Life is always interesting with Alexzandria, everyday tasks have become regular opportunities to stop and educate her. I do my best to explain everything to her, I don’t know how much sticks, but she appears to be attentive. She has recently learned the word “dog,” and now, everytime she sees the family dog she is yelling “DOG! DOG! DOG!” at the top of her lungs. A couple weeks ago, we were in the store and Zandri called our cashier a dog. The cashier simply laughed as I calmly said, “no Zan, there are no dogs here.”
Alexzandria is so active, and it’s becoming more obvious to most people that we have a hyper child. She loves to drag us along on her little adventures, especially since she is fearful about walking more than a few steps on her own. She is extremely talkative, and just today she actually talked to me on the phone, usually she will just listen to the phone and smile. She has two teeth now, and I must admit that I’m so used to seeing her smile, ‘all gums,’ that it’s a little weird to see her with teeth!
My days are filled with crazy statements like, “Zan, stop pinching my nipples!” or “don’t bite the couch!” She even pulled my wife’s dress down the other day, I chuckle to even think of it, thankfully we weren’t in public! Alison (my wife) and I have even decided that we have to say so many things to Zandri that don’t seem normal, that we are going to make a youtube video dedicated to these statements.
It seems like everyday Alexzandria is doing something new; I’ve noticed that, here lately, she has been acting more shy. She is becoming more selective about who she will go to, and how long she will allow them to hold her before she wants Mommy, Daddy, or Grandma back. Alexzandria is becoming more selective about her food also. She doesn’t want most of the baby food with chunks in it, however, she wants EVERYTHING she sees on my plate! She is so interested in my plate that I can get her to stop ignoring me and come directly to me simply by saying, “you want some?” She is becoming more inquisitive, touching things, examining them, and exploring more.
I never realized how much Zan would keep me entertained. To be quite honest, I thought that, as a parent it was MY job to keep HER entertained! I love to see how amused she gets by simple things like a rubber duck or a bouncing ball. I gladly take these moments in with a smile, because one day I’m sure I’ll wish she had such inexpensive taste again! I hope that she never loses a love for the simpler things in life, the things many of us overlook and take for granted. I hope that she keeps her spirit that she has now, always exploring, wanting to know more, and always bearing a smile.
What is strange to me though, is that it still hasn’t fully set in that this wonderful child is mine. Some days I just think to myself, “WOW, you are some one’s dad!” It seems so surreal; I thought maybe I wouldn’t be so silly as a parent, that parenthood would bring forward an overwhelming maturity and cause me to be overly serious. I’m so glad that it didn’t. I want to be able to say that I changed someone’s idea of fatherhood, not that fatherhood COMPLETELY changed me. My expectation is to go on, enjoying being “Daddy,” one moment at a time, I certainly don’t want to take it for granted. I am far from perfect, but I strive to be a good man…yet my hope, my hope is to be an excellent father, and husband.
Linwood