A Dad and his Daughters

In honor of Father's Day, I've been squirreling away some photos of Lou with the girls over the past year. There really isn't a better way to show how much we all adore him than by sharing these images.


Lou really is the best father I can imagine. It's everything from the big things to the little everyday moments that  prove it:

All the hours logged reading books before bed -

The time together in the kitchen -

For time doing cooking experiments and science experiments - 

The perfect balance of letting our children explore while simultaneously keeping them safe -

Family activities at our new home -

Even activities that involve recreating Cirque du Soleil tricks -

The 24/7 cuddles -

The trips to the park -

Dad on the whale, Josie on the pig

The way only he can make her laugh -

The entertainment they provide me when they clown around together -

Puppet show while I was working

Dressing up Roly in one of her many winter outfits she never got to wear

Moments spent indulging childhood wishes and working together to create something special - 

 

The drive to school... the first day and every single day after -

The comfort -

The joy -

The encouragement -

The moments when he is so proud of the wonderful children he has created-

The beginning of family traditions -

And knowing how to make a little girl feel really special -

The time in the yard -

The silliness - lots and lots of silliness -

The hugs -

The adventures -

 And the best seat in the house -

 The smooches -

And the simple things turned into lasting memories -

 The way he embraces his inner child every single day -

Creates moments for Josie just to be a kid -

And finds so much joy in parenting -

In the moments where he indulges me in a pose for the camera -

And in the moments when he has no idea I'm even watching them -

In the moments when doing the Hokey Pokey in front of a crowd is no big deal if it means making your daughter's day -

In the little quiet moments transforming from a father of one to a father of two -

Posing with this year's Father's Day gift -
a handmade pencil cup for his office that she couldn't wait until Sunday to give him!

And being just as adored by your big girl now as you were when she was just the baby -

It's loving each of these girls with all of his heart from the moment they were born -

Josephine's Birth, 8.11.07

Beatrice's Birth, 3.8.11

And being the type of husband (that little girls hope really do exist) who never ceases to amaze me with his constant and undying support (physically, mentally, emotionally...) -

During Josie's birth

During Bea's birth

It's this and all of the countless things that Louie does to make every day as a member of this family so fantastic.  

It's in the stories Josie tells (like the one to her teacher about how her most important chore each day is telling Mommy that Daddy has the coffee ready) and the way Josie plays (like the "daddy" doll in the dollhouse who spends most of his time cooking) and all the little inside jokes that make us a family - snow bear and silly songs and dance parties. Really, it's in the hard work of parenting and the even harder work that comes from always making your children the top priority.

Sweet, sweet Lou - I might not be able to scream it from the mountaintops, but this is the next best thing. You are the truly incredible and every single moment of every single day, I am grateful for you. And to think I thought I couldn't love you anymore than I did on July 6th, 2001.  It's true, every day I love you even more.

And I know two little girls that could say the exact same thing.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!
(thanks for loving us as much as you do)

The tale of two naps

Today, completely by accident or perhaps with divine intervention, both girls slept together, side by side, for more than two hours. I posted pics as this all unfolded, so the story is told here backwards unless you scroll down and read up. Enjoy.

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Post-sleep sweetness

Two hours later they woke up together and moved in closer for some not-quite-awake snuggles (and it is precisely moments like these that make it easy to find peace with everything we went through to get here).

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Awake with a big stretch

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90 minutes and counting...

...there's a real good chance Josie will be up until midnight but they're having such sweet dreams (I can just tell)...

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And still they snooze...

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Mid-afternoon dream come true

Their first nap together.

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How Does Your Garden Grow?

I must say, having a garden was near the top of my list for reasons we wanted to leave downtown and get our own yard. Josie, despite growing up in the heart of the city, has always like getting her hands dirty and loved the PeaWee Patch gardening classes at the Cincinnati Familly Enrichment Center each summer. Truth told, her thumb is much greener than her mama's and the gardens at school developed her green thumb even more.  There was no way we could let this first full summer in our house pass without a garden.  Lou created a yard for us and finding a home for our garden was soon to follow.  Since early spring, we've been talking to lots of people about gardening - even calling in some of our friends with expertise in this area. It all felt a little overwhelming until one day in April when I had a conversation with Josie's teacher about the Square Foot Gardens she was creating with some neighbors just a few blocks over from our house. She told me about the book and I ordered it from my phone in the parking lot. I read it in two days and our gardening problems were solved. We planned and purchased with the goal of getting it all going by Mother's Day. 

For us, it has already been such a joy! Digging in the dirt together, checking every morning to see if any more seeds have sprouted, measuring "who" is growing the fastest, making bets about just how tall the mammoth sunflowers will get - these are the things that I have found to be the most rewarding.  Sure, having fresh cilantro for taco night is pretty awesome but the thing that is blowing Josie's mind (and teaching her so much) is that those tiny little seeds have already transformed "magically" into "real plants."   These are the things that make gardening a treat instead of a task.  And thankfully Mother Nature has blessed us with enormous amounts of sunshine and rain to make our jobs even easier. (No kidding, our rain barrel is FULL!)  

Here are some photos from our early weeks setting up the garden.  

Finding the perfect spot

That's a lot of dirt to carry across the yard

Josie's plan: one scoop at a time

First scoop of the garden

That might move things along a little faster

Measuring out the square foot increments

When did she get this big?

"Mom take a picture of a bubble"

It worked: the bubble popped on my lens with Josie on the other side

Petunias for the front and a few transplants for the garden

That sweet smile again

Planting Petunias

Plotting out where the seeds and starters would go

Admiring her work

Putting in the starters

The beginning of what we hope will be a massive sunflower garden  by the house

Looking at these photos, it's amazing how  much everything has already grown. I will get some new photos of the progress this weekend.  

You might also want to check out:

The Austins Blog - who tackled SFG on their rooftop after I suggested the method to my sister as the answer to their gardening dreams as well.

Eating on the Grid - my friend Lori's blog about SFG growing and cooking

We would love to hear about your adventures into family gardening - What has been your favorite thing to grow? Epic successes? Epic failures? Favorite stories?