The Favorite Aunt

Like most people, I have some personal resolutions for 2008. I thought it would also be interesting to come up with some aunt-related resolutions.

1) Get more pictures taken with the niece/nephews

I don’t have enough photos of myself and the niece/nephews. Instead of wishing I had more from when they were younger, I’m going to make sure to take more now before they get any older. That means handing the camera to someone else once in a while, instead of just taking photos or video myself.

(Right: me and Violet when she was not yet one year old, I think…)

2) Find good healthy foods that the kids like

So often when I babysit the kids, dinner will be something from the freezer or the takeout window. I know one easy healthy food that they like: cucumbers, sliced up. They’ll eat those as if they were cookies. I need to figure out more meals that I like to cook and they like to eat.

To that end, I’ve put a couple books on hold at the library:

The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.

Sigh. I hate to be reduced to being sneaky or deceptive, but hopefully I’ll get some ideas for making good stuff that tastes good.

3) Find new music for the kids.

I’m ready to move beyond Dan Zanes. I’m ready to move beyond playlists of 1960s pop music. I want to discover some new artists that both the kids and I can listen to.

I’ve started with the Fids and Kamily Music Awards (yes, you read that right), which I discovered via Jumping Monkeys. Listen to Episode 24 of the podcast, when they announce the 2007 awards and play short samples from all the winners. That makes it easy to get an idea of which ones might interest you.

I’m going to start with My Green Kite by Peter Himmelman. He’s got a big bouncy hip sound and humorous, interesting lyrics. Like Dan Zanes, he started doing “grown-up” music before recording albums that are kid-friendly.

4) Spend more one-on-one time with Dash.

Dash will be 8 years old in March. I think I need to make an extra effort to spend more time with him. It’s so much easier for me to relate to Violet (9), girl-to-girl, or Jack-Jack (3), aunt-to-toddler. I’ve had sleepovers and playdates with those two, but the last time Dash had a sleepover, he was 4 (and Violet was included).

I grew up with sisters. We had a brother (Uncle Bob), but he was 7 years younger than me. I think I feel less confident with boys. Dash and I always get along fine, but I think one-on-one time really lets you get to know a kid.

I want to read Raising Cain: Protecting The Emotional Life of Boys, which I noticed at my sister’s house. Maybe that will help me get a clue about boys.

Any ideas to help me keep these resolutions? A book, a recipe, a CD that’s helped you?