Daddy Fun

My kids are so blessed to have such a good daddy! Derek is so good about playing with the kids when he gets home- like gets down on the floor and rolls around and gets all silly, even though he's put in a long day at work. Jackson will say, "You came back for me!?" when Derek walks in the door at night and Belle gets all happy when she sees him too {which, if I am holding her, it means she gets wiggly and flails her arms about and I am collateral damage}. It's all just so sweet. 

Derek is off for his two weeks of annual training, but he got in some good Daddy Fun before heading out.

Belle was cracking up at Derek making some sort of silly noise at dinner tonight. I love me some baby giggles!

Lately, Derek has been so good at getting down and playing all sorts of silly games with Jackson. Like, I will leave for just a little bit and when I come home, the two have some sort of play secrets. It includes watching Spiderman cartoons and wrestling/running/throwing on the couch. Super cute. 

I thought Jackson was just climbing on for a typical horsey ride...

 ... but apparently, it includes Derek running around the house with Jackson giggling hysterically the entire time. And Jackson insists that he say, "ye ha" while running. 

Not only is Derek Super-fun Dad, but he pulled out his great husband card the other night when he watched both kids while I went out for a girls' night and he cleaned the entire house after the kids went to bed.

Yes, be jealous.

We miss you, but.....

Jackson woke up this morning missing his daddy.

"I waaaaant. I waaaant. I waaaaant Dada!!"

It was so pitiful. He was super sensitive about everything and I couldn't get him to calm down until we looked at some pictures of Derek and then he smiled big. That is, until I broke his pop tart in half to show him the stuff on the inside. Then he sobbed. Then he got mad-- crushing it to pieces. And then sobbed some more because he was trying to put it back together and it wasn't working. Enter more pictures of Derek and he's been alright since.

Yesterday was Derek's first day of basic training (up until now, it's all been processing stuff) and it was the first day we didn't get to talk to him on the phone. It's been 10 days since he's been gone, and it's gone by pretty fast. I miss him a ton (even more when it makes Jackson sad) and all of the things that he typically contributes to our household... but if I focus on them, I become a mess, so as a coping mechanism, let's focus on some of the positive aspects of his absence.

1. The freedom to wear his boxers and t-shirts without complaints
2. A lack of smelly farts while tucked nicely in my bed
3. Fewer conversations about farting and bowel movements, in general
4. No one to complain about my many shoes throughout the house
5. Making the bed is super easy because I only use half anyway
6. Time to practice on the Wii so that I can totally kick butt when he comes home. (I am so sick of losing at bowling!)
7. Freedom to chose movies that he wouldn't like
8. Being able to talk during a movie and not getting yelled at
9. Actually remembering to jot down the little things Jackson does and says each day
10. Not having to explain to people that "Daddy dressed him"...

... or explaining to Daddy why plaid and stripes don't go together, to begin with.