The peanut and the nugget...

My day to day life has changed so drastically in such a short period of time that sometimes I find myself trying to catch up. My work days alone are such an extreme opposite of what they were two months ago that I almost don't believe it. Where my work day used to include angry teenagers and taking verbal shots while trying to maintain patience and model appropriate behavior. These days I spend my days with happy (99% of the time) babies. I split my week between two families, one includes the nugget, a 1 year old boy with a sensitive and snuggly spirit who can turn around a bulldoze through anything in his way, he loves to be up and doing and makes me laugh all day long as he figures out the world a little at a time. His older sister spends her days at school, but gets to come home and play with us late in the afternoon and on school vacation days, she is an absolute sweetheart who wants to be, and strongly believes she can be, fully independent and at the same time loves, loves, loves, to take care of her little brother. The other days I hang with the peanut, he'll be five months old next week and he is quite literally the happiest baby I have ever seen. He wakes up smiling, laughs in his sleep and thinks the best part of his day is when you put him on a changing table. To give you an example of my job requirements, this week I have been a princess first escaping, then booby trapping the bad guys, played "not hockey", turned a 1 yr old into a superhero, I have made and painstakingly decorated sugar cookies with an easy bake oven, played 10 variations of catch me if you can, hide and seek and peek-a-boo, had a dance party, all while getting hugged, snuggled and kissy-kissed. And they PAY me to do this and listen to kids laugh 40+ hours a week. Granted I have always loved being a nanny, but after a year of being unhappy in my work to compare it to, the love is amplified by an unquantifiable amount. Here's the peanut hanging in his crib...