I sat on the couch with Hannah, my arms wrapped around her gently, and she was cuddled in my arms. Nothing compared to cuddling a newborn baby. They never talked back or got angry with you. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Until about the age of four or five, they loved following you around and tried to please. I was trying to savor the moments of having my last newborn baby.

"You're a cute little baby, aren't you?" I cooed.

She flashed a smile at me and grabbed my finger.

"This little piggy went to the market," I tickled her big toe. This little piggy stayed home. This little piggy got roast beef. This little piggy got none. This little piggy went wee, wee, wee all the way home." I tickled her toes and she laughed. It made me smile with joy.

She laughed again and flexed her toes. Though it was a reflex, it got me wondering about something. Would I have a dancer eventually?

"Was your big brother funny today?" I played with her hand, causing her to wrap her hand around my finger.

I kissed her head and felt extremely lucky. I had a baby girl of my own! I had someone to pass knowledge onto. I could give tips about that dreaded time of the month and about how to talk to boys. There was just a bond of a mother-daughter that was special. My own with my mother was special. I wanted my little girl to know that my love was unconditional. Nothing could pull me away from my daughter especially if she's upset.

"I love you, honey. Mommy loves you very much! Do you know that? I love you more than my own life," I kissed her head. She was small for her age, but Randy was too.

I stuck my tongue out a little and she stuck hers out too, trying to imitate me which made me laugh.

"Your brothers love you an awful lot, honey. I've never seen them be that gentle to just about anybody. You've got three big brothers, a daddy and especially a mommy that loves you unconditionally. There's help everywhere you go!"

I nestled her close and looked at her tiny feet. They were covered with booties right now (they amazingly stayed on) to keep her feet warm. I glowed with pride at seeing my daughter. It wasn't just me. Tim and the boys acted just like me around her. She brought us so much joy.

She had drifted off to sleep, but I let her keep sleeping in my arms. There was no harm (in my eyes) in letting her sleep in my arms. She would when she was older anyways (all three boys had), so why not let her now? Tim and the boys let her sleep on them too. Randy was especially loving towards her. I could tell he formed a tight bond with her.

"Hi honey," Tim walked in and smiled at seeing Hannah asleep in my lap. "She looks so precious."

I smiled at him. "It's still hard to believe that we have a daughter."

"I know," Tim kissed her head. "The audience just loves seeing her on stage."

I smiled. "Will you take her up there even if she's crying and having a tantrum?"

Tim laughed. "Probably. I wouldn't have the heart to make her sit backstage."

I laughed softly. "Then you and I are on the same page. I think she's gonna be a dancer someday. Are you okay with that?"

Tim kissed my cheek and took her in his arms. "I'd love nothing more. It'd be fun to see pink skirts around the house."

"It's called a tutu, honey. And she'd be going to a dance studio. As well as competing every so often."

"How much money would that be exactly?" Tim raised his eyebrow, rocking Hannah in his arms.

I shook my head. "It's not for two years, honey. Don't worry about it. Competing isn't for three or four years. It's just something that dancers do."

"As long as she's happy, I'm happy," Tim smiled.

I chuckled at her grabbing his hand. "Let's put her in the crib and then head out.

"We want you boys to be responsible," Mom told, getting her purse and being careful not to wake up Hannah.

It was quite annoying that Mom was telling us that, but I understood her point. We had literally no knowledge of how to take care of a baby (she gave us a guide). It wouldn't be too hard since they were just going out to the grocery store. Soon, it'd be her feeding time and Mom had bottles made already. They just needed to be heated up and fed to her. We were watching Mark too, but he wasn't a problem. He frequently played in his room or at a friend's house.

"Stay off the phone while you're babysitting," Dad told. "You'll be in hot water if that's why Hannah's crying when we get home."

"I can't even talk to Ashley? This sucks," Brad pouted.

Dad laughed. "Would you rather I have you two be babysat until you graduate?"

Brad grumbled. "No, I'll stay off the stupid phone."

Mom nodded. "You know where the supplies are. She should be waking up fairly soon to cry to be fed. I want you both to share responsibility. Brad, I want you to let Randy help with some things. You can both help with changing her diaper."

"Lock the doors after we leave and don't open it for strangers. Love you guys and be back soon with supper," Mom hugged us.

As soon as Dad shut the door, I heard crying from upstairs. Our skills would be put to the test by having to feed Hannah. It seemed easy with Aunt Nancy having let us feed Gracie and Claire (probably for that exact reason). Still, Mom and Dad made it look like a piece of cake.

"Would you rather warm up the bottle or feed Hannah?" Brad asked.

"I can feed her if you warm up the bottle," I suggested. "And you can change the diaper?"

Brad nodded. "Gross, but sure. I'll start running it under the water. Go get her and it should be ready by the time you get down here."

I walked up the stairs, the crying intensifying as I got up the stairs. While I usually didn't get emotional easily, this was breaking my heart. I hated hearing my sister crying and I was eager to get this done to make her better. I loved the idea of being in charge of her and getting to play with her while she was away.

"Hey, hey," I walked up to her crib and saw her sucking on her fingers. "Why are you crying? Bubby's gonna make your hunger go away."

The crying weakened when I picked her up, looking into her bright blue eyes. She got Dad's eyes like the rest of us did.

"Are you excited, Hannie? You get to have Bubba and Bubby all to yourself while Mommy and Daddy are away."

Hannah looked at me curiously and Brad laughed softly. "Hi Hannie! Sorry that we don't have Mom on hand to nurse you."

I looked at him. "You have the next best thing! Bubba gets to feed you the milk that Mommy made for you. Is it warmed up, but not too hot?"

Brad nodded. "I tested it. It's perfect."

I rolled my eyes and took the bottle. "Thank you. Can you grab me a burp cloth real quick before I feed her?"

"Already got one," Brad tossed it and I caught it, draping it over my shoulder.

I sat on the couch and put the bottle in Hannah's mouth. She started eating and I looked at her big blue eyes.

"Are Bubby and Bubba doing a good job so far?" I asked and put the bottle down after a third of it was gone and started burping her. "That was a good one! Did that make your tummy better?"

Brad looked at her. "Man, she spit up all over the cloth."

"That's okay, Brad. You know, babies do spit up."

Brad rolled his eyes and sat down, watching as I put the bottle back in her mouth. I held it so that she could get milk out of it and looked at her. She had the prettiest eyes and I was a proud brother.

"You must've been hungry! You know, this must be the only kind of Mom's food that tastes good," I laughed. "Unfortunately for you, you have 18 years of tasting her terrible food."

Brad laughed. "Don't worry. When we're older, we'll cook for you."

I put her over my shoulder to burp again and she gave a solid burp. This time, she had no spit up.

"You finished the entire bottle! That was such a big girl!" I played with her hands. "Who's Bubby's favorite sister?"

Her face creased up and she started to cry, something smelling from her bottom.

"Dude, we have to change her diaper," Brad made a face. "Gross."

I laughed. "I get to entertain while you change. Haha."

"Shut up. Let's go upstairs and change her."

We bounded up the stairs and Hannah was getting increasingly louder. The poor thing was sitting in her poop! That was and still is gross, but it just made me feel bad for babies that they couldn't change themselves. Still, since we were mature enough to babysit, that included changing diapers.

We walked into her bedroom and I set her on the changing table. Brad unsnapped Hannah's onesie and I pushed the onesie up so that it wouldn't get in her diaper. It smelled so bad! We were babysitters and that's what we had to do! Getting this over with, Brad opened the tabs of the diaper and it revealed quite a bit of poo.

"Hannah, do you see Bubby's tongue?" I stuck it out as Brad groaned, wiping it off her bottom with a wipe.

She laughed at my face and I moved my hands around, distracting her.

"This is disgusting," Brad cleaned her bottom and slid a new diaper underneath.

He closed the tabs and I smiled at Hannah. "All better! Does that make Hannah feel better?"

She giggled and I sat with her in the rocking chair.

"Mind if I stay with you till she falls asleep?" Brad asked. "I've got nothing to do."

I nodded with a shrug. "Sure, sit in the living chair."

I started rocking Hannah and I sang softly. Gently, I rocked her and sang softly, kissing her head and soothing her to sleep.

I set her in her crib and turned off the lights. "Now that she's sleeping, we can go watch TV and listen for Hannah."

"We did good, didn't we?" Brad grinned.

I laughed. "We sure did! We're the best babysitters in town."

….

I walked in and smiled at Mark playing on the couch. "Hey, buddy," I laughed. "Where's your brothers and sister?"

"Brad and Randy are with Hannah in her room," Mark smiled.

Jill and I walked up the stairs, happily surprised. The house was still in one piece and there was no crying coming from upstairs. The boys had obviously been able to get Hannah to sleep. It made me proud. My boys were finally able to help out by babysitting Hannah. This freed Jill and I to get date night and also other things without having to worry about a babysitter.

"I smell a dirty diaper," I looked at Jill.

Jill sniffed and nodded. "It's in the garbage pail."

I walked in with a smile. "Jill, look."

In her crib, Hannah was peacefully sleeping. What made my heart warm even more was the fact that Randy and Brad were in here too. Randy was slumped on the rocking chair, fast asleep while rocking himself. Brad was on the living chair with the ottoman on his feet.

"Oh, they look adorable," Jill smiled. "Let's leave them be."

I nodded with a smile. "Our boys have opened up a whole new world for us."

Welcome to the world of babysitting…