I've been knocked off my throne. I’ve seen it coming for some time, but it’s become more clear over this past month: I’m no longer my 4-year-old son’s favorite person in the whole entire world. My husband has replaced me as Guillermo’s best friend ever.

For the first 3 years of Guillermo’s life, he wanted me and only me to read him books, to snuggle with, to carry him, to feed him, to change him and dress him, to bathe him, to buckle him in his car seat, to, well, do anything a toddler needs help doing, and that’s a whole lot of stuff. Sure, there were times when my husband was his first choice, but mostly it was me, me, me. So, a break is nice. It won’t last long, right?

I’m sure there are lots of reasons I’ve been replaced, I know, but I am sure one of the main reasons has to do with my lack of knowledge about superheroes. I’ve written before about Guillermo’s fascination with Transformers, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, and all the other characters I knew little about when I was a child. I impressed Guillermo once when I told him the name of my first soccer team was Captain America, but that was short lived because I’ve failed him on so many other counts.

“What are the bad guys named on Transformers, mom?” he asks, only to find a blank stare?

“Are Jango Fett and Boba Fett brothers?” he wonders aloud, and again I have no answer.

“What is the Incredible Hulk’s real name?”

Aha. This one I know, but only because I read an Incredible Hulk comic book over and over again to him a few weeks ago. I still annoyed him, though, because instead of calling the Hulk Incredible Hulk, I called him Hulk Hogan, whose world Guillermo has yet to discover.

I do have one answer ready for him and he hates that answer, which is a no when he asks if he can watch “Star Wars.” My husband comes in with a quick save. “I was 7 when I watched Star Wars and you can watch it when you were 7.” I have no idea how old I was when I watched first watched Star Wars, do you?

I try. I try hard to play along, to make sure Spiderman succeeds in his effort to ward off all the evil in Guillermo’s room when we play with his action figures, but my thoughts quickly wander: “Wow, this room is a mess,” “I wonder if I have any new e-mail?” “Do I really have to stand up to make Spiderman fly?”

My husband, on the other hand, loves this stuff. Plus, he relishes his new role as superhero to his son. When I complain to my husband about Guillermo’s tendency to bypass me in favor of my husband, my husband has no sympathy. “I endured that for three years. Let me enjoy this.”

I guess I can. Of course I can. I should encourage this. I should embrace this. It’s natural and healthy. Besides, I’ve still got my 2-year-old daughter, Maya, whose every bit a mama’s girl. So, these days I smile, ever so slightly, when I hear her let out a resounding “No WAAAY” when my husband tries to pick her up after a nap. I know she’s waiting for me.

Natalie appears every Sunday on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Natalie at her blog A Day at the Park.