Special Time with My Niece: Miss Adorable

This niece of mine stole my heart at birth.  Then she grew curly hair and big blue eyes to seal the deal.  Having her at our house on Thanksgiving this year was extra fun, because since I’ve seen her last in August, she has become a talking machine, and it’s incredible to listen to everything she has to say.  I’m a true Auntie, because in my eyes she can pretty much do no wrong, ever, and I’ll pretty much give her anything she wants, always. And that’s OK, because I’m the auntie!

One evening all the big kids, including the four year old big kids, met our neighbors half way down the street to go the movie theater.  Dr. Peds and Grandma Kathy went with them, and they had a wonderful time consuming vast quantities of popcorn and enjoying a very silly movie.  Auntie Dot stayed home with baby Nathaniel, and Miss Adorable and I made special plans so she wouldn’t feel left out since she’s not quite big enough to go to the theater yet.

Initially, I wasn’t sure exactly what those special plans were going to entail, but Miss Adorable was all in with fervent enthusiasm about going somewhere special.  I knew I’d figure something out.  Auntie Dot actually came up with the idea of driving down to Bentleyville, the Christmas light display, to get a cookie.  Perfect!

We bundled up in our winter clothes and took Auntie Dot’s van.  This little girl was so excited.  “It’s gonna be FUN!  We have GOOD time!” she exclaimed again and again.  I’ve never been considered fun before!  For a night, I was FUN!  On the drive down she yelled from the backseat, “You a GOOD driver, Auntie Rachel!  Weeeeeeee!”  She really liked the hills in Duluth.  She also enjoyed the tunnels on the freeway.

It’s wonderful to see things with fresh eyes!

We parked the car and walked through the Christmas lights.  I’ve never been to Bentleyville with just one kid before.  It’s an entirely different experience!  I didn’t have to worry about anyone getting lost or running into all the other people there.  Bentleyville was packed with people  the day after Thanksgiving, which makes sense when you think about it, but wasn’t what i was expecting.  Crazy!  It worked out great though, with Miss Adorable hanging onto my hand very nicely the whole time.  So many lights!  She liked the blue and green ones right next to her the best, the ones lighting the path.  Forget all the displays!  And who cares about the giant dancing Christmas tree in the center of it all!  BLUE!  GREEN!  She liked the close-up- view.

Right as we finished walking around the path, she declared that it was time to go back to the car.  Perfect!  We headed home, where we snuggled on the couch and read picture books until Auntie Dot insisted she head off to bed.