, the baby who never cries started to scream and gesture ferociously.  I finally realized that she was putting her two hands together in the sign which means "more".  So I pushed her some more and then some more again, until I was dizzy!
2.  When she starts squishing her food between her fingers, it means that she is done.
3.  If I bring her pull toy with us when we are walking on the streets of New York, and I hold her other hand, she can't pick up every dirty cigarette butt (and worse) that we pass on the street.
4.  "Little Miss Independent" does not like to be left alone in a room for a single second.  I even have to take her into the bathroom with me.
5.  She loves dogs, and ducks and her piano, understands everything and learns so many new things every day.