father's day thoughts....

this father's day samantha and i worked hard to surprise her daddy with a very special, homemade father's day gift and to make sure his day was just the way he wanted. we spent the day at tyler's dad's house for a bbq and family fun....watching the world cup and golf. (so much sports, hehehe) that night we had a big lobster seafood fest on my parent's porch and thanks to my mom's gourmet meal both my dad and tyler were THRILLED. in between the get-togethers sammy gave her daddy a lot of extra hugs and cuddles. anytime he held her she would whisper happy fa...day. sometimes it came out happy birthday. either way. hehehe.

the week before samantha and i worked on painting a memory box for tyler. she was a hard working little artist concentrating and painting very serious. then after thinking of a book she has called I love my daddy because...its has all kinds of animals and what they do with their daddies....well we thought of about 15 different reasons why samantha loves her daddy so much and luckily i had pictures to match almost all of them. we put them in a photo album and i labeled them like the book. it came out really awesome. to see how much tyler loved it and how he carried it with him all day....wow.

so here are a few highlights from our photo album. i love my daddy because....

he makes the best smoothies....

he takes me swimming......

he likes to dance with me.....

i help him run errands....

he always fixes things....

he takes me to My Gym

i help him in the yard.....

he reads stories with me......

we play outside together.....

he gives really good hugs.....

and most importantly i love my daddy because i know he loves me!

happy father's day tyler...you are the most wonderful father to samantha, more than i could have dreamed of. i knew from the start way before we became parents that you would be the kind of daddy that is patient and loving and so involved and tender. knowing that we are in this together and taking on parenthood as a team makes me know that only good things are to come. i love you for all the ways you love us...the little, everyday things that add up to a beautiful, rich life. baby manring-to-be is so lucky already for how you take care of samantha and me.

happy father's day to my own dad who i can't thank enough for all the ways he has shaped my life. he continues to take care of me and my family and that means the world. i love you dad. thanks for all of your support and advice and unconditional love. watching you with samantha is the sweetest. you are her favorite and i know why.

last but NOT least...a special father's day wish to Tom who is the best Grandpa Tom to sammy and is always supportive of tyler and i. we had a BLAST at your house, celebrating all together. thank you for being such a loving father-in-law.