And Some Day He'll Like Me Again

This child - this little Monkey boy - is devastating.

Seriously.

Look at that face. Those cheeks. That grin. Those eyes. One look and he can melt all my defenses. And then, he says things like:

"You can't tackle fishies. You can hug fishies and you can kiss fishies, but you can't tackle them!"

"He's not leave it. He's Cooper Puppy!"

"I'm just a stupid toy!"

I'm telling you. This child is devastatingly adorable. Even when he's having a throw down over being asked to pick up his toys. Even when he does NOT want to go to the potty. He's still cute. And he used to like me.

I used to make him grin. He used to want to play with me. I used to dance around singing "Moondance" at the top of my lungs because it was one of his favorites. These days, I'm just happy when he voluntarily talks to me.

I admit it. I'm not always rational, particularly when it comes to feelings. So even though I know that it's completely normal for him to be going through a phase where only mommy and daddy will do, and even though he's going through these stages before, it still kind of hurts my feelings when I'm not even allowed to unbuckle his car seat. And something like waking him up from his nap? Fuhgeddabout it.

It just makes me want to say things like, "Don't you remember being 5 weeks old?!? I stayed up with you all night! I changed your diapers! I fed you bottles!" and "You know I'm the cool aunt who is way more likely than mommy to sneak you something yummy, or let you make a mess making a pizza with me, or watch an extra half hour of TV." And sometimes, when I'm really feeling snubbed, "Hey, you mini-dork, I'm here just about every day and I'm trying to help raise you, so you better start loving me again, pronto."

Of course, I don't. But I want to, because I love that little Monkey boy. And I miss my schnuggles. And, once in awhile, it'd be nice to hear, "NO! Bobbi has to do it!" But my time will come again. Some day, he'll like me again.

And hey... 

at least this little munch still thinks I'm pretty awesome.

And trust me, she is equally devastating.

Particularly when she laughs. Or grins. Or sleeps. Or.. yeah. You get the idea. Not that I have any bias about this. I just have a good eye for knowing which children are devastatingly adorable. The fact that these two happen to by my niece and nephew is completely irrelevant.

Really.

It's true.

I swear.

You believe me, don't you?

*Bobs