When a Man Loves a Woman...

Or, more specifically, when a baby boy loves his mom's friend more than he does his mom...

That's right, internet. Ethan has replaced me. Not only is he going through a fierce "daddy" stage right now, where the second he hears his father's keys in the door at the end of the day, he squirms free of my apparently vile embrace, on his way to be reunited with his true love; he has also taken to rejecting me during the day, too, if my friend Carlin is anywhere to be seen.

Now, to be fair, there is a lot to love about Carlin. She took the lead role in organizing our mom's group, found a wonderful spot for our play dates, and knows all the coolest places in town to entertain the little ones. She also always has delicious snacks and brings enough to share (which is more of a draw for Ethan than it is for me, but still.) I aspire to be as on the ball as her, but I admittedly fall short--way short. I am the mom who forgets the sippy cup in the car and packs one lousy banana for a snack.

It seems that Ethan agrees with the whole "mama falling short" business, because lately, whenever we are around Carlin, he is drawn to her like a moth to the flame. This is what typically happens. He is on my lap, while we are, say, watching Mr. Skip play guitar at a local coffee shop (which Carlin found and told us about--she is Julie, my cruise director). As soon as he is somewhat acclimated to his environment, there is much squirming to get off of my lap (as though any second I could burst into flames and he ain't going down with the ship). At first, I think it is so that he can dance to the music, as right now spinning is top on his list of favorite things to do. But no. There's no dancing. No spinning. Just a hop off of mom and two steps over to Carlin. Arms go up in the universal "please please please pick me up!!" sign and, poof! Just like that, Ethan is on Carlin's lap, while mine is still warm, no less!

Today, we went to see Mr. Skip; we met Carlin and her little girl Chloe at the coffee shop and the above scene took place no fewer than 6 times. At one point, Ethan crossed the room to sit on Carlin's lap, leaving me with an empty lap and holding a half-chewed piece of grilled cheese sandwich. I think some people mistook Carlin and me for "Ethan's two moms". And I am clearly not his favorite mom in that scenario.

It's okay, I guess. We do spend a ton of time together and I suppose it makes sense that a new face and a new lap every once in awhile can add a little excitement to his day. At least it's not like he prefers EVERYONE to me; he's discriminating in who he rejects me for, so I can take some comfort in that. Right?