father's day, take 2

"wanna know how you can make a light grow out of your head,

so you can see in the dark, bella?

grow up and eat your vegetables!"

-joel

for father's day, joel got satellite radio. and spent the entire day making it look really cool in his car (a.k.a. come up out of the ash tray. ya, it looks much better than it sounds).

joel is a man's man. a gadgeter. a big thinker. he is a big boy. he loves all things science, outdoors, and sporty. he also has a slight bit of OCD, if you want my opinion.

once he starts something he HAS to finish it. like this radio. see, he is also trying to finish his masters by july, and he still has several papers to write. BUT he was so excited about this radio and making it pop up from the ash tray, that he spent the whole day trying to get it to work. at one point, he "took a break" to go to the store and get something to help him finish. then he "took a break" to clean up his area. so he could keep working.

we'll call this, stick-to-it-iveness.

and i can already see bella learning this. she has great stick-to-it-iveness. like when i put her bottle full of water down in front of her, and she spends the next 45 minutes, chasing it around the living room.

she is bound and determined to get it. just so she can try to bite it, and send it flying again. hopefully she keeps that ambition for the rest of her life. i hope that she gets these amazing traits from her daddy, and i'm sure she will. because she loves her daddy.

father's day, take 1

i have a confession. father's day leaves me dumbfounded.

first, a little history. so father's day "started" in 1910, but didn't become officially recognized until 1972. on the other hand, we officially celebrated mother's in 1910.

now don't get me wrong. mother's are pretty darn important. i mean, without mom's, well. none of us would exist. of course, without dad's none of us would exist either.

mom's seem like the obvious one's to celebrate. they labored, and delivered, and nursed, and rocked. they are usually the one's who go to sleep late and wake up early, who get up in the middle of the night. who kiss boo-boo's and pick us up when we skin our knees.

but dad's. dad's scare the monster's from under the bed. they teach us how to ride a bike, and throw a ball. and take a ball to the shin, with dignity. they show us how to be a team player, and how to sacrifice for the good of the team. for the good of the family. they teach us humility. they wrestle and play. dad's are the one's who teach us how to be kids. how to live in the moment and enjoy every bit of it.

i am so thankful that bella has such a wonderful daddy. he will most definitely teach her how to be a kid. and she will be one of the coolest kids i know, because she will have such a great example (yes, sometimes i feel as though i am a mother of 2!). he will teach her how to change the oil in her car, how to change a tire. he will teach her how being gentle can be the same thing as being strong. and he will teach her how to love and laugh.

dad's are such amazing people. i cherish my daddy and want nothing more than to make him proud. i can't wait to see how bella and joel's relationship evolves over her life. bella already adores her daddy. when he walks in the room, you can see it all over her little face.