We have had the privelege this week of babysitting my niece, Kynnedy. She is staying a total of 10 days with us. She is 16 months old and so much fun. We have loved having her around. She's also been a great reminder of life with a baby. With my kids spaced more than 4 years apart, it's easy to forget the little things... waking up in the middle of the night because of teething, making sure the baby gate is always closed on the stairs, having to change a dirty diaper right when you need to be walking out the door, having an extra set of clothes and snacks in the diaper bag. You know, the little things. I had also forgotten just how much fun it is to have a baby in the house. She just cracks us up all of time. She babbles and has some very "serious" conversations with anyone who will listen. She likes to cuddle. She loves to explore and finds such joy in a new toy, a cup of juice, or a bath. She's done a great job of testing out of a few of the toys I picked up for Mercy. She gives them two thumbs up! 
As you can see, even our dog, Morley, is excited to have a baby in the house again. He loves little people that drop (or throw) food for him to eat up. And let me just say how awesome Emma and Avery are with her. They look out for her, play with her, and even changed a couple of diapers (believe it or not they wanted to do this)! Yesterday, I needed to take a shower, so I asked Emma and Avery to keep their eye on her. I told them that if she got out of hand to just put her in her bed and I'd go as quickly as possible. I expected to get out and hear her crying. Instead, I heard music playing and lots of laughing. They were having a dance party. Kynnedy loved it! Life as a family of five is going to be fun. I'm so glad Kynnedy has helped to prepare us. It's going to seem quiet around here when she leaves... ok, who am I kidding, not quiet, but a little less noisy.
