Miss You

More and more, Siena mimics with her baby dolls whatever Mama does with Siena. A perfect example occurred just yesterday.

Mama'd gone to school early, before Siena even woke up. So when Mama picked Siena up at day care that afternoon, the two had suffered a relatively long separation. So, naturally enough, Mama told Siena "I missed you today!"

Siena gets home with Mama and heads to her room, where waiting for her are the Three Babies--Baby, Shopping Cart Baby, and Li'l Baby. And what does Siena do? She goes to each one, gives a hug and kiss, and says "Mit You 'Day!" The kid still can't pronounce S's, but otherwise it's a spot-on imitation of Mama.

It's not the only thing Siena does for her babies. She clips their nails; feeds them her breakfast; piles them all into the stroller to take them for a walk up and down the sidewalk; and generally showers them with hugs and kisses. All of which I take as a compliment to Mama; she's setting a good example for her little Mommy-to-Be.

Punjab

So Siena suddenly gets a stomach flu Saturday night, which means two things:

1. Mommy cleans off Siena; Daddy cleans off the inside of the car.
2. Siena needs full-time TLC until she recovers.

The first development was no problem, a few minutes of scrubbing by both of us. The second, however, proved more difficult. See, Mama's got midterms and group projects out the wazoo (it's quite a sight, all these things coming out of Mama's wazoo, but that's for another web site). So Daddy picks up the slack and attends to the needs of Our Little Princess for the duration.

So Daddy followed Siena around all weekend like Punjab followed Little Orphan Annie, this big lug doting on every whim of his pint-sized charge. And of course, when Daddy has to be there for Siena all day, what does he get from Mama? The complaints that Siena still calls for Daddy even when Mama finally comes home. And when Siena wakes up Tuesday morning, whom does she cry for? Mama. Thank God I have this blog, or I wouldn't get any sympathy. That is sympathy I'm picking up from you, isn't it?

I've just dropped off Siena at day care; she's not fully recovered, but hopefully I can get more work done before she fills two diapers with corn chowder and they call me to take her home. Not a pretty picture, but if you're still reading this blog, then you deserve a little more reality.