Father Knows Best.

During the two weeks that I was back at work, I had the best daycare provider possible: my husband. Because Matthew was not old enough to start the community daycare we found for him, Jeff took two weeks off of work to take care of our little boy. He said that he wanted to see what it was like for me during those last few weeks of maternity leave. Bless his little ol' heart. During that time, here's what I saw when I woke up each morning...



Jeff is magic with Matthew. From the beginning, he could calm him better than I could. If I'm the feeder, he's definitely the soother. When Matthew is crying in the car, Jeff will start singing a silly, made-up song and Matthew will immediately pipe down to listen. It works so well that sometimes I try to sing like Jeff when Matthew's crying in the car with me, but it doesn't work as well and I end up feeling silly. By the time I was ready to leave for work each day, it was usually storytime. Matthew loves to listen to his dad...



Every morning and afternoon, Jeff and Matthew would go on a walk. Over the two weeks, Matthew became much more aware of his surroundings, spending time looking around, not just sleeping. In the time I have spent home with Matthew, I am embarrassed by the number of walks I have taken him on. In fact, Jeff did such a great job during his two weeks at home that I was a little jealous of his natural parenting ability. If I had my choice, I would continue working and Jeff could stay home with Matthew. Alas, we're stuck with the next best thing. Here's a picture of Jeff and Matthew ready for their walk...



Even now, Jeff gives Matthew a bath every night that he's not on duty. It's boy bonding time. I love to hear Jeff singing and talking to Matthew - and to hear Matthew cooing back at his loving and wonderful father. I'm usually running around like a crazy person trying to put the house back in order from a chaotic day, doing my best to act like I'm balancing the baby needs and housework without difficulty. Here the are all snuggly from the bath...



Two days ago, Jeff and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. We left Matthew for an hour or so with friends and had a nice dinner together. I'm not sure how I got so lucky - to have found the best husband AND best father on the planet - but I'm sure I'll never be able to thank my lucky stars enough. I love you, babe.