Monday night my niece Madi and I had a slumber party.  We watched the movie Igor, unfortunately though I did doze off a couple of times, the good thing is Madi never noticed.  Either that or she figured her Aunti needed some shut eye.  I have a serious problem with dozing off when watching movies late in the evening.  

When we woke up the following morning I had a great time talking with Madi while we took Biggie for his walk and then we played Don’t spill the Beans followed by dress up time with her barbies.  It was so fun to make believe like this again, I remember the last time I played barbies I was probably around Madi’s age, 7.  Or maybe 10, haha.

Having this time with Madi made me realize how much I need to enjoy these moments with her because time goes by so fast.  It was so much fun to pretend that our two dolls were fashionististas and getting ready to go out shopping.  It cracked me up to hear Madi tell me ‘no offense but this purse would look great on you”  and then asking me what no offense means.  Kids, you have to love them!  The best part was when she started getting our dolls to pose for their photo shoot, of course I was the photographer.  I love being behind the lens so I was completely in my element as Madi got creative with their poses.

It’s when I have these moments with Madi that I look at her and realize how blessed I am to be her aunt and I get excited to think about what she will create in life because she is such a talented artist.  I’ll need to post some of her drawings here one day.  My brother usually does a great job of promoting her creativity on FB.  I hope that I can always provide the support and love my niece needs and inspire her to pursue her dreams.  More than anything I want her to know she is loved and encourage her and build up her confidence. 

This is one of the things I want to work on, is being a great Aunt to Madi and Jacob (my nephew) and appreciate the time I get with them.  I know all to well what it feels like to have them close by and then move far away and I want to be more aware of the time I spend with them so I don’t have regrets later.