Words cannot even begin to describe just how amazing Saturday's March for Babies really was. I was near tears just about the entire time, in great part because my team was comprised of some of the most amazing, caring, compassionate people Pittsburgh has to offer. It also didn't help that for as far as the eye could see, there were people who were walking to honor a NICU survivor, or who were walking to remember a baby who didn't make it. Team t-shirts often listed the names of those who were the inspiration for the walker, and each time I read a name and vital stats of a baby who had not made it, I was reminded that the effort our team had put into raising a little bit of money was more than worth it, if only it can help to prevent the same thing from happening to another innocent child.

Fortunately, amongst the members of Team Maddie, we had several very healthy kids. Walking with me was a absolutely healthy Miss Alexis, who was demonstrating her good health the only way that seemed fit to her early on a Saturday morning--she was in a fantastically bad mood. The very second a crowd started to gather at our team meet-up location, she buried her face in my leg and did. not. come. out. When I turned mobile and she ran out of places to hide, she switched to slapping a very lovely shade of cranky all over her face. She kept it there for two solid miles of the walk.

Then, suddenly, she decided it was OK to have fun. And she did. She completely flipped her bad mood upside-down and started having a blast with The Girl, just as she has the other times they have hung out. She had so much fun with The Girl, in fact, that by the time we sat down for lunch, Alexis had completely forgotten that I existed. For the first time in her short life, she actually sat at a different table than me, and didn't care one bit.

Until I stole the best-looking member of the Sportsocracy family, that is. Oh yes, the minute I snagged the uber-cute little man, suddenly I was the center of the universe. Both Alexis and The Girl gathered round to play with he-who-still-smells-like-baby, and the jealousy dripping from Alexis was visible to everyone in the restaurant. She carried it well, though, and mostly just played it off as, "I want a baby brother."

Of course, she's been very dedicated to wanting a baby sister, so I had to drill her about it. She continued to insist that a brother would be OK, and then I asked it. The question. I asked, "How about if we just take this baby home?"

She looked at me, her head tilted sideways, and she thought long and hard about it before finally saying, "OK!" Her eyes betrayed her mouth though. She really didn't like the idea of sharing me for another minute.

Fortunately for Miss Alexis, a certain WAY too cute for words little man started fussing. I LOVE being able to give kids back when they are unhappy, so I handed him right over and Alexis crawled up into my lap to reclaim her territory.

Ever since then, I have continuously messed with Alexis' head and asked her things like, "Should we go pick up that baby brother today?" Each time, the answer has been a very resounding, "NOOOOOO!"

Who knew baby sister fever could easy be cured by a few minutes with this guy?