Adventures In Babysitting

Yesterday was a world of fun, for many reasons. For starters, Westin and I met up with Mandy and Harper for lunch and a little shopping at the Farmer's Market on 3rd Street. I don't get to spend nearly enough time with these two gals, so I was beyond excited when I found out they were both free.

Westin and his aunties, Harper and Mandy

After the Farmer's Market, we stopped by Harper's house to rummage through a bunch of clothes she was crazy enough to give away. Mandy and I both left with a big pile of cute stuff and a couple items we decided we both couldn't live without so we'd have to share :) I love shopping in my friends' closets!

I rushed home from Harper's and tried to get Westin down for a nap before I had to leave by 4 p.m. to pick Ryan up from work and head to the Dodger game. Westin was not having it, so when Mandy arrived for her first babysitting experience, I basically just threw Westin in her car and said, gotta go! Haha, ok, it wasn't quite like that. I did put him in his carseat and buckle him in. I figured the easiest and fastest way for him to fall asleep at that point was driving him around. I quickly gave Mandy a few instructions and was on my way.

I left my camera with Mandy so she could chronicle her evening with Westin. It sounds like everything went really well (minus one meltdown that was quickly resolved with food). Mandy was getting a little nervous that Westin had turned on her, but I quickly assured her that he even gets upset at me if I don't feed him when he's hungry. I think that put her at ease and the two of them had a blast the rest of the night. Here are a few pictures of their fun:

Mandy attempting to get Westin to hold up a "W" while she held up her "M". Apparently anytime Westin actually took the W from her, he just tried to eat it. Hey, it does have a picture of a waffle on it, so I totally understand where the confusion would be coming from.

During dinnertime, Mandy quickly learned that she couldn't turn her head or even slow down between bites because Westin would quickly grab the spoon or food from her hand and try to feed himself... which resulted in a mess on both W and M.

Mr. Chubs

Mandy trying to teach Westin to share his food

After dinner, the dynamic duo chased each other around the house and played until it was time for bed. Looks like Mandy did a great job of wearing him out.

Good job, Mandy! Westin is already asking when you're coming back.

While Mandy and Westin were having a blast at home, Ryan and I were at the first Dodger playoff game. It was a great game to be at. The stadium was packed and the energy of the fans was out of control. The Dodgers won, making Ryan a very happy camper, which makes me a very happy camper.

The game was over 4 hours long, so we didn't get home until 11:30. Ryan and I were both exhausted this morning - particularly Ryan who had a work call at 6 a.m. Booooo!

Apparently Westin got plenty of sleep because when I tried to put him down for his nap this morning he decided he'd rather play in his crib. After not hearing him make a sound for about 15 minutes, I figured he had fallen asleep... ha, what was I thinking. When I went to check on him, he was just enjoying the view...