Last Father’s Day Anna was growing inside me, today she’s 10 months of smiley, fun, healthy baby. And she loves her daddy.
I thought it would be fun to mark the occasion with a few John-specific memories from the last 10 months.
John worked flexibly in and out of the house for the first 3 weeks of her life. Due to her delivery, for the first week I was limited in what I could do. And John stepped up with love and energy like a CHAMP. Figuring out nursing and feedings, especially in the middle of the night those first few months, John would keep me company. He has never lacked words of encouragement or a well-timed joke to make me laugh when I wanted to give up.
When I call him during the day, I will usually put him on speaker phone, and Anna never ceases to make the highest pitched squeal at the sound of his voice. She smiles SO big when he walks through the door.
Around 6 months, Anna started learning to turn the pages of the books we were reading to her. She barely lets you get two words out before she’s trying to turn the page. John is the star of her bedtime routine. He reads a few books, I pray for her sleep, and he sings to her as they walk up to bed.
In the early months, John would put her in the stroller and go jogging through the neighborhood before he got ready for work. And, whenever we go exploring, John is usually the one who straps her to his chest in the Ergo.
We’ll always tell her that Daddy gave her her first bite of chocolate, from a cookie cake for Mommy’s birthday.
We’ll always tell her how when she got extra whiny or we needed an extra 20 minutes before a nap, John would pull out all the stops playing with her on the floor.
He is tender, strong and wise with her, just like I knew he would be.
We always say we’re better together, and I can say with great confidence I am the Mom I am, and want to be, because of John. And I say with hopeful anticipation that Anna will grow up to be a kind, brave, adventurous and generous person because of John’s influence.
It was his first official Father’s Day. The responsibility is great, but so is the joy. And I add meaning to her excited squeals at his voice and love of his playfulness: she’s thankful too.
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