If you ask Asa where babies come from he's likely to tell you, "The Baby Factory".

Sometimes when he's just being unbelievably silly, unbearably obstinate, or intolerably whiny, we say, "Okay, that's it! Does anybody have the number to the Baby Factory? We're sending Asa back. Do you think they take returns after three years?"

Now, before you start thinking that we are subjecting him to some kind of emotional torture, I want to assure you that Asa "gets" the joke. His charm is only matched by his precociousness, as evidenced by the smirk he attempts to hide behind a feigned expression of insult each time the Baby Factory is mentioned.

Recently, as he was acting out of his brotherly love for Julia by teasing, chasing, and endlessly annoying her, I scooped him up, flipped him over, and held him up by his ankles as he wriggled and giggled. Julia, perfectly playing the part of the wounded little girl, pouted on the floor.

"Okay, that's it! I'm calling the Baby Factory to see if I can send him back," I announced in mock resolution, "I'll go find the receipt."

At that, Julia's distress and indignance seemed instantly assuaged as she jumped up, skipped down the hall, and gleefully called back over her shoulder, "I'll get the phone!"

So much sisterly devotion....