My friends have cute kids

Exhibit A:

Cuter than Butterstick: Casey and Madeleine

Casey and Maddie belong to my good friends Eric and Jocelyn. E and J are the first ones from my closest circle of friends to have kids. They're freaking adorable. Casey and Maddie, that is. Eric and Jocelyn are refined intellectuals and excellent parents but if I called either one of them adorable, they'd probably slug me. Anyway, Casey is already one of my favorite people on the planet and I'm sure I'll feel the same way about Maddie once I get to know her as well.

It's funny but I think, in subtle ways, knowing that the people I used to party-hardy with have moved on to start a family has made me start to grow up a little bit also. Not just because that's two less people to run with anymore but also because that's my peer group that's moving on.

I'm not saying there aren't still mornings when I'm going to bed when I should be waking up. But with every hangover there's always been that voice in my head, the one that wonders "How much is enough?" and once your friends start having kids, that voice starts getting an extra moment of consideration.

Especially when the kids are as cool as these:

Hey sis, is it just me or is that purple Teletubby a little, um, y'know...foofoo.

But whatever, I'm in no rush to do the baby thing myself. I am, however, after hanging out with Casey and Maddie, urging more of my friends to get together and make some babies. It makes perfect sense to me, after all, these people are my friends. If they have babies together, it just means there's more people just like them to hang out with. Plus, their kids will likely be at least as cool and smart as their parents, not to mention way cuter for at least a decade or so, AND, genetically disposed to laugh at my jokes! Total win-win here. So you hear me, pals? Let's get the lead out and start with the baby-makin!