Before we return to the regularly (or not so regularly) scheduled posts on life as a new dad, it's important to note that I'm not doing this alone. Behind every good daddyblog post is a good mommy making this possible. So without further ado, I give you the reasons why I am so lucky to have such a great partner:

1. Stephanie still wakes up and feeds Alex in the middle of the night and I rarely realize this has happened until she tells me in the morning.

2. I have never seen her get frustrated or angry in the past 8 months - regardless of how little sleep she is running on or difficult of a day she's had at work. She comes home, sees Alex and smiles like there's not a care in the world. Actually this is more creepy than anything else.

3. Steph has been selflessly pushing Alex to say "dadda" as his first word - at least while I'm in the room. For all I know she could be telling him he doesn't even have a dad when I'm just downstairs watching TV. But that's okay because I tell Alex that I won this "Stephanie" woman we call "mommy" in an illegal Russian gambling den hidden deep beneath the Kremlin.

4. Hygeine. Hers, mine and the babies. Steph does the lionshare (read: all) of the laundry in the house. This is no small task. Alex has a lot of clothes and has outfit changes like a Cher concert (I tried really hard not to reference Cher here because it seemed really gay but Steph and I did see Cher years ago and she changes her clothes a lot. It's just a fact.) Oh and back to hygeine, she bathes him and it's not at all traumatic like it is when daddy does it. Bath time with dadda is very utilitarian: "We clean this. We clean that. Hold still. Clean here. Why didn't I grab a towel? Don't move. Why are you so slippery?" Alex loves his bath time with momma. There are toys and laughter and nobody's crying.

5. And last but not least, after all of the above, she still has the patience to listen to my bad jokes, read my offensive facebook status updates and put up with my continuous TV commentary.

I love you Steph!