Daddy-O's Day...

This is Ryan Gardner.

I like him.

RyGar is one of those boys that makes it just so HARD to be mad at him (and you can trust me on this one... I've tried for a variety of reasons... hormones, the uncanny knack for being absent for nearly all dirty diapers or eating my first nacho from a meticulously prepared plate of the good stuff).  

But it is hands down impossible to feel ill-will when he is in the throws of being a dad
with his darling boys.

What I'm trying to say is I love the guy.  But I Looovvvee him as a Daddy-o.

I didn't expect to feel so googly over Ryan the minute Kaelster took his first breath.  It was like I fell madly in love with my husband all over again and those fresh baby goggles made him the finest specimen to ever walk the earth.  I mean really, seeing our baby in his manly arms made me want to... well - you know, Dax Man did, after all, arrive a mere nine months later... and Acers just a few minutes after that.  

How did this get so R Rated so fast?  

Anywhootie... it still does it to me.  Granted, my kids often get riled up by the biggest boy of the household with his squish ceremonies or his tickle tortures, but who cares?



And they frequently look like one big collective disheveled mess with the ensembles that Papa Bear chooses for them to wear, (or not) but who cares?

And I would probably not have elected to teach my kids to clean fish and deer at such a young age, mostly because of the smell, but who cares?
(OK, I kind of care on that one...) 

The bottom line is they love his kind of love.  And I have learned to just let RyGar be a Dad, which is totally different than being a Mom, and that is just perfect, you know?



Because, rightfully so, my kids think their Dad is the Best.

And that makes me over the moon for my RyGar...

And leaves me counting my lucky stars every night.

Happy Father's Day, Handsome.

You make me feel like I can have it all & then some.

And to my own Daddy-o.  I am so glad you're mine.

And hearing you say things like, "If that isn't a little Amber face," or "He's a little spit fire just like his Mama was," about my own children, just positively blows my mind.  Like, the way I love these little misters of mine is the way you've always loved me, your little miss.  And those full circle realizations take my breath away - and make me steel myself for days to come!  :)

I love you, Papa Bear.