my kind of man....

Layla has been working on her bottom two year molars this week--BOTH OF THEM.  I'm not sure if I mentioned this in the past, but she is not a good "teeth cutter".  She never has been. Early on, she'd wake up all  hours of the night wanting to nurse.   During the past year of cutting teeth, she gets a terrible cold and fever and it is nothing short of pitiful.  She also has a very low threshold for any additional discomfort (ie-being told not to do something, smashing her finger in a book, stumping a toe on the carpet).  

So, for the better part of the week, I've been putting out fires and carrying a very grumpy Layla up and down the steps...holding her while trying to get dinner fixed...kissing lots and LOTS of tiny but very painful little ouchies.  Its great to be needed and wanted.  But by yesterday afternoon, I was starting to catch the grumpiness.  A lot of it is first trimester exhaustion--I was drained.

Enter....my sweet and perfect Neil...

The dinner table was a disaster from the start last night.  Layla didn't want the red fork, she NEEDED the pink one.  She then NEEDED her blankie.  I told her she'd have to wait until after dinner so that her blankie wouldn't get dirty.  She lost it...and begged to go upstairs--not alone--she needed mommy.  This was only two bites into dinner.  So I went with her upstairs while Neil sat at the table alone.

Pretty soon, I heard his footsteps on the stairs, looked around the corner and saw him carrying dinner up the steps to Layla's room.  He sat her little art table...then told her he had something very "fancy" downstairs.  He came back to the room carrying her little teapot filled with milk and a tea cup.  This was the first time either  of us have used her little teapot for its intended purpose.  Layla got the biggest grin on her face as Neil referred to her as "Mademoiselle Broere" while he poured her tea.

I was shocked that he pulled something so magical off for her.  And his rough hands (from doing all the woodworking and working outside) around that little teapot were the sweetest things I've seen in a very long time.  Last night at the dinner table, he was our Prince Charming.  I like a man who can fix a flat tire AND host such an enchanting tea party--he's just perfect :-) Layla ate all of her dinner and was both talkative and happy.  Wonder if he has anything up his sleeve for our poor little patient at dinner tonight?