Baby tested, dog approved

Today was a great day!  Our friends, mom Becky and baby Liesl, came over this afternoon to visit and to see Raspberry's room.  Since this was the first time any of our animals had even seen a baby we didn't know what to expect, but we are excited to say that all went very well!  Becky is a wonderful and relaxed mom who loves animals and wanted Liesl to meet dogs, so they even spent some time down on dog level, which seemed to please everyone.  Diamond was the least interested, quickly determining that babies don't scratch necks or hand out treats, Ollie was just Ollie, and Cookie was unconcerned (as is par for the course, we never saw Oahu).  Moose, on the other hand, was gentle but extremely intrigued.  When Liesl tried out our swing (which we are proud to say is assembled correctly, and was baby approved) Moose stood up on his hind legs and followed the swing back and forth.  When Becky tried out Raspberry's changing table in the nursery Moose was so interested that Jon held him up so that he could see, and Moose and Liesl carried on a light conversation (we think, although it was beyond our comprehension).  Of course at four months old Liesl is twice Moose's size, and probably about twice the size Raspberry will be when he first comes home, but we figure this is a good start.  Plus, Jon got to watch a diaper change and hold a baby for the first time, and our baby set up was tested and approved by a veteran first time mother and a baby.  Liesl was even entertained by the wallpaper animals on the nursery wall while she was being changed, which was exactly our plan.  Yeah!  Thanks Becky and Liesl!

Some assembly required

We have been told many times that having a baby will force us to mature quickly.  Equally as many times have we scoffed at this adage, choosing instead to believe the more poetic motto 'having children keeps us young at heart.'  Today, however, we have learned just how true both of these proverbs are, and the key to their truth can be summed up in just one act: assembly.  We have to ask, why is it that baby items are so much more difficult to assemble than adult items?!?!?!?

A picture is worth a thousand words.  We followed the directions.  Really.  So why is it that this just doesn't look right? 

 
The swing ultimately went together, and it was a lot of fun to play with (keeping us young at heart)!  Still, maturity reared its ugly head in the form of realistic thinking:  

(Jon)  "He better not wet his pants in this thing because taking that cushion back off is going to be a real [pain]" [altered for content and rated G for audiences everywhere]

Yes, having children will force adulthood on us.