West Coast Avengers cover with
Hawkeye wearing a hearing aidLittle Anthony Smith was absolutely sure about one thing -- superheroes did not wear hearing aids. So when his mom Christina D'Allesandro asked the 4-year-old to put on his hearing device -- which they dubbed "blue ear" because of it's color -- he naturally put up a fight.

She told him that crime fighters did in fact wear hearing aids, but Anthony wanted proof. As with most good moms, Christina didn't give up. She emailed Marvel Comics to see if, on an off chance, there were any superheroes who fit the bill. "I am likely to get stuck in your spam filter," she wrote from their Salem, New Hampshire home. "But you never know..." The long shot paid off.

Moms, I need to talk to you about a very serious issue affecting us dads. Don't worry, it has nothing to do with your parents, those new shoes you bought, or even "getting busy." No, this one's all about the kids. Specifically, it's about playdates.

Don't get me wrong. I understand the value of a playdate. The kids get to interact with friends in an environment outside of school. It's fun and helps teach some great social lessons, yadda yadda. Whatever. I just want to know why they have to last so friggin' long?

One of the things no one told me about becoming a mom is that it will make you feel like you are back in high school again. When you first go to the playground with your kids, that is. You're the newbie mom (or dad) and it seems that all the other parents and caretakers there already know each other. You are the outcast. Like the kid in the lunchroom who has no one to sit next to. How do you break the ice? Do you talk to the people with kids around the same age? Or maybe you size up the mom and think ... yeah, she seems like someone I would get along with.

Either way it's hard to make a connection when you often have to run off in different directions to stop your little one from stealing the ball from the older kids at the park. But you look for similarities, ways you are alike, and try to make some parent friends. In doing so I realized how there is 11 types of moms (dads, even caretakers) at the playground ... and these types seem to be standard no matter where I go.

"Teen Mom" Kailyn Lowry tweeted something that sounded awfully familiar last night. "The cleanest room in my house is my 2 year old son's room. Probably because the things that belong in his room are throughout the house." Oof, too funny! And too true. I feel you, Kailyn. I feel you.

Don't you love how you create this adorable space for your child with a place for every toy, book, and sock only for that child to drag half of their belongings throughout the rest of your home? I know kids play everywhere -- and that's what we all want. But they do seem to leave a breadcrumb trail of toys all over, don't they?

The force is strong with this one. Seriously! I mean, come on -- Darth Maul is a badass! He took out Qui-Gon Jinn! (Liam Neeson, ladies.)

But apparently the Sith lord is no match for a baby in feet pajamas.

Full disclosure: I knew next to nothing about Star Wars until my son developed a full-blown obsession with the series a few years ago. At the time, he wasn't much bigger than the cutie in this video -- and the ferocious-looking Darth Maul was his favorite "guy" from the start.

Young padawan, I see many trips to the Star Wars aisle of "Toys R'Us" in your parents' future ...

Ha! Whoever thinks too much screen time is to blame for the out-of-shape children epidemic needs to watch this video of 10-month-old Jonas doing chin-ups -- seriously, like legit chin-ups -- to get a better view of a Disney cartoon playing on his mom's computer. No joke! Either this kid is crazy strong for a baby or he just really, really loves The Jungle Book (possibly both).

My daughter was obsessed with The Jungle Book at his age, too, but she never performed any amazing feats of strength just to catch a glimpse of Mowgli and Baloo singing "The Bare Necessities." Then again, it never occurred to me to put the TV screen way up high where she couldn't quite see it.

If I had, she might be rocking some Popeye-esque biceps by now!

Ever wonder why so many new moms have messy houses? The fact that we're too busy trying to figure out a time to wash ourselves, forget that coffee spill in the kitchen, might have something to do with it. But then there's the vacuum cleaner. The loud, scary vacuum cleaner that leaves most babies quaking in their onesies is something many moms are too afraid to turn on when baby's home with her (and when isn't baby home ... you see why the house is dirty?). But there may be hope yet!

Enter Brantley. The adorable baby boy is becoming quite the Internet star for his surprising reaction to that big hunka ear-splitting air-sucking metal. The huge fit of giggles that scary vacuum cleaner brings out of the tiny boy is enough to make every mom re-evaluate everything they know about what's too scary for their kiddos:

I'm heading out to pick up my little girl after her mini-vacation at Grandma's house. I have missed that lady like nobody's business. Every day her father and I anxiously await her phone calls, even if she mostly says, "I went to a pizza party and swam in the pool goodnight bye." My oldest child is becoming independent, and it is exciting and bittersweet.

Still, these past few days have been kind of magical, and in an unexpected way. My 3-year-old was an only child for a few days, and wow, did it really suit him. That kid really had a chance to shine, and I'm realizing we should be splitting the kids up every now and then so we can have the luxury of hearing only one kid voice and being able to have a conversation without interruption. It was a truly enlightening experience to have one kid again, and here's what I learned: