Boys Will Become Men

Any man can be a father, 

But it takes a special man 

To be a DAD.

This saying is cross-stitched, framed, and hanging next to my dad's bed, a gift from my mom.

*****

My boys have a dad who takes them to the basketball games, gymnastics, and coaches their t-ball team,

 A dad who builds the tallest "mah-bow wooks" tower possible, 

 who dresses them up silly, 

 who waves good-bye hours after he left (because he forgot the first time around), 

and who teaches his boys how to shave at an oddly early age.  

Not to mention that he always has the best hiding places for hide-and-seek, he hugs and kisses their mom even though they say it grosses them out, and he works super hard for our whole family to enjoy the wonderful life we have- an especially hard task every January, when our FaceTime sessions with him look like this- 

My boys have the best dad ever.

Beauty and The Beast

This is a guest post by Jason, the number one fan of this blog.  

One of my goals this year is to have more one-on-one dates with the kids.  When Melanie told me that the Beauty and the Beast Broadway Musical was coming to Ames, I thought this would be a good opportunity to take the girls on a fancy date.  Of course, Adam didn't want to be left out and both girls needed an arm to hold so the four of us decided to go together while Melanie stayed home with Noah.  

The night of the musical, we all dressed up in our fanciest clothes and piled into the car.  Poor Emma was still sick but refused to miss a chance to see a real Disney princess. 

The kids received many compliments on how nice they looked and were thrilled to sit in the theater balcony.  I had never taken the kids to a musical and was curious to see how they each handled it.  As the lights dimmed Emma crawled onto my lap and remained there throughout the entire show.  Both girls grabbed me tightly when the wolves came but were also enchanted with the singing and dancing.  Leah and Emma's eyes light up during "Be Our Guest" and they both clapped with such excitement when it was over.  You could see looks of concern, fear, excitement, and happiness cross her face throughout the play.  She would turn to me every few minutes to ask a question or voice a concern.  It was so much fun to watch everything through the eyes of a child. 

Adam also enjoyed the musical and was quick to point out that he wasn't afraid of the wolves.  He did a good job of staying in his seat throughout the play and spent the next few days quoting funny parts of the play.  

After the play got a closer look at the stage and the pit.  Leah was especially excited to see violins and cellos.

The play ended at 9:30 pm and we didn't get home until a little after 10:00 pm.  We listened to music from the musical on the ride home and we each talked about our favorite parts of the play.  Emma and Leah agreed that "Be Our Guest" was their favorite part.  Adam's favorite part was when the Beast floated up and turned into a human.  Everyone also liked how the Beast strutted up the stairs trying to look cool for Belle.  All the kids were relieved to find out that a fake duck and not a real one had been dropped from the ceiling onto the stage.  The girls were also happy to hear that the wolves were puppets and not real wolves.   

By the time we got home, everyone looked like this. Everyone had a great time and we all made some fun family memories together. 

A New Look

Much to her delight, the time has come for Leah to get glasses.

The first time someone called Leah "Jason Jr." I was slightly offended.  But they were right on the mark.  Leah sports the same dark hair and hazel eyes, wiggly eyebrow and crazy teeth as her daddy.  And, we found out last week, his same poor vision.

And she couldn't be happier!  She picked out the perfect pair and has been grinning ever since.  Glasses are totally Leah's style.

Fun with Daddy

Jason is keeping plenty busy at work, but he always makes it a priority to have happy, helpful, and fun moments with us at home.  He comes home early on Thursday evenings to help with Leah's violin lessons and Adam's gymnastic class.  He took Adam to a high school basketball game a few weeks back- Adam loved learning about the game and how to keep score.

He took the kids to an indoor wildlife preserve, where they got to pet Flower the skunk and hold shark teeth and such.   Adventures with Daddy are always so fun.

A smile and a problem

Leah and Jason were happy to be reunited after another long weekend apart.

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L: I like you Daddy.
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J: I like you, too.

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L: I love you Daddy.

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J: I love you, too.

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L: We're friends.

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J: We are friends.

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L: We're family.

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J: Yep.

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L: We're married!

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J: Uhhh...

Leah has grand ideas about being married to a prince, complete with glass slippers, a beautiful dress, earrings and a cake. She tells me every day that she's marrying a prince, and I'm glad that she sees princely characteristics in her Daddy.

Now for the (unrelated) problem. Leah's hair is getting longer and thicker, (yay!) and she loves to twirl it around her finger when she's falling asleep. But lately, she's been twirling it into little knots that are impossible to comb out! Literally- I usually end up combing the little knot until it falls out onto the comb.

Does anyone have a good product to recommend that keeps the tangles out?

Tonight Leah started screaming from her room because she had twirled her finger so tightly into her hair that it got stuck. Ouch! We need help!