Aunt Caitlin, the Baby Whisperer

What could make a rainy (I mean, really rainy) weekend at home with a tiny baby extra fun? A visit from Aunt Caitlin!! My little sis took the Bolt Bus up from NYC to spend the weekend with us. We dressed Finley in his cute polar bear fleece outfit that Caitlin gave him for the holidays and went to pick her up at South Station. Fin had taken a great morning nap, so we were hoping he would be able to stretch himself for an afternoon out. We headed over to one of my favorite restaurants in the South End, Picco. I couldn't wait to order the fanciest grill cheese that I haven't had since before getting pregnant (many soft cheeses are no-nos). Finley was happily awake and looking around from his car seat for most of the meal, but decided he was hungry just as our food arrived...little bugger. All in all, he did great and it was so nice to see him just enjoy looking around and hanging out.

Caitlin hadn't seen Finley since mid-January, so he was much more interactive and fun to play with. She got right down on the floor with him when we got home. Also, there was a great gift from a school friend of mine waiting at the front door--isn't this elephant activity mat terrific?

Finley loves being on his back when he can kick his legs. Caitlin really got him excited and he was kicking up a storm! He was also very smiley with her, too bad he often clams up sometimes when the camera comes out! Still cute though :)

I demonstrated the Super Baby and Caitlin took some great action photos.

Caitlin took him up onto the couch and got him to be very chatty with her. It's probably the most "talkative" the little kid has been, phew--I was getting worried! She was certainly The Baby Whisperer! It was awesome to watch him talk back to her and mimic her mouth shapes:) He did let me get in on the action, too, so I wouldn't feel left out. When he was done talking, he wanted to hang out with his caterpillar for a while.

Caitlin wore the little guy out with all the playing and chatting, so he easily fell asleep around 7:30. He slept great and was ready for more playing on Sunday morning. Exersaucer, bumbo, tummy time, etc. and then it was time for his morning nap. When his nap was over, Caitlin was eager to see the little dude so I dressed him in some cute fleece overalls and let her take him. He helped her select a sandwich for lunch and then they played some more before we attempted to give him a chance for an afternoon nap...Caitlin was sad to see him go down, but she knew it was in everyone's best interest!

As I type this Sunday night, I still can't believe how many cooing sounds Caitlin brought out of Finley! He's been doing some for the past couple weeks, but never too many at once or on demand. Let's hope he continues to show off his new linguistic skills when he realizes that Auntie Caitlin isn't around! Or else, we'll have to get Skype :)