Corn on the Dad

It was my birthday yesterday.

Don't ask, but know that next year I'll briefly be a member of the Over 50, Under 5 club. Yay!

I'm not mentioning this to get any birthday greetings from you readers, I received plenty of those from all my closest friends - through Facebook, of course.  Almost no one at my work even realized it was my 'special day',  which shows where the Venn Diagram between my FB friends and Co-workers intersects I suppose.

Anyway, the real reason I mentioned my birthday, is because although I received a whole lot of love, hugs, smiles, and cool stuff from my loved ones, there was one teensy little present which I just had to enjoy right away. No, I was IMPLORED to.

It was from Annabelle.

Lukas actually got me a hilarious card that featured a Honey Badger having eaten my cake. We laughed a lot at that one together, because....how can you not laugh at a Honey Badger?

Then I opened the card from Annabelle, which was an awesome High Fiving Unicorn card!

Maybe High One-ing?

It was magical.

And if that wasn't cool enough, when I opened the card, out slid a Tattoo set.  Annabelle shrieked with delight as she grabbed the pair of tats and proclaimed that we were both going to get one of them right away.

Then she looked at me in all sincerity, and asked "Can we do it now Daddy? Right now?".

How could I say no to that?  Well, I couldn't. End of discussion.

All I had to do was first choose which of the two I wanted, since it WAS my Birthday and all.

Now, I must admit that this was a pretty difficult choice.  But in the end, Annabelle was perfectly happy that she got to adorn her arm with the remaining colorful Rainbow tattoo.

As for me?  More magic. Not the run of the mill kind either.  But the pure, unfiltered kind. Yeah, the good stuff.

It's as if (s)he was shot from the rainbow

I chose the Unicorn because of all those Magical powers.  And, I'm pretty sure the world was at complete peace for a second or two after it's application. Plus I heard harp like music from nowhere in particular.

Unfortunately for me once I had this pink beast tranfered onto my arm all the existing tone and muscle definition seemed to disappear from my bicep instantly.

Must be a side effect.

Thanks Sweetie!  And, Happy Birthday to me.  I'm not going to wash this arm for quite some time.

At least until the Mariners make the playoffs.

The Eyes Don't Have it

The Blind Boys of LIAYF

Oh great, now my eyes are going to crap too.

In fact, I struggled again last night while trying to read Annabelle a bedtime story.

At this rate I'm sure I'll be blind by the end of the year.   I'll probably have to add the blind moniker to the beginning of my name. Something like Blind Willie Seattledad. Or Blind Lemon Seattledad.

But on the bright side, I might  finally take up that harmonica that's been staring longingly at me all these years.

Ok, so in reality I am not going to lose my eyesight, which is a good thing, but they are noticeably weaker with each passing month these days.

While most days I just think of myself as a dad period. In the back of my mind I know that the tell tale signs are there.  The signs that I'm on the back side in years, of where I should be for having an active 3 year old, and a lightning fast 9 year old.

I say active, but what I really mean is she NEVER. SLOWS. DOWN.

Achy knees? Check.  Creaky bones the morning after a long night with an overly drawn out bedtime for the kids, followed by dishes and laundry and lunches, and more dishes and more laundry? Check.

That extra little groan I have to make now while picking up one or both of my kids - because they are too tired to walk anymore (even though they just had 10 or more hours of sleep)? Check!

You know who's really too tired?  Me, that's who!

Just a couple of nights ago I was engrossed in reading Annabelle Frog and Toad (with my reading glasses), when the next thing I knew she was over playing with her doll house and apparently had been for some time!

I vaugely remembered her yelling at me a couple of times to keep reading, but that didn't help.  I was just out cold.

And now, the fact that I can't even read my kids a bedtime story anymore without holding the book at arm's length (unless, of course, I go off in search of my one pair of reading glasses) is another reminder that my body is in an all out race with my kid's childhood.

Sometimes I wonder which will be expire first?

This is sad. Poor me*.  I say so, because my eyes were the one superior thing I had left over my wife and kids. Something I could Lord over them as they got older. They all have glasses, but I've always had the perfect vision in the household.

Not anymore though.

Yep, these eyes are going to crap out on me soon.  Leaving me not only nearly blind, but tired and achy too.

Sounds like the perfect topic for a Blues song, doesn't it?  "I can't see my kids no more.  Da duh duh duh!"

*The truth of the matter is that I don't have to be able to read without optical support to see my kids smiles.  I could see those even if I really were blind, which thankfully I am not.  

Plus, I can hear their laughter perfectly even though they seem to think I can't hear very well.  Or they must think so, since they are always talking SO darn loud.

But that's a post for another day.  Eye promise.

Ride Like the Wind Again

Our Annabelle has always been a great athlete for her age.  Sure, she has a compact frame, usually being the shortest kid among her peers, but boy she is coordinated. And freakishly strong too.

She stepped onto a 3 wheeled scooter shortly after her grandparents got it for her 2nd birthday, and was instantly adept, amazing onlookers as a little while later she fearlessly weaved through crowded sidewalks with ease.

Aware that she had natural athletic gifts, Mrs. LIAYF and I enrolled her in a gymnastics class a year or so ago.  And, of course, she has mightily impressed the coaches there with her abilities as she quickly moved through the ranks.  So much so that, still 3 years old, they want her to enroll in a class for 5-6 year olds this month.  I just watch in awe as I consider the things this little girl can do at such a young age.

We actually had to wait until she turned 3 and a half years old before we could get her on Lukas' old balance bike, because her legs were too short.  But once we did a couple months ago, like most other things, she took to it almost immediately.

So, recognizing that the Summer was winding down and that we wanted to get her riding a pedal bike sooner than later, we picked her up a super cool Specialized 12" pink Hotrock of her very own last night.

Today, we took her to a playground with a lot of asphalt.  Perfect for learning how to make the transition.

What happened?  Well, you can probably guess.

Yeah, that's a very short clip.  But I was WAY to busy following her around the whole playground with a huge grin on my face to get a longer version.  It was pretty awesome!

Bottom line, in nearly no time she has once again proven that she is a natural athlete and is willing to conquer any challenge that comes her way.

Way to go Annabelle!  

Ride like the wind my beautiful girl.