Happy Father's Day

With today being Father's Day I have 7 very special dads in my thoughts: Ty, my dad, Rocky (my father-in-law), my Grandpa Eddie, my Grandpa Phelps, Verl (my grandpa-in-law), and Jack (my other grandpa-in-law).  These 7 men are the dads who mean the most to me and who have shaped my life in one way or another.  I would like to honor each of them today, starting with my precious Ty Ty.  So to start us off, 10 things I love about Ty as a daddy.  They aren't the 10 things I love the most, just 10 random things I thought of when I sat down to type this.  They also aren't in any particular order, just the order they pop into my mind.

1. When Carter was about 3 months old I accidentally clipped his skin when clipping his fingernails and made him bleed.  It was a traumatic event for me, not so much for Carter.  Ever since then Ty has been the one to clip Carter's nails.  I haven't put a clipper anywhere near Carter's body in about 15 months and I am forever grateful.  Ty likes to joke with me and says all of his jobs with Carter are ones that could be fatal.  Can we say dramatic?

2. On the weekends we take turns sleeping in, so one day I get up with Carter while Ty sleeps in and one day Ty gets up with Carter while I sleep in.  I love waking up to see what Ty has dressed Carter in.  Usually it is something I would never have put together, but goes together and looks cute!

3. Ty likes to get on the floor, be rough, and wrestle around with Carter.  He also does it on our bed and it always elicits giggles and huge belly laughs from Carter.  It is so sweet to see them play together and it is obvious how much Carter loves his daddy!

4. When I was working Ty knew how much I missed Carter all the time and how desperate I was to be with him and hold him when we were together.  Ty was so sweet and always let me hold Carter, bathe Carter, and do everything with Carter unless I offered for him to do it.  Now that I have so much more time with Carter, Ty is quick to jump on carrying Carter in the parking lot or holding him before bedtime.  I know he would have loved to do it all along, but let me have more time with Carter when I was working.

5. Carter will take a book to Ty so he can read it to him.  It is so cute to hear Ty read to Carter.  I know he doesn't like to read aloud, but he does it because he knows how much his little guy loves it!

6. He is always willing to step in even when he knows what Carter really wants is his mommy.  He doesn't get his feelings hurt and even has a sense of humor about it.  My favorite moment was when he went in when Carter was crying and Carter saw it was him and threw himself back down in the crib.  Ty came back out and said he'd received the ultimate f-you.

7. The over heat and squeeze method.  Ty would joke that how he got Carter to go to sleep was by overheating him by combining their body heat and holding him so tight he was basically squeezing him.  Carter had a few rough nights with teething where he'd wake up crying and would only go back to sleep while being held.  On a particularly difficult night Ty stepped up to console Carter.  When I woke up in the morning I found Ty sleeping on the futon with Carter on his chest.  They were both drenched in sweat.  It was the sweetest thing and I would have loved to take a picture, but I didn't want to wake them up!

8. His unusual methods for getting things done.  I witnessed him sit down on the ground behind Carter and wrap his arm around Carter to where it appeared he had Carter in a headlock.  He reached from behind to give Carter Tylenol.  I made a comment and he joked that was the proper method for Tylenol administration.  Alrighty then!

9. Ty is very laid back and easy going, allowing Carter to attempt seemingly dangerous and scary feats.  But at the same time he is fiercely protective.  It doesn't come out very often, but when it does it is so very clear how much he loves our little guy.

10. His confidence as a dad has grown so much in the past 18 months.  In the beginning he was admittedly scared of accidentally hurting Carter.  He would say that I was just better at things than him so I should do it rather than him.  Now he swings him around by his ankles and happily jumps in to do anything that is needed.  My inner teacher was so proud the day I was in the other room and overheard him utter to Carter, "Mommy is busy, Carter.  It's daddy or nothing at all."  Oh the power of choices.  Daddy or nothing at all?  I think daddy it is!

 

 

 

 

Ty's first Father's Day here.
My post to Ty last year here.

Next up, 10 random things I love about my daddy.

1. His goofy sense of humor.  He will tell you I give him a hard time and complain about his jokes, but honestly, I love them.  Some of the super corny jokes he says all the time are engrained in my mind and I actually think them at times when I know he would bust them out.  But, dad, there are some that really drive me bonkers!

2. What an amazing grampy he is to Carter.  I always knew he would be a fabulous grampy, especially with the way he treated Harper over their dogs.  There was something special about that grandpuppy/grampy relationship.  He is so sweet with Carter and pretty much lives for his time with him.

3. He considers Ty one of his sons, not a son-in-law.  It means so much to me to see how much he loves and accepts my Ty Ty.

4. His overconfidence in the abilities of his kids (including Ty) and how proud he is of us.  I was so excited about my evaluation at work and told him my overall rating.  I was super excited that I was close to a perfect score.  His response was, "How could they take off any points?"  Oh daddy!

5. How competitive he is.  Every time we all go out to run a 5k I know dad will be the one gunning to place in his age group.  It doesn't matter how long it's been since surgery, whether he's sick, or if he is in pain.  He will always try as hard as he can to get that medal.

6. He always tries to lengthen our visits.  When I was in college he would stand out in the road as I was getting ready to leave to head back to school.  That way I couldn't leave because he was blocking the way.  When I was in my first years teaching he would suddenly decide to give Harper a bath when I was getting ready to leave.  There's always something more to be said or done...

7. I know no matter what happens in life he will always be there to support me.  Any tough time I've experienced he was there to listen, to help me through, to support, not to push.

8. That he can take jokes and doesn't get his feelings hurt.  He has very skinny legs and we all give him a hard time.  Every time Carter and I are at the zoo I send him a picture of Carter with the flamingos saying, "Grampy we found you" because we joke he has flamingo legs.  He always has good humor about it.

9. That he is a sweets hound.  He will only eat half of his meal at a restaurant bringing the rest home as leftovers to leave room for dessert.  Then he will eat M&M's by the handful.

10. His laugh is pretty much impossible to hear and not laugh.  Playing games as a family just aren't the same without him and his ridiculously loud laugh.

Ready for Dad/Daughter Date Night in middle school.

 

 

 

To keep the length of this post from getting too ridiculous 5 things I love about Rocky:

1. He has always made me feel a part of the family, making me feel very comfortable and relaxed.

2. His hugs.  He gives the greatest hugs.  Last time we were visiting he was holding Carter when he slept and mentioned that's what he missed the most as the boys got older was them hopping up in his lap.  He loves the hugs, but they're just not the same.

3. Ty calls him all the time for random advice on fix-it situations whether it's house related, car related, bank related, etc.  He is always there for us to answer questions and share ideas.

4. That he has such a happy, easy going nature.  In their basement Leina has a picture of him as a child with the biggest smile plastered across his face.  I swear it looks just like Ty as a baby and also like Carter.  That sweet nature and personality has been passed through those boys and I am so thankful for that.

5. He is easy to talk to.  It doesn't matter what the topic of conversation, he is easy to sit down and have a chat with.  He isn't afraid of any topics and is open to talking and being honest about anything.  My brother even mentioned how easy it was to talk to Rocky and it's so true.  I think a lot of that has to do with his non-judgemental nature.

 

On to the Grandpas.  I have amazing ones in my life.  Grandpas who have touched my life and left me a better person.  I'd like to share one or two favorite memories of each of my grandpas. 

My Grandpa Eddie was an amazing man.  The kind of grandpa that every child should be lucky enough to have.  He was fun, had a great sense of humor, and till the day he died was such a child at heart.  He got so much joy from his grandchildren and would go to great lengths to make our day.  When I was a senior in high school I was gunning for the mile and 2-mile school records in track.  He and my grandma came to every single meet and he told me, "I know you are going to break the records.  I just don't know when.  I want to make sure I'm there."  The day I broke both school records he was down on the football field cheering for me on the finishing straightaway.  There is no better way to describe the kind of love and support I received from him in all areas of life.  Today and every day a piece of my heart aches from missing him.  I cherish all of the precious memories with him and my grandma.

With my grandparents at a track meet after I broke the school records.

 

With Grandma and Grandpa at my college graduation.

My Grandpa Phelps is a tough guy.  At our wedding he had recently been cleared to give up the walker he had to use after breaking his pelvis and was out there on the dance floor with the youngest of them.  We went to visit last summer and he powered up and down hills walking with us and Carter in the stroller.  When Ty and I got married he started telling my parents how excited he was to be a great grandpa and he has definitely enjoyed it.  He loves watching Carter and laughs at all the cute little things Carter does.

Grandpa Verl has really made a mark on our home.  In our house you will see various handmade wooden items.  He made our bed, Carter's crib, bowls, salt and pepper shakers, a rolling pin, there are no limits to what he can make.  I love how much he taught Ty.  He has that quiet presence and knows when to stand back to allow others to try something and when to step in to avoid disaster.  He and Gail were the first people other than Paul I met in Ty's family.  I met them before I met Ty's parents as they were visiting Ty the same weekend I was.  I love that they don't let anything stop them.  If they want to visit their grandchildren and they live miles upon miles away, they will be there.  If they are missing Carter, next thing we know they are looking for a weekend to come visit.  

Posing with the crib Verl was working on for Carter.

 

Grandpa Shupe is a very sweet and quiet man.  My favorite memory with him was at Ty's cousin Megan's wedding reception.  Ty and I had only been dating a few months at the time.  I was talking with Jack and he said to me, "You and Ty need to hurry up and get married so I can be there."  It meant so much to me that he could see where our relationship was headed.  It made me feel welcome and a part of the family for him to say that.  It's a memory that will always be special to me.  The weekend after we had the miscarriage we had already planned a visit to see Ty's family.  It was still very raw and painful for me.  When we saw Grandpa Shupe he didn't say a word, but he did hug me twice when he hugged everyone else just once.  Whether it was intentional or not didn't matter, it was exactly what I needed and filled a little bit of that emptiness in my heart.  Somehow he seems to have a way of saying or doing exactly what I need in the moment.  I love that the most about him.

To the moms in my life, I am sad I didn't think to do something like this for Mother's Day.  Mother's Day always coincides with the end of the school year and therefore (along with Ty's birthday) I kinda sorta stink at planning ahead for it.  I promise to do better next year!