first father's day

you guys.

evan as a dad makes my heart melt.

i remember the very first time he met our little ethiopian babe (rooza) and picked her up, flung her over his shoulder and carried her around while she screamed her little head off. and then all of the babies hung on his arms and jumped on him and loved when he'd throw them into the air and toss them around like rag dolls.

i knew then.

that he would be amazing as a father. that he would love on our kids in a hundred different ways. that he would toss them and catch them and give me 55 heart attacks every minute, but the smiles on their faces would make up for that. i knew that he'd sing and dance with them. i knew that he'd kiss their little faces and blow raspberries on their bellies and play peek a boo and hide and go seek and every single interaction would make my heart swell and burst.

i knew then when we volunteered during the special olympics. his gentle soul and his kind heart. i knew he'd be the perfect father.

and now we are there. this perfect little life we've been entrusted to watch after. it's funny because i had other plans. and now here we are, sitting on the couch and tickling maddox so he laughs and smiles and kills us with that dimple. here we are with a sackful of dirty diapers and tshirts covered in spit-up. here we are with tired bodies and no plans except to sit here and stare into these deep blue eyes forever and ever and after.

here we are.

i couldn't imagine a more perfect partner to share this life with. the one who makes my heart skip a beat. the one who sings to us. the one who provides for us. the one who loves us unconditionally (even when one of us [i won't name any names....] is being a total brat). the one who takes care of us. the one who has changed his life upside down and inside out because that's what being a parent is all about.

i have zero fears to face in this life because of this man who was created for me. he is my match. i hope that maddox grows up knowing how fiercely i love his father and i hope that he carries that with him into his relationships.

his shirt says "my dad is awesome" but holding a squirmy 12 pounder and simultaneously showing off his shirt is no easy task. i also know that he looks giganto in this picture. but let's still pretend that he's my little mini me. he's not my twin anymore and that makes me sad. he's also like 6 feet tall already. but apparently that's what happens when your dad is 6'3. also: my dad called me "daddy long legs" when i was growing up. this kid, he has it.