In memory of your great-grandmother

Dear Mikey,
Your great-grandmother (daddy's nana) passed away last night. You never got to meet her but she saw your photos and knew about you and was happy.

Daddy is a little sad today but he's overcoming those feelings with the thought that nana was 92, lived a long life, and was a very tough and strong person.

Your great-grandma faced many difficult times in her life but always persevered. She raised your papa and his three brothers practically by herself during tough times and was always able to take care of them.

Daddy will tell you more stories about nana when you're old enough and want to know more about your family. For now, just know that she loved you and was very happy for mommy and daddy.

It was a great comfort to daddy to be able to hug you last night after he found out about his nana. You always make daddy smile and remember that love always makes everything feel better.

So, thank you. I Love You always.

Applause! Applause!

Ah, the sweet sound of applause. The sound of two hands clapping can be music to my ears. Especially when that sound is coming from my nine-month-old son.

Mikey learned how to clap this weekend. Now, he had been doing his own version of clapping for a while. It was really cute to see how he interpreted the way that adults were clapping. But this weekend he started clapping for real and it was so amazing it made me smile so much it hurt my face.

I love the little sound that his hands make as he claps. The gentle tap, tap of his fingers touching is breathtaking. Maybe this is mushy or not a big deal to a lot of people but to me it's priceless.

I will do all I can to give Mikey many, many things to clap about in his life. :-)

Mikey's First Christmas

So, Mikey, your first Christmas has come and gone. I wish you could tell me in words what you thought about it but I think I could tell from your reactions that you were excited, overwhelmed, and toward the end of the night, exhausted. All in all, I think you had a fun and happy day and that makes your daddy very happy.

Mommy and daddy wanted to make your first Christmas (as we will for every Christmas) a very special time. It gave your daddy great joy and extra inspiration to think of all the ways to express the love of Christmastime to you. You're a little too young to understand about the Christ part of Christmas but next year I'll try to explain it to you. So, this year, you found out about the giving and generosity of the season.

You (and mommy) also gave daddy a really cool gift that he's going to use in coming posts. I love the journal with all of it's inspiring questions about being a father and how to live life. I can't wait to fill in the answers for you.