daddyville

I am really so enthralled by my growing relationship with my little (2 1/2 yr. old) girl. We are actually starting to have substantial conversations with full memory recall of previous experiences---That's Really exciting! (I'm really beginning to see a redeeming quality to all those sleepless nights. Yes, I know they're not over . :) I'm not kidding myself, but... ) The interplay is deepening.
In the early days you really wonder whether or not this 'creature' will actually fully develop. I mean who's to say? Okay, so 'the hatching' went well. Hooray. :)! I'm giving 'Us' a single 'clap' for that and Christina the hormone filled, caffeine driven praise of a high school co-Ed cheerleader, but really.....we lack a little mileage down the trail for any kind of full fledged applause. As God is our witness, we are giving it our All.
At this time I am happily swamped by all of Shayla's rapid- fire developments as a person. The intimations of who she is are quickly rising to the fore of her personality. The flavor, taste, and feeling of fatherhood is quickly manifesting on my tongue, lips, and down deep in my bones and I must say that it is a Joy unlike any other that I have yet known in my Life. In a word, Glorious.
Fatherhood Opens the Heart to Discover for Itself that of which It Is Capable: It's True Nature and Undying Capability. I'm just now beginning to grow up as a Man. Fatherhood is doing that for me, thanks to a wonderous little Being and Spirit named Shayla Rose.
Thank You Shayla.

There is faith, hope and love, but the Greatest of these is Love.

Yogurt is a whole food don't you know!

Today I traded in Shayla's crib (she's in a bed now) for this trainer bike at a local kids' resale shop. Pretty cool. She's been asking for a bicycle and....it's kind of close to Christmas. :) What can I say I say? I couldn't help myself as it was a totally equal trade with the shop.
She's got a long way to go before really understanding how to operate it, but you have to start somewhere, right? We're having fun!

Yummmm. Donuts. :) A true treat for Shayla and I. :)

One of the most fun things for me as a father at this point is watching my 2 1/2+ yr. old daughter Shayla's comprehension go through the roof. What was once an occasional surprise has now become routine.
As the cognition develops, so does our conversation, which is really exciting. The other part of this is that she is learning from Everyone she interacts with, so it takes a little figuring out to get where she is learning what and from whom. I imagine this goes off the chart a little once they go to (pre)school! One example of this was one day Shayla said to me, "You're so gorgeous". I said, "What??" She repeated it for me and she was stretching out the word 'so' just like an adult might, and I was like, "Where did she pick that up???" Later, I told her mother and she said that she got it from a friend of ours that apparently was saying that to her. Fortunately, up to this point she has not really picked up on the 'adult' expletives that she has heard on occasion. Her mother and I underwent a radical grammatical weeding at Shayla's Earthly debut, but.....there is no controlling the vocabulary of non-parenting, loosely lipped friends. I had to say something a couple of times to these folks, but that was it; they caught on.
....……So on we go down the Developmental Path whilst whistling 'Dixie'. :)

There is faith, hope and love, but the Greatest of these is Love.