The poor, long-suffering husband

My husband Chris looks nothing like my children. Before you ask if we're a "blended family', I will confirm - 100% Chris, YES! - that they are also both his children.

The other day I was lamenting to the aforementioned, long-suffering husband that I was bummed that my children didn't have blue eyes. I told him (with a straight face): "It's just very strange to look at both my kids and not see blue eyes...my whole family has blue eyes! That's all I've ever known."

And he responded (without a straight face): "IS IT STRANGE TO LOOK AT YOUR KIDS AND THINK THAT THEY DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU? IS IT?" He didn't really yell or scream like the caps imply..but he was sarcastic as the caps may have implied.

Despite the fact that Chris openly questions the paternity of these cuties, he is an amazing father. He is the one they come to when they want a tickle, he is usually their first choice for the bedtime book and Declan looks around like a crazed animal when Daddy is out of the house "Daddy? Daddy??!!!"

Sometimes I get jealous. And then I act out like a petulant third child, demanding of the poor, long-suffering husband, "Why don't you give meeee allll the atttennttioon??" Dear God, I'm annoyed just writing that. Can you imagine how annoying it is to hear it?

But he is the rock of the family. Rarely (openly) bothered, upset or irritated by the demands placed on him by three people who pretty much worship him. Exhausted maybe, but well, something's gotta give.

I raise my perennially-filled glass to the most wonderful husband, father and man that I know. Not for an occasion (our 8-year anniversary is coming up, honey - apparently I should be expecting something bronze?) but simply because I started writing this after I looked over, and saw that you were covered with two children. One was literally sitting on your face, demanding more tickles while the other one was wondering where her dinner was. And you were smiling.

Lucky us.

Happy birthday, Chris!

Chris is 29 + 4. Just to be clear, I am 29 + 3. I love June 12!

But seriously - happy birthday to the best husband and daddy ever. Love, love, love you!

Three reasons why Chris is the best father ever

Father's Day was 3 days ago, Annika is almost 3 and we are a family of 3. So in celebration of Father's Day and consequently, Chris, I present you with the top three greatest things about Chris the Daddy.

1. He loves being with her. Chris isn't the kind of guy that would rather be golfing, out with his really cool friends or driving fast cars; he is a family man. A true family man that wants nothing more than to spend his Saturday with Annika by his side. He wants to tickle her and play The Hungry Caterpillar game and ask her what she did at school that day. He actually wants to know. And when he's not with her, he talks about her all the time.

2. He really knows her. Annika has a habit of giving up rather quickly when something doesn't go her way. Chris and I talked about this at length last night, and he is really concerned that this is something that will be difficult to shake. He notices when she is cranky and when she's hyper and for the most part, knows how to handle it. He also doesn't push her to go poo-poo in the potty because he knows she needs to do it her way when she's ready.

3. He makes her happy. There is no better, stronger, kinder, warmer, softer, funnier, nicer person in the whole wide world for Annika. Chris is Annika's consistent favorite, and there is no other person in the universe who she wants to hold hands with more. Maybe the other caregivers in her life get a little peeved at this, but at the end of the day, Chris and Annika have a bond that makes every person around them smile.

Happy (belated) Father's Day to a truly amazing Daddy and husband.

Best weekend ever

This post won't be all about Annika. So proceed at your own risk.

Last Wednesday (February 14 for those who are keeping track) Chris and I exchanged presents. I gave him "semi-private" golf lessons since he has an awesome set of golf clubs that he never uses, and he is hesitant to play because he doesn't think he's very good. The "semi-private" part comes in where his wife gets in the way and takes a lesson with him. I know you're thinking "Let the man have something to himself!" but really - I promise - he actually wants me there. Isn't that great?

Chris came to have lunch with me at work that Wednesday and arrived with red roses. I was shocked at how beautiful they were since well, it was Valentine's Day and roses aren't usually of the highest quality. They were awesome, lasted quite a while and turned a few heads at work. Yes, I am spoiled, I know...and I still haven't got to the best part.

Wednesday night we exchanged those presents. Annika loves presents so she was there while we opened. I also gave her a little something (a tiny pink purse with red hearts) that she opened with gusto. Then her daddy handed her something and told her to give it to me. It was a wrapped set of papers an she hurried over to hand it to me. She said, "Open, please!" I was surprised that there was something else beyond the lunch and the flowers...but I wasn't complaining.

Chris had booked a two-night stay at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay. I have literally talked about going there for 4 years. And it was as awesome as I expected. The weather was perfect there (surprising, because Half Moon Bay is known for being much colder than the rest of the Bay area) and we had a coastal view room with a window seat! I love window seats! We went to a fancy dinner and went to downtown Half Moon Bay and just hung out and relaxed. So yes, Annika wasn't invited and though we talked about her about 98% of the time, I think it was long overdue. One of the many things people forget to tell you when you have kids is that it's pretty darn hard to find time to be with your spouse. Half Moon Bay was just what the doctor ordered.

So you may be asking, what did I do to deserve this? Absolutely nothing. All I did was pick the perfect guy.