Mommy or Daddy?

Before I had Nate, I wondered if he would prefer Chuck because he stays home. Would he resent me for leaving him every day to go to work? Would Chuck be the one he would run to when he skinned his knee or needed to snuggle before bed? Well, no. Nate knows very well the difference between Mommy and Daddy. And now that he can talk so much, he likes to express his preference.

When we take Nate outside, he almost always runs straight to his swing and says, "Swing! Swing! Swing!" But when Mommy tries to put him in his swing, he says, "Dada!" If Mommy continues to act like she's going to swing him, he starts whining, "Dada! Dada! Dada!" Why? Because when Daddy pushes him, he goes so high that he catches some air and is within inches of wrapping himself around the tree branch. Even when Mommy pushes her hardest, she physically can't make the swing into a dangerous carnival ride. So Daddy wins.

But in the evenings when he's winding down for bed, Nate will bring his books into the living room and bring them directly to me. Sometimes I'm nursing or otherwise occupied. I'll say, "Daddy can read you that book." Daddy tries, but he just doesn't have Mommy's talent for vocal inflection or animated storytelling. So Nate always insists on having Mommy read him his bedtime stories. Mommy wins.