Last night I decided it was time for a special surprise. While he was lounging in the living room, I slipped into the kitchen and mixed up a pretty pink potion in his favorite cup, strawberry flavored, extra sweet, with a swirl of sparkles. “Here you go, sweetie,” I cooed, pressing the cup to his lips. “I made you a yummy treat to help you relax, since you’ve been working so hard.” He didn’t know it wasn’t just juice or some sweet drink. He never does. He took a big gulp, then another, blinking at me with those confused big boy eyes. “what’s in this? It tastes… different.” I just smiled and ruffled his hair. “Shhh, silly goose. Babies don’t ask questions. They just drink what Mommy gives them.” The moment of realization hit him hard, but the magic worked faster than he could say anything. His voice softened into little babbles, his hands lost their grown up steadiness, and suddenly he was wiggling on the floor like the cutest baby ever. I changed him right there, peeling off his big boy clothes and sliding him into a fresh, thick crinkly diaper printed with little yellow duckies and smiling clouds. The plastic backing made the sweetest rustle every time he kicked his chubby legs. Over that I snapped on his favorite fluffy onesie, the one with the baby blue teddy bears and the little tail on the back that wagged when he squirmed. So adorable. I popped his glittery binkie between his lips, the purple one with the shiny star on the shield and he tried to push it out at first. “M-Mommy, I’m not a real baby,” he mumbled around it, cheeks turning pink. I giggled and booped his nose. “Oh yes you are, my little stinker. Look at you in your duckie diapee, sucking on your binkie like a good boy. Big boys don’t wear crinkly diapers and onesies, do they?” He huffed and tried to sit up like a grown man, but his wobbly legs gave out and he plopped right back down. “This is embarrassing…” he protested, but his eyes were sparkling the way they always do when Mommy takes control. I didn’t let him stay grumpy for long. I scooped him up, set him in his bouncy chair, and handed him his favorite stack of soft stacking blocks and the jingly rattle with the smiling lion face. We played “Mommy’s Little Helper” for almost an hour of course with protesting, me tickling his tummy while he cooed and drooled around his binkie, me changing him again into an even thicker nighttime diaper with the cute paw print tapes when the first one got a little heavy. Every time he tried to talk like a big boy I just shushed him gently. “Babies use their words later. Right now you’re Mommy’s giggly baby, and that’s all you need to be.” By the end of the night he was curled up in my lap, sucking happily, completely […]