Thoughts from a Dad

It is not too often that I get a chance to write on the blog...so here it is. Caution - long read ahead...

Who knew the joys and challenges that fatherhood would bring? Time goes so fast, and it's hard to make sure that we're not missing out on the little things that we so often take for granted.

I have loved every single minute of being a father and the joys and worries that come with that responsibility. Thankfully - at this point definitely more joys.

ADDISON - MY CHUNK OF LOVE

Addison has grown so much in the past couple of weeks. She is now 5 months old and still can't roll over - it's pretty tough getting those 4 leg rolls over at the same time! She is so cute and loves to smile and flirt. She loves her sister Aubrey who often calls her, "chunk of love" and "baby girl." Addison loves to grab for our food and drinks, and sometimes it seems she is so disappointed when we have to take it away - "Sorry Addy, you have to have you rice cereal instead." Yeah, I would be bummed out too...especially when everyone else gets to eat all the cool stuff! She is so cute when she wakes up from a nap in her crib. She always has a big grin and flails her arms and legs with excitement! I feel so bad putting a binky back in her mouth and then leaving her room. "Sorry, it's not time to wake up and play yet...maybe in a few more hours." (It's only 3:30 am!!!) Imagine Christmas morning in a few years...

AUBREY - DINOSAURS EAT TOES

Aubrey has been growing so much as well. I have been constantly amazed at how much and how fast Aubrey picks things up. She keeps us all in stitches with the things that she says and does on a daily basis. She has become quite inquisitive - always asking, "What happened???" or "What's that?" She's scared of dinosaurs (her cousin got a robotic dinosaur for Christmas and she is deathly afraid of it! Everyone else loves it because she'll finally hug you and won't let go!) Sad. Apparently, dinosaurs like to eat her toes - a lot. It's funny, because out of nowhere, she'll say, "OHHHH! Dinosaur! Dinosaur eat my toes!" For some odd reason - this means that to avoid getting her toes eaten, it means taking off her shoes and socks?!?!?

CHARLIE BIT ME

Aubrey is English. Well, at least she has an English accent now. Really. For those of you who haven't seen it - you need to check out YOUTUBE and search for "Charlie bit my finger." Hilarious. Well, I don't know when Aubrey saw it, but she'll walk around the house speaking in an English accent (really), "Ouch! Charlie bit me!" Then she'll stick her finger in her own mouth or in Addison's mouth and say the same thing. A picture is worth a thousand words. I'll work on a pic...

WHO'S ON YOUR NETWORK?

Her new thing is talking on phones. She loves to call her cousins and talks with ANYONE who calls. She'll pretend that anything flat and rectangular is a phone too. She'll pick it up, nod her head, say, "Hello? Hi! How are you? Uh-huh, oh yeah, ok, (giggle), yeah-yeah-yeah, ok, bye-bye." Cracks me up. On a more serious note, the other day, she asked Mom if she could call Daddy at work to talk to him. She had to leave a message...

Aubrey: "Hi Daddy!"
"Love you!"
"Call me!"
"See ya!"

It almost brought tears to my eyes! It was so sweet and sincere and child-like (imagine that - she's 2), but still, it was very sweet. Definitely made my day and made me smile!

Today we were watching the ending of Dante's Peak on TV - and in passing, one of the characters said, "Oh my..." and Aubrey, who was playing around, repeated it to our utter most surprise! To top that off - she said it a couple of times throughout the day, and she heard it ONCE!!! Needless to say, Molly and I have had to really be careful on what is being shown on the television. We've also had to do some DC (damage control) and try to reinforce Aubrey saying, "Oh my goodness!" instead.

Their minds are truly sponges and they pick up so much. Aubrey's now learned, "Just a minute..." and is really improving on communicating with us. We've really tried to reinforce signing or telling us what is wrong instead of grunting or whining. It's been tough, but it's also been quite rewarding. It's so much easier to help her out when she signs to us. I also think that it will help her become more polite and well behaved.

This experience has just shown me how great our responsibility is as parents to be vigilant in watching everything that we say and do, because even when we think they are not listening or watching - they may be because they are so perceptive. At church, they've asked us to pray more as families and read our scriptures because our children will see us and learn from our examples.

Our little ones are learning so much and it has been so fun to see them grow and develop. They are truly the greatest blessings in our lives. I feel that we, as parents, have also grown a lot in becoming consistent and learning how to adapt to each of their individual needs.

All in all - I love being a Dad. I love putting the girls to bed - kneeling with Aubrey in prayer, tucking her in, reading nighttime stories and singing songs, then getting hugs and kisses. It's so sweet. I love changing diapers - just kidding. No I don't. But I will - because it's part of the job description. But this I will tell you - it's much easier to change your own kid's poopie diapers rather than someone else's...

And that, *sigh* are just a few thoughts from a novice parent...