vacation update, again

First, a snippet of conversation from this afternoon, quoted directly except for names.

four-year-old child: Auntie Fox, why don't you're going to stay here forever?
me: No, baby, I'm going home tomorrow, to my house.
four-year-old child: Aw, man!

Furthermore, at his birthday party Friday evening the one-year-old child - handed to me early by his grandmother so she could go wrap presents - was not interested in being passed to any of the other aunties or uncles. I imagine he wouldn't have cried if I'd given him to his parents, but they were busy enjoying grown-up company, so I didn't try; and every time I asked other adults if they wanted to hold him, his little face crumpled up and he turned and clung to me. I know he doesn't know me well enough to have cared that it was me specifically, but I was the one who had him before the overstimulation began, so I was the safe comfortable one. Heh. Paid for it later, though, when I was the one to hose him down after he was comprehensively smeared with frosting and crumbs.

The two-and-a-half-year-old child has had a series of remarkably bratty afternoons, but even she has her moments; she'll be on a tear, pitching a toddler-sized hissy over something completely inscrutable, and I'll pick her up and sit on the couch with her and hold her through the yelling and squirming, and after a minute she'll settle down and put her thumb in her mouth and her head on my shoulder.

This auntie thing is a pretty good gig. :-)