May I Have This Dance?

It was one of those things you want to record and play over and over again! There were moments where I felt tears in my eyes. Memories of this night will be forever etched in my mind.

I got home a few minutes ago from my first Daddy Daughter Dance. I picked up Andrew from my in-laws, and by the time we hit the expressway, both kids were snoozing. I brought them in and put each of them to bed. Ella went back to sleep immediately, while Andrew is still dozing off and on. He wakes up every so often to be sure I’m still in the room. I figured while he did this, I would write about my special night with my daughter.

When Ella woke up today, she said, “It’s a Daddy-Ella Dance Day! She was very excited. At naptime, I laid Andrew down and gave Ella a bath. The hardest part for her was waiting.

Sam woke up earlier to help so Ella’s hair. Normally, she wants braids and such, but today, she just wanted a bow in it. Nice and easy. Sam put her dress on as I was getting dressed. As I caught site of her in the dress, I got emotional. She looked so beautiful. Today was a day I’ve been waiting for all my life.

I put my shirt and tie on and Ella said, “You look amazing, Daddy!” Talk about feeling loved! Wow, I didn’t expect that from her. It really made feel special.

After we were dressed, Sam wanted to get some pictures. First, both of us standing

Next, one of me holding her.

Can you tell we were both excited?

I had stopped at a florist shop and got her the corsage on her wrist. Too bad the band was so big! The nice thing is that it is silk. It will never fade. I hope she keeps this in a special keep sake box or somewhere to always remember our first “date.”

We dropped Andrew off at Nana and Papa’s house, and we headed to the dance. Once we got there, we checked in and got to play, “How well do you know your daddy?” We sat back to back and they had questions with answer cards. Her question was “What is your dad’s favorite sport?” I know she has seen me watch baseball and football, so I guessed she said baseball. She did! She won a golden egg with a toy in it.

Since we were early, I decided to go upstairs and get the professional photos taken. They had me sit in a chair and had Ella stand in front of me. They snapped a couple and will send them to the house when they are finished.

We walked back downstairs where they made a little necklace with sand and glitter in it, the also had her pick a small key, which they glued to heart that says, “You hold the key to my heart!” The next craft was a head band with flowers in it. All very cool.

We then walked to the gym. Not many people were there yet, but the music was playing. Whatever the song that was playing when we walked in faded and the DJ played “Let It Go” from Frozen. This was our first “official’ dance. Appropriate song choice really – she loves Frozen.

Anyone who has ever taken a 3 year old to a dance or party knows that there is no stopping them. After our first dance, all she did was run around the dancefloor. She would occasionally join a group of girls who were holing hands and dancing in a circle. She was sliding on the floor, jumping, laying on the floor, and bumping into people countless times. This went on until I asked if she was hungry.

Standing in line for the buffet, Ella kept saying, “But I want food NOW daddy!” Patience is not something she has mastered yet. We grabbed chicken strips, meatballs, chips, cookies, and cheese cubes. Half way through dinner, we called Sam to let her know how much fun we were having. As she sipped on pink lemonade, she quipped, “You know, Watermelon juice is my favorite!” which had us both laughing out loud.

At dinner, Miss Davison and one of her court members came over. “Daddy! Real life princesses! They were so sweet and nice to her. When they were leaving the room, she yelled, “Bye Princesses!:

Back to the gym where the music is and the running around continued. It was fun to see her interacting with other kids. “Hi! I’m Ella! Want to dance?” I chased her around while “What Does the Fox Say,” “Cupid Shuffle,” and “Baby” from Justin Beiber played.

For the last song of the night, the DJ played “Ready, Set, Don’t Go” from Billy Ray Cyrus. I picked her up and told her it was the last song. She put her head on my shoulders ad we just swayed. It was the perfect final dance and the perfect final dance partner. The emotions were overflowing at this point, and I enjoyed every second!

When the dance was over, we walked back to the car and buckled up. As we left the parking lot, she simply asked, “Daddy? Can we do another dance tomorrow or really soon?”

Absolutely, my sweet princess! Absolutely!

Thank you for making daddy feel so special! Thank you for an amazing memory I will never forget!

I Gotta Find My Boogie Shoes

Back in September of 2019, just 5 months before Ella was born, I wrote the following:

Over the past 30 years, I have DJ’d thousands of weddings and hundreds of Daddy/Daughter dances! At weddings, I have watched countless times as two special people shared their moment in the spotlight. At Daddy/Daughter dances, I have watched dads wonder just what their little girl is screaming about when Justin Beiber or Taylor Swift start playing. I have then watched as they finally get a slow song to dance with their little girl.

As a father of boys, I never understood the bond or the feelings involved with those dances. I know I have a few years yet, but time will fly and soon enough I will be able to relate to those dads I have watched over the years. To say I am excited as I look forward to that first dance … is quite an understatement.

Now, Ella and I have done silly dances at home many times. However, the first “official” Daddy/Daughter Dance is coming this weekend! We’ll be dressing up and heading out to our special night out together. I know that I am excited about it, but I found out just how excited Ella was when I woke up for work tonight.

Sam took the kids out the store this afternoon. While they were out, Ella found the dress that she wants to wear to the dance. When I woke up, I was barely out of the bedroom and she was running at me! She couldn’t wait for me to see her dress. Sam had found a dress as well, but Ella insisted on the one she brought home.

She is going to look absolutely beautiful! I’m sure that Sam will be doing something really nice with her hair for the evening. I may stop at the store to try to find a tie that matches her dress. I also think I want to buy her a corsage for the dance. Maybe that it taking it too far. She’s three and may not keep it on, but I want her to know how special she is and how happy I am to be going to the dance with her.

I probably won’t remember to take pictures as I imagine getting way too emotional. I prepaid for pictures that will be taken at the dance and am excited to see how they turn out. It will certainly be a night I will never forget!

May I Have This Dance?

I posted this on Facebook the other day, but I wanted to post it here, too. I post it here because it is a memory that I do not want to forget. It is one of those moments that a father will treasure forever.

Ella has been watching Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. She loves Princess Tiana. When Tiana and the prince kiss and change from frogs to humans once again, there is quite the celebration. In true Disney fashion, there is a big musical number at the end and they all start dancing.

Ella comes up to me and says, “You wanna dance with me, Daddy?!” No answer was necessary as I took her in my arms and did just that! The music that was playing was a jazzy Dixieland number, but that didn’t matter at all. I stood on my knees and held her and we danced. I hugged her, danced, twirled her around, and wiped away tears as she hugged me.

As we danced, I fished my phone out of my pocket to catch this …

I didn’t think I snapped this picture, but I did get it. I didn’t realize until after I went back to look at my phone. Originally, I thought I only caught one picture, this one:

I love them both! The first one I was probably fumbling around with the camera. The second one, I held the phone in my other hand and caught her swaying with me. THIS in itself was a wonderful moment!

As the music ended, I wiped tears away. She said, “Are you sad, Daddy?” I told her she made my heart very happy and they were happy tears. She looked at me and shook her head and said, “No. Daddy, you look sad.”

I only hope she knows just how happy she made me…. THAT is why I had to make sure this made it into a blog. Because, as I said on Facebook, just when I thought I have felt it all….she warms my heart in a way I have never experienced before!

Through tears, I promised her that I would dance with her whenever she wanted to.

Ella, my sweet baby girl, you are so special to me. Thank you for making our dance such a special one. I can’t wait to share more with you.

Back – But Not 100%

Despite the few blogs I had scheduled to be published, I really only got to jump on here to blog a couple times over the past few weeks because of Covid. So I figured I would fill you in on what’s been happening …

Daddy Daughter Pirate Adventure

Prior to my Covid diagnosis, I was planning on taking Ella to a Daddy/Daughter Pirate adventure. I took the Tuesday off and worked Monday night instead. The Sunday before, I didn’t really feel great. I felt like I was getting a cold. Ella was diagnosed that Friday with a double ear infection. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to go because she was sick.

Monday I felt a bit worse and took a home Covid test. It was negative and I went to work. While at work, I just felt stuffed up. I was coughing a bit, and just achy. I went home and slept. When I woke up, I was still hoping to get to go to the Pirate adventure, however, I just felt like crap. My wife talked me into going to Urgent Care, where they swabbed me and gave me the Covid and Flu diagnosis.

It rained Monday and they called Tuesday to tell me that they had moved the pirate adventure to the next day. It didn’t matter, I wasn’t going to be able to go.

Mother’s Day

I’m glad that I planned ahead this year. So often, I wait until a couple days before to go out and get cards and presents. This year, I ordered Sam something online and had hoped to get her a few other things, but thanks to Covid, I was only able to give her the gift I ordered.

I saw this Facebook and thought it was perfect. It was a framed sign, printed on burlap that said, “My greatest blessings call me Mommy.” Under that I was able to put the kids names and birthdays. It came out better than I thought.

Because we both were in quarantine, we had to place our grocery order online and have it delivered. Because I couldn’t get her a cake, Sam ordered one and we had it after dinner. We were able to spend a little bit of time outside in the sun, hoping the extra vitamin D would help with the Covid.

The Kids

Thank goodness the sun has been out a lot this week. The kids have been loving being outside on the swings, playing in the yard or taking brief walks around the neighborhood.

Nana stopped by with some clothes she got for the kids on day and found Ella some “Princess Dresses.” She puts one on and then takes it off so she can put the other one on. I’m not sure what she was doing when I snapped this picture, but I love it. I can’t wait to be able to dress up for a daddy daughter dance!

Earlier this week, Ella was outside with Sam and heard a bird. She told Sam it was a “Nutpecker!” Sam did a double take and asked her again what kind of bird it was. Again, the answer came back, “Nutpecker!” I’ll just add that to the list of wonderfully funny things my daughter says. Nutpecker = Woodpecker.

Andrew turned 7 months old this week. He’s been crawling all over the place and is doing everything he can to stand up. He will pull himself up with the help of couch cushions, toys, pillows, you name it. He is able to stand for 30 seconds at a time, but then usually falls. It drives us crazy. Case in point:

Ella got a Doc McStuffins doctor kit. It comes with the typical doctor toys – stethoscope, otoscope, fake shot, thermometer, bandage and bag. Take a look at the shot, which is the second from the right in the picture below.

See how it is flat? Ok, good. Andrew was standing up next to me on the floor. I was sitting and he had pulled himself up and was standing. He quickly turned and fell and faceplanted right on the corner of that shot. Almost immediately, under his eye (at the top of his cheek bone) began to bruise. Then it began to swell. There was a huge bump under it. At first I thought he broke his cheek.

With 30 minutes before the Urgent Care closed, Sam ran him up to get checked out. He had a hematoma under his eye. Basically, it was bleeding under the skin. So he got his first shiner.

We were told to call his doc and follow up. The doc stated that she didn’t need to see him, but we should have him looked at by an eye doctor to be sure nothing was wrong on the inside of the eye. So he also had his first visit to the eye doc this week.

The good news is that the eye looks great and he will be fine.

He followed up with the Orthotics folks today about his helmet and they said he is progressing so well that he probably will be able to get the helmet off in a couple weeks. This is fantastic news, since we were planning on him having it on through July.

My Crazy Co-Workers

I was cleared to return to work today. The afternoon tech was off, so when I walked in I was the only one in the building. When I walked into the tech room, I was greeted with a masterpiece created by my co-workers.

They basically went through my Facebook page and found every ridiculous picture of me and created a “Covid Keith” board. It certainly made me laugh. I also realize that I make a lot of silly faces. There is a story behind the Alfalfa picture that I will share another time.

I suppose things are sort of getting back to normal-ish.

Aaargh You Excited? Absolutely!

As the title of this blog suggests – I am excited. I have a couple things to be excited about and I wanted to share them with you. I guess I should explain the whole pirate flag first …

What Kind of Shoes Go With a Peg Leg?

My job often requires us to put in for time off months in advance. This is never an easy thing for me, because quite frankly I barely know what I am doing next week. At any rate, a day or two after the May schedule was posted, I found out about an event coming up that I had to go to!

There is a nature preserve and arboretum near us that is having a Daddy/Daughter event. It fell on a day that I work, so I hurried and put in a request to swap days if possible. Luckily, my boss was able to switch my schedule for the day so that I could go to this with Ella. I didn’t know much about the event, other than it has a pirate theme. Honesty, I thought it was a Daddy/Daughter dance with a pirate theme, but I don’t think that is the case now. Either way, I am excited to have a special night with my little girl.

I may have to do some searching on the internet for a pirate costume! When I thought about it, I remembered that there was an episode of Ella’s favorite show, Bubble Guppies that featured Alice Cooper (Yes, THE Alice Cooper) as a pirate named Windy Pete. Maybe we could go dressed like they did in that episode?

Of course, Windy Pete has a penguin, who he thinks is a parrot in the show. I might look a little funny with a penguin on my shoulder.

… and ear muffs! I would look weird as a pirate with ear muffs.

I can’t even begin to tell you how very excited I am to have this Daddy/Daughter event to look forward to in a few months!

Celebrating 4 Years

My wedding anniversary is coming up on Saturday. I am excited to be able to share some time with my wife. Our schedules do not allow for us to spend time together often. The schedules work well for minimizing the need for child care, but husband/wife time is lacking.

Having two children under 2 has really taken a lot out of both of us. We were lacking good sleep before, but it has reached a whole new level of tiredness. Lack of sleep is not good for anyone, and as sleep technologists we are well aware of the issues go along with that. We both tend to be a bit shorter with each other. Little things tend to get under our skin a bit more. All of it is due to our lack of sleep.

That being said, I decided that I wanted to make sure to do something special for our anniversary. My wife deserves it. I don’t know how she does it. I wish I could afford to have someone come over and watch the kids so she could sleep. She hasn’t really ever had a break and we’re both feeling the stress – her more than me!

I have never been the best gift giver. 9 times out of 10, she knows what I get before I even give it to her. I guess I really suck at that. I also am not the best at coming up with interesting things to do. I’m not sure why, but I kinda suck at that too.

I began a search of all of the nearby theaters a few weeks ago. I was hoping that somewhere there would be a play, a concert, or event we could go see. We had been talking about seeing the Symphony, but that show falls on a Sunday and she works. The only thing that I found happening on Saturday near us was a hockey game. I’m sure she wouldn’t enjoy that as much as I would (and it is not about me, but about her, so hockey was out)!

Interrupting to tell a funny story

I had taken $100 out of our account and stuck it in my wallet to use for our anniversary. I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing yet, but I wanted to have it ready. I had taken Andrew to the doctor and Sam gave me her insurance card. I put it back in my coat pocket to give back to her and forgot to do so when we got back. When I was sleeping before work, Sam was making appointments and needed the numbers off her card. So she went looking for it. No big deal, she knows the places I usually put my wallet, so she looked for her card – and found the $100.

When I woke up, she said she was looking for her card and asked why I had $100 in my wallet. I was so surprised that she found it, I fumbled around trying to lie my way out of why I had it. “It must have been in there for a long time and I forgot about it!” LOL – who the hell am I trying to kid?! She is my wife and knows me better than anyone! She knew I was flubbing my way through! I finally told her I was saving it for our anniversary. I should have just come out and told her, but I didn’t want her knowing I was spending that much.

This Saturday

As far as Saturday night, I knew I was going to take her to dinner. We always go to Lucky’s Steakhouse, which we love, but I wanted to do something a bit different. Some co-workers and friends offered up some really neat places (which I plan on going to in the future), but I wanted to stay semi close to home so we weren’t out all night. We have a sitter, and I know she’s totally ok with us being out late, but I know Sam would feel better if we were close.

So I have two things planned – one is dinner and the other is a surprise. I really hope that she is going to like it. I can’t wait to go. She knows what towns we are going to and keeps questioning “What is there that we can do?” She’s pretty good at figuring stuff out, so I hope that she doesn’t before Saturday.

I also ordered her a couple gifts. One has already arrived (and needs to be wrapped). The other is something that probably won’t arrive before Saturday. Again, she probably has some sort of idea about what I may have gotten her, so I hope she doesn’t figure it out. I wish that I could give gifts like she does. She hears me mention something off the cuff and stuffs it away in her mental filing cabinet until she needs it and then always surprises me. But she can always figure mine out. Example: We were at Target the other day. She saw that her favorite author, Jodi Picoult, had a new book out. I immediately think “I need to buy this for her.” If I hand her a gift bag, she will know that it is that book. (For the record – I did NOT buy that book for her! Now, I may at a later date, but not for our anniversary.

I am truly excited to have a day/night with my wife. I know she would be happy just walking the mall (as a matter of fact, she told me that!), but I am really hoping to make the day special for her. I need to make sure that I find something that we can do together at least once a month. We need a date night. It is easy to lose “us” time with two kids, and “us” is SO important right now.

I can’t wait!

Daddy’s Little Girl

The past 16 weeks have been very exciting for Sam and me. It has been especially nice to have this blog as a place that I can write things down and look back on later. My last blog told of the ultrasound, finding out the baby’s gender, and how we shared the news. I am writing today’s blog because something was missing from my last one – I’ll explain in just a minute.

First, let me say that we are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and congratulations we have received from our friends and family. It was fun to tease that a gender reveal was coming and watch friends post their guesses on Facebook. I was reminded how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends as they sent private messages, texts, and called with congratulations. Thank you all!

So what was missing from the last blog? It was a lengthy blog, so what could I have possibly left out? Sam pointed out that I had certainly written about a lot of things that happened over the weekend, however, I really never said much about how I felt. I shared about watching the ultrasound, how I told my dad and the boys, but how do I feel about it? What am I feeling? I don’t know that I can put it all into words, but I will try.

Elation. Joy. Excitement. Delight. Jubilation.

I mean, how can I NOT feel these things!? I was told that there was only a 4% chance of me being able to have a baby, and then, the amazing news that we are having a baby – well, that makes you pretty damn happy! I’ve been given the opportunity to be a dad again – and this time, I’m having a little girl!

Over the years, I have been an uncle to many nieces, and have loved every minute of it. I have danced around in a princess crown for them, gone to Peppa Pig World, read girly bedtime stories, and made puppet monkeys talk. Having a daughter takes things to a whole new level!

First girl

I had always hoped that when I had children that I would have one of each. I wanted a boy to play sports with and a girl to walk down the aisle. I was blessed with two amazing sons, who I loved playing catch with. I love those boys with all that I am. I was NEVER unhappy that I had boys. They each have very distinct personalities. They are both very smart. As I look at all they have accomplished, I beam with great pride. I am honored to have been chosen to be their dad!!

12 years later, after many changes in my life, I am once again about to become a father. This time, I will be “daddy” to a little girl. What a great responsibility this is! I will not lie about this – as happy as I am, I am also scared as hell!!!

Scary things

Boys could get away with 2 or 3 pairs of pants. All you really needed were a bunch of shirts and you could be set. Girls are different! They need pants, shirts, leggings, shoes, and many, many dresses!

I hope Sam knows that she will probably be picking out most of the clothes! I have a feeling what I think is “cute” really isn’t!

Have you seen the Xfinity commercial where the girl is dressing up her dad??

I would TOTALLY let my daughter do this! Now, if I have to do nails or makeup, I have this awful feeling that it will look something like this guy! I have never had to paint nails before. I don’t know how to put on eyeliner, blush, or any type of makeup. I will definitely need a crash course!!!

Let’s not even talk about her hair! I used to do my own hair, and now I am bald! How on earth am I going to be able to do her hair? With the boys, I brushed it, combed it, or parted it. This isn’t how it works with girls!! Have you seen the gazillion ways to braid hair?!

There is this:

And this:

The braid is hard enough!! I gotta make a heart, too?!? The pressure is unreal!!!!

Then there is play time. Very different from boys. I have never EVER hosted a tea party …

Whew! I’m glad there is a book!!!

Another scary thing is diaper changes.

It’s a whole new ball game for me! It’s been some time since I changed diapers, and I know it will all come back to me … this time, however, the parts are different!!

Then there is GLITTER! Man, I really hate glitter! It stays with you for years! LOL

Sports

Sam asked what sports I thought our daughter should do. Me, being a guy, thought about what I had already done with the boys. Hey, girls, do these things!!!

T-Ball – How cool are pink bats and gloves??!!

Bowling – Some of the high school’s have girl bowling teams! I gotta tell you, these gals bowled better than some of the guys I bowled with over the years!

Golf – I knew a gal who golfed for the high school team. She was pretty amazing! How good was she? I never golfed with her, because I knew she’d beat the hell out of me! Golf, like bowling, had scholarships, too, so why not?!

Sam must have thought I was crazy! She said that she was thinking about gymnastics – which after she said it, made total sense! Of course, our girl could do gymnastics! I can see her at the Olympics! Our little gold medal winner! Of course, I won’t let this guy teach her …. this doesn’t look right ….

One of the things I can see her doing is dance. My nieces do dance now. Whether it is ballet or just dance in general, I can totally see our daughter doing it.

Sam has already warned me that girls in dance class have to have many outfit changes. Tutus, ballet slippers, tap shoes, bows, leotards, and more! Yeah, I’ll be out in the audience doing all the moves with her (minus the leotards).

In all seriousness

I won’t lie, raising a child in the world today is very scary. Hell, it was scary before my oldest was born (9/11 happened just 7 months before he was born)! As a father, I know that my daughter will be looking to me for many things. I hope that she sees me as her hero!

I hope she will see me as her protector and as someone she can always trust. I hope she will feel comfortable to share what ever is on her mind, and come to me for advice. I cannot wait to share that special bond and special love that a daughter and dad have.

Things I am looking forward to

Her first cry
Her first photo shoot
Her first words
Her first tooth
Her first steps
Holding her in my arms
Singing her to sleep
Hugging her
Piggy back rides on my shoulders

Reading bedtime stories
Holding hands
Buying her whatever she wants (Sam says she’s hiding the checkbook)

The list goes on and on.

So am I feeling?

I am overjoyed! I am ecstatic! I could not be happier that I am going to be a dad again!!

I am also scared. I worry. I am told this is natural.

I am nervous. I don’t want to fail or disappoint.

I am anxious. I look forward to all the firsts, all the accomplishments, and milestones.

Final Thought

Over the past 30 years, I have DJ’s thousands of weddings and hundreds of Daddy/Daughter dances! At weddings, I have watched countless times as two special people shared their moment in the spotlight. At Daddy/Daughter dances, I have watched dads wonder just what their little girl is screaming about when Justin Beiber or Taylor Swift start playing. I have then watched as they finally get a slow song to dance with their little girl.