TEAM DADDY

January 09, 2009


My son has always been a mama's boy. I've called him Saran Wrap for as long as I can remember because of his super "clingy" ways. Now that he's five and a half, he's becoming more independent which is amazing to watch and also a little hard to take. Everyone assumes that because I have a toddler at home, I must still be in the midst of the "only Mommy" period. That assumption is wrong. My two and a half year old is obsessed with her daddy. Yes, that's right. It's a her and she is all about the big guy. Those cliches about Daddy's girl are alive and, well, thriving in our house.

There are many pros to having a daughter who always wants her Daddy, starting with her shrieks in the middle of the night for, "Daddddddy." "Are you getting her?" he asks me. "Well, she did call for you," I respond without moving from my cozy, warm side of the bed. And he (god love him) goes to her, works his Daddy magic and returns quietly without my daughter who has miraculously (er, paternally) been silenced back to slumber.

She asks for Daddy constantly. "Can Daddy take me to school?" Anytime. "Can I take a shower with Daddy?" Please do. " "I only want to go in Daddy's car." Knock yourself out. After five years of the Mommy chorus, I welcome the respite. But there's a down side.

My daughter totally has my husband's back. Just today. we were in the grocery store happily strolling through the aisles and it happened. I grabbed a container of strawberries and tossed it in the cart. "Daddy likes strawberries," my little girl announced with the authority of a teenager who has committed to memory her idol's likes and dislikes. "Yes, I know," I answered. "More strawberries for Daddy. He needs them for breakfast with his cereal," Daddy's super spy continued, mimicking her father's frequent breakfast request a little too perfectly. And so it went from there with my daughter dictating her daddy's food needs down every aisle in the store. "Avocado for Da Da." "That's Daddy's drink." And finally, "I want a cookie. Daddy gets me one."

Throughout the day, she continues to take care of her number one man. She brings me his clothes and suggests "we go to cleaners for Daddy." If I want to work out on our elliptical machine, she throws a fit. "That's Daddy's excercise!" It's also apparently "Daddy's bed," "Daddy's computer" and "Daddy's Shower."

And when my sweet little girl doesn't like the response she is getting from me, she demands, "Call Daddy. I want Daddy." You should see what happens when she hears the garage open. The fanfare and hoopla is as if Obama is about to walk through the door. Of course, I love it that my daughter has such a wonderful relationship with her father who just so happens to be a great male role model. And I know this is likely a phase that I should be greatful for as it gives me some time to, well, blog. And...I always have my boy...until tonight.

When I was tucking him into bed after having read a long and tiring chapter book as part of his speech therapy (a mom's work never ends), he said, "I want Daddy to snuggle with me." Okay. And then, "I like him better than you."

Well, at least, I finally had time to finish this blog.