Munchkin likes to spend her mornings with *. * takes her downstairs and lets her watch Wonderpets or Backyardigans while they cuddle. Then he makes her pancakes (by which I mean he warms up some frozen mini pancakes) and she eats breakfast by pulling her tiny chair up to the coffee table/ottoman. Eventually they wander upstairs and pick out an outfit and get dressed, and then come to me with a come and a couple of rubber bands for a hairdo.

When *is on trip, Munchkin only gets to cuddle for a few minutes with me while we sit on the rocking chair in her room and read a short story. Then I dress her right away and come with me to my room. She gets to watch Elmo videos while I finish getting ready. She likes Elmo OK, but she HATES getting dressed before breakfast. She wines and moans and fusses and cries. Afterward, she pulls on my legs and dances around me so that I trip on her every time I turn around. All morning she does this with only intermittent moments of sweetness and happiness. Today it was when I handed her a giant, peeled banana to eat while watching Elmo, and when I handed her a cracker with peanut butter on it that she had been begging for. Why this child begs for saltine crackers with peanut butter I will never know, but she loves to get them. When she does, she'll eat a little bit of the peanut butter and none of the cracker, so pretty much the whole episode is just a messy waste. Then I heat up her pancakes, toss them in a Ziploc baggy with a little syrup and we get in the car to head to work.

Mornings are better for everyone when * is home.

* Don't have a blog name for DH yet.....