Guest star for the evening

We had an extra member of our family this evening. A couple of our friends had a wedding to attend, so we kept their 1 1/2-year-old son. He's a very sweet baby, but he's never stayed with us before, so we had to win him over right from the get-go.

Like most boys I've met, I lured him away from his parents with trucks, trains, balls and something he could bang on. He never even noticed that his parents left. His dad said later that he felt like they were deceiving the little boy, but shoot, we still sneak out on Biscuit when we go on a date, and he's 2 1/2 years old. I don't see it as deception as much as distraction. Seeing us leave is always worse than Biscuit realizing later that we're not there. Mainly because by the time he figures it out, he's already having a good time with whoever is babysitting him.

We headed out into the backyard to play, and apparently, Biscuit decided the other little boy should be part of our family. The boys were playing with plastic baseballs and bats, and Biscuit said, "Throw that ball to our Mom."

"What did you say, Biscuit?" I asked.

"I say him to throw the ball to you, Mom. Throw ball to our Mom." Our mom. I like it.

Biscuit did have one moment of jealousy. I was talking to the other little boy, and Biscuit thought I was ignoring him. There was a bit of whining, so I grabbed Biscuit up and covered him with smooches. I had to remind him that although I was paying attention to this other little boy, I hadn't forgotten about him. It took all of about 2 minutes of attention, and he was fine after that.

We had some pizza for dinner, and then came bath time. I put the 1 1/2-year-old in the tub and before I could even start washing him, Biscuit came running in, started taking his clothes off and said, "I get in, too, Mom!" They had a good time splashing and playing in the water.

The little one went to sleep right after his bath, and I told Biscuit he had to be quiet so the baby could sleep. "Okay. Shhhhh," he said. Which is funny because Biscuit still touches his finger to the tip of his nose when he says "shhhhh."

I put the baby on my bed surrounded by pillows, and Biscuit asked if he could watch TV in our bedroom. "I be quiet, Mom," he said. So I turned on cartoons and got him covered up with a blanket. Every time the baby took a deep breath or moved, Biscuit just stared at him. It was funny to watch. I sat in a rocking chair in our bedroom and tried to read, but those boys had tired me out. I almost dozed off a couple of times.

When our little visitor's parents came back to pick him up, they walked into our bedroom to scoop him up. Jeff and the baby's dad were talking in their regular voices. Biscuit's protective side kicked in, and he said, "Shhhhh. The baby asleep." He scolded the baby's daddy about his own son. Of course, the dad thought it was cute and funny.

We had a fun night, but I'm played out and ready for bed.