From the Mouths of Dads*

*Since my kiddos can't talk yet, I have to resort to recording the funny things that Brian and my dad say

Many of you know how awesome my mom has been throughout my pregnancy, bed rest, and the birth of Charlotte and Jensen. She has taken such good care of me (and them!) and as we approach the babies' four-month birthday, I can count on one hand the number of days that she has not seen them. She has always allowed--make that encouraged--Brian and I to get out of the house, even if just for a quick dinner or errand, and she often brings my dad over to help her babysit. The thought of my dad babysitting tempts me to install a nanny-cam...not because I don't trust him, but because watching him with the babies is quite amusing. He refuses to participate in anything remotely resembling baby talk; in fact, he doesn't even lower his voice a few decibels. He talks to them like they are adults. During his most recent babysitting job, his antics included dangling Charlotte over Mr. Bear (their 90-lb golden retriever) and saying, "Come on, Jensen, let's go for a Bear ride! Let's go, Big Boy!" When my mom told him that a) he didn't have Jensen, he had Charlotte, and b) neither Charlotte nor Bear appeared to be enjoying the "Bear ride", he insisted that the baby he was holding was Jensen and that "he likes it!" Oh well, what can you do?

While Brian never confuses which baby is which, he did make me laugh this morning. While he was getting ready for work, I was reading Guess How Much I Love You to Charlotte and Jensen. The two rabbits in the book are referred to as 'Little Nutbrown Hare' and 'Big Nutbrown Hare.' I could see that Brian seemed to be listening to the story as he got his coffee ready, and finally he said, "Are you saying 'Little-Nut Brown Bear?'" He seemed relieved when I told him no, that I was really saying 'Little Nutbrown Hare.' But he kept listening and when I was finished he asked what the book was about. I told him that it was about rabbits saying how much they loved each other. He said, "Ohhhh...that makes more sense. I thought you were saying 'Little Nut Brown Hair' and the book was about two little hairs on someone's head." When I asked him who on Earth would write a story about that, he told me that it could happen, because children's books are weird. Considering the fact that I just got back from the library with a book called Walter, the Farting Dog, I guess he has a point.