Joey Times Two

For better or worse, Joey plays with a lot of girls -- his sisters, his cousins, and the daughters of all of our friends. He's forced into the role of prince, knows a little too much about Fancy Nancy, is a fan of Dora as well as Diego, and just instinctively knows how to make little girls giggle.

Luckily, he's "all boy" at preschool, and is diving in to some great friendships with boys in his class, some of whom will go on to the same kindergarten as him next year. We've had several playdates so far this year, but I finally orchestrated one with his best friend, Drew, today. Their interests dovetail in just about every way, from their mutual obsession over sports, to their boisterous taste for mischief. Some might call them both hyper, and they each sport a "grown-up size head" (Drew's words, not mine). They even both stop dead in their tracks to coo at baby girls.

If you're wondering how the playdate went, picture two Joeys climbing into our SUV at school pick-up, two Joeys cavorting around our house, two Joeys clamoring for man-size portions of pizza at lunch, and two Joeys speeding around the driveway on scooters and bikes.

The second Joey has a little bit of an edge, though. I may or may not have been nailed in the rear end by a dart from a Nerf gun today.

Yikes. Boys to the exponential power are not for the faint of heart.