Happy Father's Day!

When Ryan and I first started having discussions about kids, it didn't always go so well. I was usually much more enthused about the idea than he was. He would always tell me, "I mean, I'm just not much of a kid person. But I have no doubt I'll love my own kids!" This would give me a glimmer of hope that at some point we would be on the same page.

Fast forward several years to November of 2010. Our niece, Genevieve, had just been born and Uncle Ryan was totally smitten. I could see it in his eyes at the hospital that he was beginning to understand the love he was going to have for his own kids. When we got home from seeing Genevieve at the hospital, Ryan told me that as much as he already loved his niece, he couldn't even imagine how much he was going to love his own children.

Two days after meeting Genevieve, we found out that we were expecting our own little one! After the initial shock wore off, Ryan immediately went into protective mode. Since he had no control with our baby's health at this point, he took it on himself to make sure I was getting enough water, eating the right things, getting enough rest, taking my vitamins, eating enough protein, etc. To be honest, it drove me absolutely nutty at times (ha!), but I knew it was his way of showing his love and protecting our little bean.

The day we found out that our little miracle was a girl, Ryan was excited, but also really nervous. He didn't know what it was going to be like to be a dad to a little girl. On July 8, 2011, Ryan quickly found out that being a dad to a girl was going to be the best thing ever! When I say that he was smitten from the moment he laid eyes on her, this is actually an understatement. After I first held Kendall, they took her over to clean her up, and Ryan literally did not leave her side. I must have asked him no less than 5 times to go down and tell our families that she was here. It was like he didn't even hear me. There was no way he was going to miss these first moments of his precious girl's life. He took tons of pictures, stared, cried, and stared some more.

When he finally did go downstairs to make a big announcement to our families, he walked into the waiting room and proclaimed, "I'm a Dad!", busting out into tears and making everyone else cry too. For the next several days while we were in the hospital, every time Ryan held Kendall he would start to cry. He was so overwhelmed at the amazing little girl that God had given us.

From that moment on, Ryan has been one awesome Dad to Kendall. The beginning was hard. Kendall was colicky for several weeks and had issues with reflux. But Ryan never got frustrated. He was always my rock, and such a prayer warrior for all of us. He is so protective and concerned over her. He is so hands-on with her. He has been to just about every doctor's appointment, got in the pool with her for swim lessons, feeds her and changes diapers just as often as I do, and he LOVES to watch her learn. Not to mention, Kendall thinks he is just the funniest thing ever!

 

Swim Lessons

As much as I don't like to admit that she's not so much a mommy's girl, it thrills me all the same that Kendall is indeed a big-time daddy's girl! She doesn't hesitate at all to be passed off to him. And if I try to take her from him, she turns around so fast and grabs onto his shirt. She loves her daddy!

I am so thankful that God has given me a wonderful husband and someone who is a great dad to our little girl. I'm also thankful that Ryan's dad (Papa) and my dad (Pops) have set such wonderful, Godly examples for Ryan to follow.

Ryan, thank you for truly being the best dad that Kendall could ever have. Your girls love you from the bottom of our hearts.

Happy 1st Father's Day!