My BIG girl!

My baby girl is no more! She is a big girl now who is becoming more and more independent as the days go by. She wants to brush her own teeth, wash her own hands and climb in/out of the car by herself. Don't get me wrong she still needs her daddy, but as the days pass by she will become even more independent! I am not ready for this just yet. I was watching a television show just today and they showed new parents with their newborn child. I miss those days so much. I miss her just laying in my arms and looking into my eyes. I miss knowing that she needs me to do everything for her. I miss those times when she got the hiccups and I was the only one who she wanted. It seems like I blinked my eyes and she is now over 2 and getting older and older as the seconds tick. But this is life and she will be in Kindergarten before I know it. And I will just be "dad" instead of "Daddy!". But it is ok. Because I know she will always be a Daddy's girl.

I also know she will be a Uncle Victor's girl as well! She adores my brother and when he walks into the room, her eyes light up and she just screams, " Uncle Vider". She can't seem to make out Victor so it is either "Vider" or as he is afraid it will be "Big Bird". (One of his friends' children called him that by the way! Lol!) So her Uncle Victor is one of the only ones who she will sit and take a picture for. He will tell her to take out her passy and smile. She does as he says and takes the best pics. The following is a few examples of his work:




This is right outside our house. My brother loved the background. If you can tell she has her passy in her left hand!



You can't see him, but her PopPop was making funny sounds to make her laugh so her eyes were focused on him instead of the camera.

My niece and nephew with Maddie.

We had to do a funny picture! She absolutely adores them!

Maddie's new shoes!

So we are going into late spring and summer time now so that means one thing...NEW SHOES!!! Unlike most guys I have always been a fan of shoes. Whether it be Nike Shox or New Balance, I always have loved shoes so it is no surprise that Maddie is developing her love for shoes now. Last summer my mom bought her some shoes similiar to Converse with velcro straps and she has absolutely LOVED them! So naturally I started looking at the actual Converse shoes to see if there were any of them out there that were cute and would match outfits she had. Enter the best kids's shoe store I have found thus far...Journey's Kidz! They have all kind of Converse including several that I liked for her. The ones that I loved the most were a brown and pink plaid shoe, but of course they didn't have her size. Go figure huh. Can't order them from the store or online so we had to go to the next choice. The second pair I liked were some that were light gray/white. The special thing about them is that they had little wiener dogs on them! They were so cute and now they are sitting in her closet as I type this. The second ones that we bought her were simple brown ones that can go with all her pink, brown, green, etc...clothes. She was so happy last Sunday when she got them. I tried them on her that night and she thought she was hot stuff in them. She actually wore them for the first time last Monday to the doctor's office. Although she might not care for the doctor, she was not shy to show off her Chuck Taylors to him! Needless to say...he was impressed! It is so funny. I have now stumbled across Journey's Kidz website so who knows how much I will spend on more shoes for her. Stay tuned to see what new ones we might add to her collection.

These are the ones I couldn't find her size in...they are so adorable!

These are the ones that I bought her last Sunday. They are so cute and even better on! They are called Fancy Dogs!

These are the last pair we got her. They are plain but so cute when you dress them up with her new shorts and t-shirt outfits. Can't wait to see her strut her stuff in them!

For Mother's Day...

I just want to say Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. You are definitely blessed by God and a blessing to the children you have. Speaking for the fathers out there, we have nothing on you! You put up with so much and get little credit. So here is a big THANK YOU! I hope you all have a blessed Mother's Day and just know that your job is not unimportant. You are a driving force in this world today. I want to also thank my mom for being such an influence in my life and the reason why I can be a crazy dad for Maddie.

On a side note, I officially joined the overprotective daddy's club this past week. Maddie had a rash up her back and on her stomach. A kid from her class had ringworm and one of the spots was ring-shaped. I just knew she had ringworm and I took her to the doctor ASAP. Turns out it was a non-contagious rash that is just her body reacting to itself. It doesn't itch, hurt or anything. Just looks bad. I had spent $20 to find out there was nothing for it, but it was WELL worth it. I would have rather found that out then have something be terribly wrong. Anyways it is a club I will be very active in for sure! More pictures to come I promise!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

To all the mothers out there...

As Maddie is getting older, I realize more and more how important mothers are to their children's lives. I want to tell all the mothers that I know how important you really are to your children. Playing Mr. Mom is not easy especially with a little girl. There is something about when you don't feel good or you hurt yourself or you just plain don't know what you want that you always want your mom. If it wasn't for my mother I don't know what I would do. She has been such a good influence on Maddie and she is Maddie's crying shoulder when Daddy just won't do. Tonight was just such a night except for one thing...Mamaw was not around! My mom and dad had gone to church and I stayed home because Maddie was still taking her (much needed) afternoon nap. So when I went in to check on her and she stirred I picked her up and asked if she was ready for a bath. That must not have been the question she was waiting for because the moments after that probably shaded parts of my hair gray! Lol! After giving her a bath in which you would have thought I was killing her and trying to dry her hair, I managed to get her downstairs to try and eat dinner. No such luck for a little while as she didn't want me to let her go. She had been asking for Mamaw and PopPop but they were not around so Daddy was going to have to do. But I enjoyed the time as she just reclined in my lap and watched the Braves game with her Daddy. Finally hunger must have hit and we ate spaghetti together. She was finally past the grumpiness and we had a blast the rest of the night. Because she had been a good girl all weekend I bought her a new purse and sunglasses at Toys R Us today...well I had to buy her sunglasses because someone stepped on them and broke them...try explaining that to a 2 year old! So after filling her belly, she was finally happy and we played movie star with her glasses and purse. So to all the mothers out there....a big thank you from one Mr. Mom!



Here are some pictures to mark the event:

Oh how sweet it is to be loved by you!

I am amazed by how GOOD it feels to be loved! And for once I am not talking about the kind of love between a man and a woman, but the love of a child! I will be honest I have been a little lonely and missing that companionship, but when my I got this video sent to my phone on Monday I was filled with so much love that I didn't need anybody else! I was having to close at the store so my niece made this for me and sent it to me. Man am I glad she did. So here is an introduction for most of you to my precious little girl...Maddie!

Too ammend...

Ok so I feel like I might be misunderstood in my last post. First off I LOVE my daughter to the fullest.I don't ever want anyone to think that I am tired of her or worse. She is a handful of pure energy but she is so worth it. I couldn't imagine my life without her. She is my miracle and the only strength I have to keep my going besides my faith in God. Her smile and kisses make up for hundreds of days of her fits. So in retrospect I don't want to sound down about her. Just this temper and attitude she can display is what gets me. Hope that makes sense!

Terrible Twos!

Sorry it has been a while. I am now the "proud" father of a two year old! Oy vey. I kid about being proud. I am always proud of her just not when she acts like her mother. For those that know me you will understand that. For those that don't it is not a good thing. But she will grow out of this phase I know but hopefully I will still keep some of my black hair intact. Not ready just yet to go gray! She is a mess but I still love her to death. As for now I will leave you and go see what she is lying on her back crying about! Sheesh!

Amazing Love!!!

It amazes me how love can grow and grow. When Maddie was born, my whole world changed for the good. I instantly loved her and was amazed how God created her so perfect. It was a new love and better than any feeling or emotion I had ever had before. As the days went by, I loved her more and more. When she smiled, when she just gazed into my eyes, when she was asleep on my chest. It was all just amazing and each experience better than the last. As she grew into a toddler, things just kept getting better and better. She started crawling and pulling herself up and before I knew it she was taking steps by herself and was having a blast becoming Miss Independent. Then came what I thought was the best time ever. She started to put sounds together and before I knew it she was saying Da Da. My heart melted and I just wanted to hug her forever I think. Now she is becoming a little girl and and my heart just continues to swell with love and I was so proud to call her my baby girl...my daughter! She is starting to want to do things on her own like feed herself and put her socks and clothes on like her pjs. But the thing that I look forward to is coming home and her seeing my and hearing her say "daddy!" so excited. He short little legs are just working so hard as she runs to give me a hug. Having those arms wrap around my neck and her sugars make the worst day worth it. God works in mysterious ways and I don't know why he blessed a wretch like me with such amazing grace. He picked me to raise this perfect little joy and make sure she is taught right from wrong. I don't deserve such a wonderful joy, but God knows what he is doing and I will trust him. I know I am not the best dad in the whole world, but I do know that I love my daughter with all my heart and will raise her to be a strong woman who will conquer the world. She is my baby, my daughter but most of all...she is my Love.