Dear Mommy
Sophia is with our sitter Monday - Thursday and I work from home on Fridays. Except for this week. Rob is home with her. This will mark the first time he has watched her alone for more than a few hours. The first time my aunt left my uncle with their first child for an extended period of time he forgot to feed the kid dinner. Upon discovering this flagrant lack of common sense my uncle told her that she forgot to tell him he would have to do that so he didn’t even think of it. My uncle is a great father, clearly this is an occupation that takes practice.
Rob is a fabulous father. However, I half expect to come home this evening to find both of them sprawled out on the couch having gorged themselves in chips, beer, and porn.
I just received this email message - with the picture attached.
hi mommy…
hope you’re having a good day. sorry you had to go to
work in the cold rain. if that don’t suck ass… i
don’t know what.
i’m having a really good day. i slept and slept in
bed all morning without making a single peep. i saved
it all up and then blew my top right when daddy was
trying to make a poop. i never laughed so hard in my
life. you should have seen his face. what a loser.
then daddy changed my clothes and diaper. as soon as
he got a clean diaper on me, i made the biggest,
nastiest, stinkiest, runniest poop that went all over
the house. you should have seen the look on his face.
what a loser.
right now i’m listening to neko case* and getting
really sleepy.
anyway… i miss you very much. hurry home as soon as
you can… as daddy was eye-balling the budweisers
when he got my bottle out of the fridge (and it’s not
even LUNCH!)
i love you,
sophia
* I want to marry Neko Case. Her lastest album in incredible and it soothes Sophia in a way that little else can.  Steph, can Joe introduce us? He has connections, right?! I mean how big can the Canadian music scene be? 
Oh my god, was that funny. Go Rob!
18 May 2007 at 12:40 pm
I’m listening to Neko Case right now! She will forever be associated with Sophia! LOL
18 May 2007 at 12:41 pm
You guys are the cutest. Ever.
And seriously, you need to break that man in early. I didn’t, and I’m still paying for it.
18 May 2007 at 12:42 pm
Hahahahah… hehehehhe. May Sophia save up all her runny stinky poos for her daddy.
18 May 2007 at 12:43 pm
What a nice letter from your daughter, glad she’s giving him a run for his money. The sooner and the more he learns to care for her the better!
18 May 2007 at 12:46 pm
That’s absolutely adorable.
18 May 2007 at 12:48 pm
We both worked when Katie was born, but while hubby’s job was Mon.-Fri., mine was Tues.-Sat. Right off the bat, there was built-in daddy-daughter bonding time. I have some great photos and videos, and he even did a couple of drawings — Katie in her walker on the lawn with plastic Easter eggs tossed all around (he’d pile ‘em on and by the time he turned around, they’d all be on the ground again). Anyway, they’d pop in to see me at work — we’d have lunch together and I’d nurse. Special days.
Hugs to your FANTASTIC FAMILY!!
18 May 2007 at 1:00 pm
Oh my. I just laughed so hard! Thanks to Rob for the belly laugh. Poor guy. I agree with Cathi, though… my guy still has No Idea how much work it takes to care for a baby on one’s own. He hasn’t spent all that much time by himself with her… my fault?
18 May 2007 at 1:09 pm
Your baby is truly beautiful.
So is Neko Case. I got to hear her at Bluesfest in Ottawa two years ago. Almost everyone had flocked to hear Black Eyed Peas, so it was a mellow, folk fest-ish, sitting on the grass gig. Amazing.
18 May 2007 at 1:19 pm
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…
You and Rob will appreciate the fact that my dad always told me this story about this night when I was an infant and he had to work swing shift and had my cousin Stephanie watch me…Apparently I waited until Steph was handing me to him to be violently ill (er, VIOLENTLY ILL) all over him.
His response? Oh, she loves me! She barfed on me!
18 May 2007 at 1:54 pm
I laughed so hard I cried. Loud laughter is not good for the library set. That is seriously funny, you guys have a really good sense of humor about the whole thing–key.
18 May 2007 at 2:58 pm
Better watch the language Daddy appears to be teaching the little angel during his time alone with her.
Rob? Well done, dude. Seriously.
18 May 2007 at 3:15 pm
It’s not easy to read this post when I’m supposed to be doing work stuff; I keep giggling and there is nothing funny about tax assessing
Do you think anyone will guess I’m not doing work?
What a great little letter to get at work - I’ll bet it made your day!
18 May 2007 at 3:30 pm
HILARIOUS. I sent your post to K at work.
Poop is so funny. I’m sure this means that once I become a mother, I’ll start laughing and never stop.
No? Ah well. Naivety is charming.
18 May 2007 at 3:47 pm
Hahahahahahaha!!!
18 May 2007 at 4:09 pm
I am forwarding this email to Mr. Frick, who will be taking on daddy duty for a couple of weeks with the Fricklet come December. Perfect!
18 May 2007 at 4:24 pm
That’s one talented kid you’ve got there! Good on Dad for being able to keep up!
18 May 2007 at 4:46 pm
I’m laughing so hard I think I might have just peed a little.
18 May 2007 at 5:13 pm
You and your wee family are so adorable! The chips thing probably won’t happen until Sophia has some teeth. And the fresher the diaper, the poopier the new poop. It must be a parental Murphy’s law. Oh… and add in correlates for whether baby is wearing tights, the outrageously expensive dress from grandma and/or the changer is late for work and does definitely NOT have time for a shower and change of clothes.
PS: Thanks for the amazing list of websites!!
18 May 2007 at 5:26 pm
rofl such a bright child
18 May 2007 at 5:30 pm
heeheehee … she’ll have daddy trained before long.
18 May 2007 at 5:49 pm
That had me laughing out loud! What a great email to get, it must have made your day!
18 May 2007 at 7:39 pm
Go, Daddy! (Are you sure he really wants us all to know about his poop, though?) I remember those days, and a sense of humor is the most valuable tool you can have. Obviously, your husband has it in abundance. What a great message!
19 May 2007 at 2:24 am
You can marry Neko Case if I can have Robby when you’re done with him. What an amazing husband to send you such a lovely note.
Just kidding. My Mr S is a keeper.
19 May 2007 at 1:50 pm
that is hysterical! Again, more fodder for your book…Thumbs up on neko case too.
19 May 2007 at 5:31 pm
That’s hilarious! I don’t want to even think of what they do when Phil is alone with his Daddy. I think they just get in the car and drive around….and around..and around…so much for our pledge we made before he was born to not have him strapped in a seat or ‘bucket’ all the time!
19 May 2007 at 8:31 pm
oh mah god, that was so fuckin’ funny!! Thanks for the belly laughs, rob!!
And yes, I’m all for breaking in the dads early. If there was one good thing about being in the hospital those first few weeks is that it was like boot camp for Dean and he’s been spectacular ever since.
19 May 2007 at 9:40 pm
Oh, dear God, that is so funny! I love this letter to Mommy. Your hubby has a great sense of humor. Sophia is so beautiful.
19 May 2007 at 10:10 pm
That library site is rad! How’d you find that/do you get a lot of use out of it??
19 May 2007 at 10:37 pm
Too freaking funny! Hee hee…wait until he trains her to *get* him the Budweiser
19 May 2007 at 11:44 pm
Good thing you left him with a reliable sitter;)
20 May 2007 at 7:56 pm
That must have really brightened your day. It sure made me smile.
20 May 2007 at 10:03 pm
Wow, that Neko Case is really good. Reminds me of Beth Orton… I think I might get some!
The message is awesome - of course he did a fabulous job!
21 May 2007 at 9:27 pm
Well I’m not sure why it took me so long to discover your blog, because you’re hilarious! I enjoyed reading the archives and learning all about Sophia, she’s so adorable!
Good to hear that both Rob and Sophia are keeping regular when you’re not around
And I agree, I also want to marry Neko Case.
22 May 2007 at 12:21 pm
rob rules and sophia’s gorgeous.
22 May 2007 at 1:30 pm
What a beautiful baby! It would be hard to stay at work after receiving that picture. Sounds like daddy had his hands full.
When I was born I was a wee one around 4 lbs, in an age before disposable diapers. My mom left me alone with my father for a few hours, as he was an old hand since I had two older sisters. However she had neglected to show him how to fold diapers small enough to fit me. He gave up and pinned my undershirt under me, and never lived it down.
23 May 2007 at 1:00 am