On Saturday, the baby hosted about 30 guests at her very own baptism. Yesterday, she was at it again, playing belle of the ball as more family members chilled out to eat leftovers and sloth on the couch during the NFL playoffs.

Before the weekend, Powergirl and I were wondering how our little baby, who spends most of her time with the two of us, would react to crowds of people in her space. We were curious how she’d deal with other people hanging in her room and (gasp!) other kiddies eating on her high chair.

Through it all, though, the baby managed to keep smiling, laughing and taking everything in. She even sat calmly in my arms during a toast, proving that she’s on track to be the life of every party she attends.

The experiences didn’t only teach us stuff about our baby; they taught me some things about myself, as well.

For starters (and believe it or not), being a father has mellowed some of my neuroses about relinquishing control.

Before L came along, I would stress wildly about having people in my home and micromanage everything about the actual bash. Guests couldn’t wash dishes. They couldn’t play a role in food preparation. Hell, they weren’t allowed to do anything but be guests. Yesterday, however, I was more than happy to delegate whatever I could. My cousin managed my sausage and peppers. My brother-in-law sliced the tri-tip. I even let my mother and mother-in-law clean up.

Secondly, as I’ve gotten more comfortable with fatherhood, I’ve relaxed a bit on the whole germ thing.

As recently as two months ago, I’m not so sure I would have been willing to let L play with another kid’s toy, or let other kids play with hers. This weekend, however, she shared toys freely with her cousins and her baby friends, and I didn’t have a problem.

Finally, it seems that parenthood has sharpened my ability to function at high levels without caffeine.

Here, the case in point was party prep. On Friday night, I was up until 2 a.m. slicing peppers (for sausage and peppers) and trimming green beans (for a veggie side). If those goodies were just for us, I probably would have needed caffeine to manage a night of late-night slicing. But because I knew the stuff was for L’s party, I powered through on nothing but excitement for her.

Collectively, at least in the scheme of things, all three of these are small transformations for one person to endure. Still, they are transformations nevertheless, and in every case, I’d say our little baby continues to make me a better man.