Living With A Baby|| My 1 Year Old Niece 👶 💕

My older sister has a little baby girl, that recently turned one years old. For the past year they both have been living with us, our parents and brothers and I, and I have absolutely loved having a little baby around all the time and am going to be really sad when they end up moving out, even though the little bundle of joy will still probably be over here often and I will grab as much time to spend with her as possible but even though having a little baby around all the time is amazing and never dull, it is not always fun and games.

 Babies are a lot of work. I am pretty sure you all know how much work it is to look after a baby, or any young child. They could be crawling around gurgling one second and crying the next, and you have no idea what happened or what's wrong. But, except for all the crying and not being able to fall asleep for ages some nights because of her cries, I have love having her around all the time.

I remember lying in bed, at around one in the morning-probably watching YouTube because I don't see why else I would have been awake, a year ago, and hearing the phone ringing downstairs. It is very rare to have someone call at that time in the morning and I quickly got out of bed and before I got to the stairs I heard my sister calling saying she needed our parents. 

Her beautiful little girl was born later that day, in the  hospital. 

After reading our family group chat and finding out about the birth of my niece, I wrote this in my diary, "We all love you, even with all the noise you will probably make." 

And when I first held her, when visiting my sister in the hospital, it was probably one of the best moments I have ever had. 

She was so small then, I was almost too scared to hold her. 

When she first came home from the hospital all that she did, as you would expect, was eat, sleep and cry. 

One of the worst parts of having a baby around is the crying. Hearing a baby crying breaks your heart, and you feel like you have to do something but sometimes, even though its really hard, the best thing to do is to leave them, especially when they are meant to be going to sleep.

The second worse thing is the baby sick. When she was younger, the amount of time any of us have been sick on is too many to count. And even now, if she stuffs too much food in her mouth, we have to be careful and make sure she doesn't make herself sick. 

Now, she is obviously old enough to play and crawl around and when holding both her hands she will walk around. She is so fun to entertain and talk to. I just love siting with her and playing with her, and carrying her around the house. 

I also love feeding her. The little noises she makes after each spoonful of food are the most previous and adorable sounds. She isn't much of a fussy eater either, she'll eat anything. She'll even eat our food, if we let her. 

She loves attention and having so many people around all the time to play with. She is often grabbing on to one of us, begging to be carried or played with. She loves it when one of us gets down on all fours and crawls around with her. I find it just as fun. 

Every moment with her is never a dull moment. 

I take great pride in being the one who taught her to knock on the door, and shaking her head. I also love trying to get her to say new words. She can already say "Mama" and what sounds like "Hi". She also has learnt how to sign "more" and it is the most cutest thing ever. 

Also, if she is holding something and you ask for it she hands it to you.

I must say, I think she is the smartest baby ever.

One of her favourite things to do is watch nursery rhymes and shows on the computer. When she sees the computer, or my mum's laptop, she gets really excited. Her face lights up and she starts clapping and bouncing up and down. 

I honestly think I enjoy her screen time just as much as her. I love seeing her so excited, and clapping. And trying to make animal noises when she listens to songs like Old Mac Donald. 

I listen to the songs, with her, so much that I often catch myself humming "Down By The Bay" or "Mary Had A Little Lamb" when at work, getting ready in the morning or when on the train. 

Reading time is also another highlight. Except she often grabs the book away and looks through it herself but I love watching her turn the pages of the books and looking at the pictures. 

She really makes the best sounds and face expressions. 

I love helping out with bedtime. I play with her when my sister changes her, and sometimes I help with bath-time. Bath-time is always a fun time. Then I might sit with her for a bit before my sister kicks me out the room so she can put her to bed. 

If you look through my phone photos you'll find tons of photos and videos of the precious child. She loves watching herself, and I love catching her cute and adorable moments when I have my phone with me. 

I often when on my way home from work I seem to always find myself in a toy shop and clothes shop, in the baby  section, and I have even spent up a long time at looking at toys, books and clothes that I think she would like or look nice in. 

Overall, living with my niece is the best and my sister is a really good mum.

And, I am going to be really sad when they leave and can't spend as much time with that little precious baby girl.