Guest blogger Dani Klein writes: "Now that's a MODISETT!" my father-in-law says to my 11-month-old towhead every time he visits.

He says it in front of my 5-year-old; my dark-haired, dark-eyed beautiful boy who always smiles like he has a secret.

"Gabriel's a Modisett too!" I add immediately, even if Gabriel's not in earshot. The idea that he might feel less loved by his grandfather kills me.

"He's just a Modisett with a delicious Klein coating." I add, going for an M&M reference that eludes my father-in-law.

"Oh, sure," he says, gazing deeply into the baby's eyes. The guy cannot stop holding and staring at this child.

My father-in-law is the only living grandfather, and oh, how I wished he would have paid a third of the attention to Gabriel that he does to Gideon. My husband and I wrote off his lack of interest to the fact that he was not a "baby" person.

Turns out he is a baby person, if the baby looks just like him. Which Gideon does. Eerily so. Maybe he likes being close to him so much because it connects him to his past; it's a baby him. I don't know.

I only know it makes me want to protect Gabriel from not feeling special. But my mother picks up the slack there. Just ask my sister. Grandma has no problem going on and on in front of her, "Gabriel is so smart. Gabriel is especially handsome ... Gabriel blah blah blah."

The lack of preciousness in the words and actions of grandparents can be refreshing, but in the case of our children, it can also sometimes come with the sharp sting of a slap in the face.

Dani Klein is the mom of two boys, and the creator/producer of Afterbirth...Stories You Won't Read in Parents Magazine.