Possibly the cutest and saddest part of the evening was when her parents left for the fundraiser dinner. Her mother was at the door first and said "Mommy needs to go byebye for now so Auntie Joyce is going to watch you." My niece, Natalie, was not too pleased with this news but she waved, "byebye Mommy" and then said, "Daddy?" It was clear by the tone of her voice that she was actually saying, "But Daddy is staying with me right?"

Then she noticed her dad also putting on his shoes and saying byebye to her. Immediately the water works began. But she seemed very resigned to it as she just waved and cried and said over and over again, "bye Mommy, bye Daddy." I can't imagine how heart-breaking it must be to leave your baby in such a condition. But I guess parents, especially working parents, just have to get used to it. And so do their babies.

Luckily, Natalie is a very well-adjusted little baby and she stopped crying after she led me to her room and we played legos and watched some TV. Later, Paul came over and she showed us how she calls the dog over (she bends her knees and clicks her tongue).