Daddy's Time

A little over a month ago, I began to watch a beautiful thing unfold.  Bedtime with Daddy.  Previously, Mackenzie had been a bit of a mommy's girl - since I'm home with her all day & she was breastfed to sleep for almost 7 months, she just seemed to go to sleep better with mommy.  Daddy did baths & Mommy did bed.  Then, there was a paradigm shift.  Daddy began to offer to put her to bed despite potential difficulties (I think he didn't enjoy all the after bathtime requirements - lotioning, cleaning ears out, clipping nails, etc).  So, he started making a bottle while I bathed & then he puts her to bed.

And now?  The handful of times I've tried to put her down, she is much more difficult to get to sleep!  Seems she has begun to think  of this time as daddy time & if mommy is putting her to sleep it must not actually be bedtime yet!  Daddy rocking = Go to sleep, in her mind.  I think it's really sweet.  He seems to really enjoy it & also enjoys having something that he can know he is really good at & not just a substitute for mommy!  For instance, I was going to put her down for a nap on Sunday afternoon & he comes upstairs with a bottle & says I'll put her to sleep.  He likes that role I think :)  And that's fine with me!

Along the same lines, we were at Ikea the other night (getting her a table & chair set for her birthday....more on that in another post), and she really likes to push the carts now.  So, she's walking along pushing the cart (we're steering up above her) and I commented to Brannon about how much fun she is now compared to the beginning.  And he said, no comparison!    I always imagined he'd love the personality blooming phase much more than the infant phase.  And I was right.  There was love all along, but now there is just plain fun & joy!  (well, minus the occasional fit pitching - i mean every phase has a hard spot, right!?!?)