daddy checks in

Eric always likes to give his year summary and this year is no different. He checks in...

2014 was “interesting” and a year full of changes and new adventures for our family.  

- Finally able to truly start living in our house, trying to figure out how to get “organized”

- Leaving our 3-year relationship with our wonderful daycare sitter (Godspeed, Sarah, Rich and Jonathan)

- Adjusting to a new daycare sitter
- A not-so-little milestone of kindergarten (by the way, I couldn’t be prouder of you, Amara, about how you’ve welcomed the challenge and embraced the “fun-ness” of school)

- Our first competition season for competitive cheerleading

- A new world of hip-hop

- And classes for just about everything under the sun (at least it feels like it ;-) …) - karate, tumbling, gymnastics, soccer, etc

Add on all the events, and we’ve stayed really busy.  But, the glory of all of this are the memories and the pictures, both tangible photographs but also the images burned into my mind.

- Cora standing next to her big sister, so proud of her, at a cheerleading competition

- The girls looking up, smiling ear-to-ear, with their Mom between them, on horses at the zoo carousel

- The sound of Cora’s laugh when she’s simply had it and is done for the day but I manage to find just the right spot on her neck where she giggles uncontrollably

- Amara realizing how much she likes hip-hop and the hours and effort she puts into practicing

- Doing crafts with my wife (more often, just watching in amazement how she brings something so awesome to life)

- How the girls pick out their clothes - one so concerned about accessorizing and fashion … the other only concerned about purple, frills, and sparkles.

- The great mood Cora always is at pick-up from Carissa’s house – running into my arms, yelling “Da-da”, and giving the biggest hug.

- Going down the potato sack slide (and usually bruising my tailbone) with Cora on my lap, racing Amara – at Young’s Dairy, the OLPH carnival … pretty much anywhere that has that slide (if it’s there, the girls will be on it)

- the endless fun at Hilton Head – getting to sleep with Amara, catching Cora as she jumps into the pool, throwing Amara in the pool, the progress they both make in the pool, the shell-gathering expeditions on the beach, the fun dinners

(My memory ain’t great, babe, I know … but thanks to you, these things are so vivid and so amazing, that even MY brain is able to store them)

Come to think of it, Amara was involved in almost all of them, which now that I’m realizing this, is something Dad should think about when “what in the world is that girl thinking?!” comes to mind … certainly a lot of things to cope with.  In spite of all that, she remains the most brilliant and kind-hearted girl I know, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.  That shouldn’t be too surprising, since her mother is the most brilliant and kind-hearted woman I know.  And, little Cora (who isn’t so little anymore) is going through other changes herself.  Whether it be thanks to joining or supporting her big sister and all of her activities, or thanks to her mom’s quest to provide the girls with a wondrous array of formative experiences, she has been exposed to A LOT.  And she’s got the personality, vocabulary, and attitude to show for it.  Needless to say, I’ve got my hands full … and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I love my life - thanks, girls!