I love this man.

We blew up Chiara's kiddie pool this afternoon - um, with air - and she loved it. So did Eldon. Seriously, it's so hilarious to me how different our approaches to "playing with her" are. I'm getting the pool ready, putting on sun screen, and positioning myself in a lawn chair to supervise. With a book. He, on the other hand, is opening the new water toys and figuring them out.

Imagine me, sitting in shade because my sunburn from the (real) pool yesterday hurts too much to be in the sun. I have my feet resting on the edge of the kiddie pool, occasionally dipping into the freezing cold hose water which sends a massive chill through my whole body and makes my burn feel like hot ice. I'm holding a book, which I only actually read three pages of during this activity.

The reason I'm inattentive is that I can't take my eyes off my darling, darling husband. He's winding up the toys one at a time and chasing Chiara around the pool with them. She squeals when the killer whale comes bobbing toward her and bats it away like a cat. (ha ha) The frog and the tugboat aren't so scary, but the killer whale cannot be trusted.

Then, suddenly, something is wrong with the tugboat. Eldon wound it up too tight. It's broken.

"Oh, no," Eldon mutters. "This was my second favorite."

"Your second favorite?" I ask, trying to keep the smile out of my voice, since he's too focused to look at me.

"Yeah. I really liked this one." Then, because he's Mr. Fixit the tugboat is raised from the dead and started sputtering again. Just like it's supposed to.

"Good job, Honey." I congratulate him, plotting how I can get him to talk more about his favorites.

"I know. Look how much she loves it. Actually, I think maybe this one is my first favorite. And the frog is cool too. It's the most lifelike, realistic you know? Yeah, the frog is my first favorite."

I'm laughing by this time. My 24-year-old neuroscience major, reader of nonfiction, lover of Dodge Chargers and Audis husband is actually sitting by the kiddie pool and ranking his daughter's toys in order of his own personal preference. Seriously. He's the cutest thing.

And the best part is that he came downstairs after giving Chiara a bath and found me writing this blog.

"My second favorite? You can't say that in public!" he laughs.

"I'll let you read it first!" I protest, laughing too - 1) because it's funny and 2) because I'm still in the middle of reliving the actual experience.

Oh, the joys of being his wife are endless. There are practical reasons I adore him, but this is one of the silly reasons. He's just so ... cute. And he's my baby's perfect playmate. :)

P.S. I should mention that I'm not a negligent mother. I don't routinely supervise my child from the comfortable indifference of a reading chair. But she's become a Mommy's Girl recently (maybe because Eldon was gone for a week and a half) and this was Daddy Daughter bonding time. I was intentionally on the sidelines ... for the moment.

P.P.S. I have the utmost love and respect for my husband. I don't think he's a child, and this story is not indicative of his entire personality. But he's not afraid to bring out his childish side when he's playing with his one-year-old, which I find a valuable and delightfully endearing characteristic. He caters to her, and I love to watch. Gosh I just love my little family!