My Baby Daddy

Today, I shared this picture on Face.book and Instagram.

I knew Skip would not be thrilled, but I just couldn’t help myself.  To me, this is the epitome of Skip as a dad. We’ve just come in from a morning on the beach, and while I’m getting Baby A’s lunch ready, Skip is eating his own (graham crackers and peanut butter) right out of the jar.  She is perfectly content to be watching a soccer game because she’s snuggled up to da-da.  While he promptly sent a “YOU SUCK” text when I posted it, I love everything about this picture.  In my defense, he knew I was taking the picture and had ample time to hide the peanut butter or chase me away with his sticky knife.  

This parenting thing isn’t always easy, but oh my goodness, it is SO MUCH FUN and we are having the time of our lives doing it together.  Watching Skip be a daddy is one of the things I mourned the most when we didn’t get to bring Levi home with us.  When we met, I just knew that he was going to be an amazing father.  My “niece” Hailey was about a year old when we started dating and she has adored him since the first time they met.  I remember watching him with her and hoping that one day I’d be watching him with our own kids.  And now I am and it’s everything I hoped it would be.

I hear dads brag all the time about how few times they got up in the night with their kids or how few diapers they changed, and I appreciate this man I get to raise babies with even more.  During the school year, Skip got Baby A out of bed, fed her, changed her, dressed her for the day, and fixed an incredibly challenging yet oh so cute afro hair-do every single morning.  While we were at the beach, she straight refused to sleep in the crib, so every night/morning around 1AM, someone had to hold her- for the rest of the night!  Skip took his turn without being asked.  Mom and I went for a little spa get away a few weeks ago and Skip kept her all on his own (with a daytime sitter’s help-thanks Megan and Ashley!).  I’ve only done that once myself since we’ve had her, and I know it’s not easy.  He fixes her hair washes her bottles and calms her “ma-ma” down when I am get too worked up over her not being forever ours. 

When we found out that Baby Erdman #2 is a girl, I was a little disappointed.  It’s hard to explain feeling thrilled and disappointed at the same time, but I’ve been processing my reaction for over a week now, and that’s pretty accurate.  I had a little fear that Skip was going to be disappointed if it wasn’t a boy.  Many people asked after we found out if he was disappointed.  He wasn’t!  He didn’t fault my feelings, but he honestly did not care.  And now I don’t know why I even considered that he might.  This little girl has him wrapped so tightly around her finger, I can’t believe I thought another girl could be a disappointment to him.  So, here’s to Skip, my baby daddy.  And here’s hoping he hates these pictures at least a little less!

Helping da-da pack!

Baby A and da-da in their hats!

A little pre-dinner lemon eating!  She loves 'em!