Guilty Pleasures

For all of their drooling and wallowing in unclean diapers, babies really do seem to love the soft and fluffy. The infant daughter of a good friend of mine enjoys lolling about on satin blankets. (Does her father realize just what he's in for as she grows into a high maintenance adolescent? I wonder.) Hesperos enjoys his satin, too, but even more than that, he enjoys the guilty pleasure of snacking on the nose of a silky soft stuffed monkey (a "party favor" from his cousin's birthday party at Build-a-Bear). In fact, whenever Hesperos sees his monkey, his face and eyes light up in a manner that reminds me of my pet cat of long ago (Generic) whenever she saw a mouse or feet moving underneath a blanket. Like a Pavlovian dog, Hesperos' saliva glands get going, he clutches for the monkey, and then (chomp) orally violates the monkey in ways that may be prohibited in 10 states.

Only slightly repetant, Hesperos later practices his Sunny Baudelaire impression for the benefit of the camera.

(Note: Before turning us into child protective services, please note that it is not our practice to leave the rail down on the crib nor to leave stuffed animals or toys in the crib. No monkeys, cribs, nor infants were harmed in the production of these photographs.)