on the food network, of all places, advertising a set of knives from guy fieri. "perfect father's day gift!"
they would have been...and i think that was the first sign that this might be tougher than i expected.
since that point, i thought about how i wanted to celebrate father's day. it would be justin's first real father's day, too (he got a few gifts last year while we were at the beach, when i was about 5 months pregnant) but it would be our first father's day without my dad, and without his grandfather.
last weekend, as i stood in front of the card section trying to pick out cards for my grandfather and justin, i couldn't help but see all the "dad from daughter" cards that were out there. that "dad and daughter" bond is a special one, and though we didn't have the most traditional relationship as i grew up, i loved my dad dearly.
we had great conversations, and though we didn't talk all the time (we'd sometimes go a week or two without a phone call) when we did talk, it would be a long conversation. dad always knew the right questions to ask, and he was often pretty direct with me. it was something i appreciated as i'd grown into adulthood. he frequently let me know that he was proud of me, and he wasn't afraid to encourage me to do something new or push myself into a different direction. he loved to talk about his big "loves"--music, food, and carolina athletics. he would mention a new album he'd listened to, a show he caught on the food network, or the latest game he saw. he'd call me "babydoll," tell me he loved me, then say goodbye.
i wish i could've called him today, or had him over for dinner. but i know he enjoyed watching our father's day unfold, and i loved spending time with my husband and our son with our own father's day celebration.
we started it off at church, where justin had to work the slides/computer from the back for both services. he always takes davis for a song or two after we first get there at the 2nd service, since he left us fast asleep in the bed this morning :)
davis "helping" justin at the back...
whenever it's just me and davis, i sit at the back close to justin and our friends from youth group. it makes it easier for me to dart out when he's acting up, and there's usually a teenager or friend who asks to hold him! we've also taken to setting up camp at the very back beside the sound booth and spreading out a blanket and toys for him to play with. if all else fails, we hang out in the nursery. yes, i could start leaving him there, but i figure i only get so many hours during the weekend to spend with him. i want to make the most of all of them!after eating lunch, i headed out to grocery shop for the week while justin continued to battle davis on taking a nap. we've gotten really good at nighttime sleep training, where he often cries for just a minute or two and then is out. lately (and i've been afraid to say anything, for fear of jinxing it) he's been sleeping til almost 3 or 4 before waking up for his first bottle. this is a huge improvement! so now we're working on getting him to fall asleep on his own for naps, which hasn't been quite as successful this weekend. the door woke him up when i got home from grocery shopping, and i felt bad about it--so i rocked him to sleep and let him nap in my arms for 45 minutes.
what? i'm always supportive of sleep training and it doesn't tear my heart to pieces and i don't just want to snuggle my growing almost 8 month old boy like a newborn sometimes...
so by that point justin was taking his much-deserved father's day nap (and not chastising me for rocking davis to sleep and letting him nap in my arms) and i decided to take davis outside for a quick dip in the baby pool which would double as his bathtime since he decided a couple of weeks ago that he would scream bloody murder when we tried to bathe him in his regular bathtub. we've since bathed him in our much larger garden tub (which we called the "indoor baby pool")
but the outside baby pool seemed like just as good an idea. so i set up the pool, got on my swimsuit, brought out his towel and soap, and stripped him down to his barenaked behind :)and it was kinda breezy and i noticed the wind was moving the trees and our deck umbrella around a lot but didn't think anything of it until i saw the wind lift the umbrella up (like mary poppins, justin said later) and bring it back down... apparently with enough force to break our tempered glass table top.
and i was barefoot.
so we sat in our baby pool and played until justin woke up from his nap (by the crash), came out and surveyed the damage, took apart the umbrella and brought me a pair of shoes.
and now we're in the market for a new deck table and umbrella?justin got out the shop vac and cleaned it up while i took care of davis and eventually got him ready for bed. we prepped everything for dinner, then once davis was asleep, we got to cooking for justin's special father's day dinner. we had picked up all of our ingredients the day before at either the spring run market or the fresh market. justin manned the grill while i cooked inside, and since our regular deck furniture looked like this...
we ended up eating outside on tv trays. classy, right?
our feast that would've made my daddy proud--grilled shrimp in an herb/garlic marinade, steak from the fresh market, fresh green beans ala the pioneer woman, zucchini and squash on a grill pan, and oven-roasted new potatoes with rosemary and thyme.
justin and i relaxed on the back deck until the few lightning bugs that we have in our neighborhood were out (and the mosquitoes started biting.)it may not have been the father's day i would've dreamed of a few months ago, but it was really, truly, uniquely "ours."
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