Anyone else stuck gawking at nieces and nephews this time of year?

Drive hundreds of miles to see relatives and they pay attention to you until a child shows up (a child who lives locally, I might add). Then you fade into the background and become a set piece for the child's antics, or nothing at all.

It's not that I'm jealous of a 1 year old, but I could be having fun at home instead of fading into the sofa cushions and being ignored.