The Office.

We have worked out a pretty good morning routine if you ask me. Daddy wakes up at 6am to get ready for work, and you are always awake in your crib ready to start the day (usually crying). So Daddy is the one who goes in to get you first thing, and, according to him, he is greeted with a HUGE smile. He changes your diaper, talks to you and then puts you to work in your office.

You LOVE your exersaucer. I think it's mainly because you get to stand up-right (your favorite position - after all, who would want to waste time lying down or sitting when you can stand and see the world?!). And the exersaucer provides so many options. You can turn in a full circle and select whatever the mood calls for. I thought there would be certain toys that would never get touched, but you make your rounds... each and every toy has been fully explored. There are favorites though, like this see-sawing lion. With your hands at 10 and 2, it looks like you are driving a car. We watch from across the room in the kitchen, and you look up to flash us the biggest smile we've seen in our lives. And as long as we talk to you and sing your name, you will smile over and over again, and the see-sawing lions are all but forgotten until we turn our attention away. I hope you are not so easily distracted when you turn 16 and we have to turn over the keys!

Back at your desk, you are willing to put in 15, maybe 20, minutes of hard work before you decide it is time for a break. There is one important office supply which will sometimes prolong your attention span; it relaxes you, allows you to concentrate and keeps you from complaining. Heck, I bet a lot of companies would benefit from investing in a few pacifiers!

By 7am, you are ready for breakfast, so Dad carries you down the hall to our bedroom where the two of you stand in the doorway while I get up and get dressed. You don't take your eyes off me from that moment on. If I want to do anything before we get down to the business of feeding you, Daddy has to put all energies into distracting you. I never realized when I signed up for this job that you would be such a micro-manager. But, I have to admit, it's the best job I've ever had, so I suppose the benefits are pretty good.

After refreshments you move on to solids, downing a carton of baby food mixed with rice cereal. Your face is cleaned, you get your medicine and then we visit Daddy while he finishes getting ready for work. It's all very tiring, and by the time Daddy is walking out the door, you are being swaddled for your morning nap. You nuzzle into my neck with one arm reaching up over my shoulder while I pat you to sleep. And as I lay you in your crib I notice that your favorite office supply is still working it's magic.