There is a reason why babies need both a mommy and a daddy (well, lots of reasons, but I'm focusing on just one): different styles of parenting. Michael and I read articles about this before and just after Shaelyn's birth, trying to prepare ourselves to be the best parents we can be (isn't that so cute and naive of us?). The main point of these articles was to celebrate each other's parenting differences and allow each other to work through figuring parenting out on our own. I am a control freak and was very nervous I would not be able to do this. I have surprised myself at how often I let Michael figure it out instead of telling him what to do, and he has surprised me at how great he is at being a parent!
That's not to say that there still aren't times I question his parenting decisions. I know that mommies are more nurturing and gentle and daddies are more rough-housing and playful, and babies need both things to be well rounded and happy. But when your husband is doing rough-housing or playful things with your little baby girl, your heart tends to skip a beat and words of caution (usually not said very nicely) are usually escaping your lips before you even realize what you're doing. Just the other day, Michael and I were playing on the floor of Shaelyn's room with Shaelyn just before bedtime (you know, getting her good and riled up before making her go to sleep). There was an empty Pampers box on the floor that we hadn't thrown out yet. Michael picked Shaelyn up and started putting her in it. I forsaw tears and frustration, so I said "Michael, don't put her in there. She's not the cat". (Maggie LOVES boxes!) Michael wisely ignored me and continued to put our baby in the box anyway. The box turned out to be one of the most fun things and Shaelyn loved it! No wonder Shaelyn claps her hands and squeals whenever Michael comes home from work - she knows that Daddy is a lot of fun!
Here is Shaelyn enjoying her sweet ride. Doesn't it look like a baby race car? All it needs is a steering wheel... Look out Brandon, Shaelyn is into really fast cars, too!
Maggie got a look at how fun Shaelyn's race car box was and wanted in on the action. Shaelyn wasn't too sure about sharing and had to chase Maggie down.
