For every man out there that has earned this title , either by having a child or by being a father figure in someone’s life i wish you a happy father’s day! Also not forgetting the single mothers who are having to step in those shoes and becoming both moms and father figures in their kids lives…Hope you are having a great day!

I hope you were able to spend some time with your family, and i hope you felt proud today, for being that person that makes that little or old son or daughter in your life heart pump with love and happiness when you “show” up when they call upon you.

I miss my dad today. I tried calling him several times, but could not reach him – blame it on cell phone service in Kilimanjaro or who knows power issues too? So i didn’t get to talk to my daddy today so i can tell him how much i love him and appreciate all he has done for me. See he instilled in me  great values. Education was a very much stressed topic in our household, i can’t tell you how much our school perfomance went hand in hand with our wants. You had to bring home good grades in order to get that new pair of shoes you wanted etc.

He taught me to work hard in everything i want in life. When the other kids in elementary school would go home and play after school, i was in the shop working. Working became part of life. I learned to work hard.

He always told me, the sky was the limit for me and that to never forget that it is never too late to reach out and go for what i want in life. So dad, i love you and as grown as i am a lot of what you taught me, i am passing them down to my boys. It makes sense, and it works. I hope i will get through tonight , so i can tell you again, how much you mean to me.

For my husband, i miss you soo much and i can tell the boys miss you too. It sucked you weren’t here today in person to spend time with them. Julian made you a father’s day card, i will mail it to you. I know he talked to you this morning and wished you a happy father’s day, but still it would have been great to see you.

I miss talking to you daily. You are my best friend. I miss complaining to you. I miss how you always had the right thing to say, and made sense. So Julian said you need to come home, and i think he is right…Miss you a lot!

Fathers don’t ever underestimate the power you have over your children’s lives. Your presence, your words, your life. Live everyday knowing that you are shaping up the path and the life of someone else, and it is difficult, and almost impossible to be perfect, but do what you can and just be there. Some of you may have relations where you are not sure your kids would want you there anyway, but show up they may not say it but their hearts warm up inside, just by your presence.

Happy father’s day 2011!

Sophia

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Dear Eli,

Happy birthday my little man. You turned 2 years old today, and mommy is as happy as can be. I am soo proud of you. I am honored to be your mom, and this morning when you woke me up again with that kiss on my cheek, i couldn’t keep that smile off my face. I know it was very early but as always, you got me with the kiss, i had to wake up and let you have cake that early in the morning.

Everything you do now is big. You have been giving us big kisses, big hugs, big smiles, and a loud squealing cry, yes you are loud…you do wake the neighbors that is for sure, but Eli i can’t imagine it any other way, you won’t be Eli then.

You sure do know how to keep moving. You are always on the go. I love how you entertain yourself. I love your independent spirit. I love your soft heart. I love how you love your big brother. I love that SMILE. I love your love for food, i hope that doesn’t change any time soon.

You pretty much have a mouth full of teeth now. You are learning to speak. You love books, puzzles, and the outdoors. You love shoes. I am actually glad that you do, because that is definitely one thing i can claim you got from me. I love that you can actually put on your own shoes.

You make Julian scream or cry at least once a day. You sneak up on him and take away something from his hands. You sometime take away his food and run to eat it, but he always chase after you and get his stuff back. You then run to me crying, and i always remind you to play nice with your brother. You hit Julian, he doesn’t like hitting you back because he still sees you as his little brother, of late though he has started spanking you back as you are getting stronger and you hurt him. So that is how you get in trouble with mommy.

Your favorite letters in the alphabet are K and O. You always  bring them to me and say them out loud to me, at least 2 or 3 times a day. You officially now know the letters that make up your name. Last night you put them in order during bath time. No worries we will keep on learning some more.

You met your grandma and grandpa , auntie and uncles for the first last year, and they LOVED you. Your grandma said i could leave you with him if i wanted, because  she loves feeding people, am afraid i take after her. All she wanted to do is feed you, and all you wanted to do is eat.

You love going to church. You love playing in the nursery at church. I tell you baby, i am so grateful you do, because i do look forward to uninterrupted church service.

You started daycare for the first time this year, and you have adjusted great. You run through the doors to school and you stop to give me kisses and wave goodbye, honey this gives me a peace of mind at work the whole day. I look forward to coming to pick you up, as you RUN to me and i get a tap dance treat and your beaming smile daily.

Your daddy is away right now in Tanzania and i know you miss him. He wasn’t home to celebrate your birthday, but i love when he skypes and you are busy kissing his face of the computer. Or when i have him on the speakerphone and you take the phone and run all over the house just saying Hiiiiii Daaaad, and of course getting the phone back from you is always difficult.

You use your dad’s MAC, and Julian play’s on his own PC. You now know how to use the mouse and you have ruined your dad’s keyboard. The space bar no longer works, i unplug the keyboard and just let you think you are actually using all your ten fingers on the keyboard while looking at the screen. Then you move the mouse you see the pointer move then you keep on pressing keys on the keyboard. I let you play with friends on PBSKids and NickJr and you love curious george and Diego.

There is so much to say, but mommy will save that for another day. I wish you a great year. I pray for blessings for you, i pray for your safety and good health. I pray for kindness, love, and that mommy will have the wisdom, patience, and  strength to raise you to be a kind, intelligent, Godly man.

I hope you are happy. I am very happy with you. I love you with all my heart.

Happy Birthday baby,

Love,

Mommy.

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It’s 9 pm Sunday night and it is all quiet, the boys are fast asleep, i have most of the things ready for tomorrow as it is back to busy working mom week again.

I had the pleasure of spending 8 days with Julian and Eli, i haven’ spent this much time with them since Eli was born, and i tell you everyday was a learning day for all 3 of us.

We spent a lot of time on adventures. We did something exciting everyday, we just had a blast. We visited several places to got to with kids in Kansas City daily, and  after church today, i let them officially rest at home before summer camp and mommy going back to work tomorrow.

I tell you there were fun times, screaming matches, Eli and Julian fighting, time outs, taking away favorite things and all, but today really ended great.

Eli saw me putting drops in Julian’s eyes ( for allergies) and usually of course that never goes smoothly Julian doesn’t sit still, Eli ran across the room, and started kissing Julian he held his right had and kept on kissing it, then i put the first drop Julian lifted his leg, Eli held his leg and kissed his knee, then patted him on the shoulder…It was soo sweet to see that, given that he has been making Julian cry or scream all week.  Brothers i guess always stick together.

No matter how much they fought, the love they have for each other is indescribable. Julian doesn’t like to hear Eli cry, of course only if it was due to him making him cry he always jump to his rescue, always hugs on him and pats his head telling him it will be ok.

This week i spend time with each one of the boys alone daily. With Eli, i taught him his alphabets. We did a lot of floor puzzles, and of course we got to read before nap time as well. Today he put together his ABC puzzle all by himself, i was really proud of him. He can say some of the letters out loud, and of course Julian was by his side cheering him on.

With Julian we worked on self expression, and his eating. He is still a picky eater, however i just found out this week how much he loves pasta and Macaroni. I don’t make that a lot at home, i always stuck to what i knew he would eat, we were grocery shopping and he picked that and they were a big hit! He would never eat anything with any color, but even big chunks of tomatoes and some little bits of broccoli didn’t stop him.  I guess children, everyday they surprise you.

I know every parent has their own parenting style, but overall, we can all agree there is nothing as important as having established some ground rules for your children to follow daily. Having some kind of a daily routine, so they can always expect what is coming.

There were moments when all that came out of my mouth was stop this, stop that etc, but there were a lot of smiles, laughs, kisses and hugs.

I am so happy we got this week together, we all needed it. I truly believe, Eli learned to really play with Julian, and Julian got to really spend time with his little brother, and see him as his little friend.

I hope you are having a great summer, take time to spend with your family. Enjoy every moment with your children, they grow up so fast!

Have a great week!

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