To Be 3 Again

Last night I had the pleasure of babysitting my friend Danielle's three year old daughter Jackie.  Even though I am the oldest of five girls, I still managed to learn a few new things about three year olds:

• It's quite possible that their energy levels could power a hybrid vehicle. It's time for the engineers of Toyota to get on that.  I want royalties if the concept is ever acted upon.
• An energetic seventeen pound dachshund is no match for a three year old child.  By 7:30pm, my dog was sleeping on the back of the couch.  I'm thinking play dates between Jackie and Riley need to be more frequent.
• Three year olds have the attention span of a gnat.  We managed to play fetch with the dog, color in the Carebears book, watch portions of both Bolt and Rugrats movies, eat supper, and snack on Pepperidge Farms Goldfish all in the span of a half hour. 
• Doggy stairs can double as a small chair next to the coffee table, a step stool for the toilet, and a step stool for a queen sized bed.  Leave it to a three year old to figure this out!
• Every show on Disney is their favorite, even if they haven't seen it before.
• Tip-toeing and whispering can be incorporated into any imaginative game.  Even ones with alligators going over waterfalls.  Who knew? 
• It is apparently the best game in the world to run around in your underwear before putting on your Disney Princess pajamas.  It's even better when you run around in your underwear and use your beloved blanket as a cape.  Even the dog thought it was a good reason to run around.
• I was not aware that Jay-Z's "Can I get a what what" doubles as a lullabye.  I kid you not, fifteen minutes after laying Jackie down in the spare room Justin and I hear her start singing her own version of this song to herself.  She is definitely her mother's daughter.
• No matter how many times I corrected Jackie that Justin was not my brother, that he was my husband, she still continued to refer to him as my brother.  We finally settled on her just calling him Jay-Jay.

All kidding aside, we had a great night hanging out together.  On a more somber note, I was watching Jackie because her grandparents were in a serious car accident Sunday evening and Danielle and Mark were spending time at the hospital.  Please add James and Mary Longendyke to your thoughts and prayers.