4 McIntosh Apples

The First Tomato

As I was checking the garden this evening, there was the first tomato sighting!

We are so ready for our vegetables to start being ready to harvest.

For more pictures of the progress of our garden, head to the album below:

For many years, Father’s day was just another holiday to me. An excuse for the card companies to make some cash and the dads to lay around on their day off. The kids needed to buy a new tie or some cheap gift to make their father’s groan and put the new gift in special dark place to never see the light of day again.

However, just over five years ago that all changed for me. Now that Ean and Ella are in my life, it is a whole different day. Not only is Father’s Day a holiday to share with family, it is time for me to reflect on the joys of being a father. There are days that I want to strangle my kids when they are bickering, fighting, ignoring instructions, or not behaving in public and there are days that I want to hold my kids close and tell them that everything will be alright. I have learned many things by being a father beyond the diaper duties, making bottles, and cleaning poop. I have increased my level of patience and amazed at the joy in watching simple accomplishments. My kids teach me things daily that you cannot learn in school and I enjoy learning something new every day with them.

There is no better feeling than coming home from work having both of the kids running up to me yelling “DAAADDDDYYYYY!!!!” and both of them hug my legs before I even set down my bag. I’m sorry all of you dog owners, but the feeling when my kids bum rush me tops any pooch jumping up on you as you walking in the door. The smile on Ella’s face when she goes potty in the big girl potty is worth a million bucks. Hearing Ean’s teacher praise him for how well he is doing in school is enough to make me pound my chest and say “That’s my boy!”

A blueprint has been laid out for me to follow that should guide me based on how I was raised. All I can do is take the blueprint and try to improve on the design and help my children to be more than I am. I’ve commited myself to do my best to help guide and teach them as they get older and venture out into the world when they are ready. I can relish in their successes, comfort them in their pain, and take pride that I was part of their lives and helped guide them (with the help of my lovely wife, April) in their decisions for their own lives.

So, to all of the dads in my life, I want to wish you a Happy Father’s Day and know that I definitely appreciate everything that you have done to guide me, teach me, or support me in my own path in the world.

T-ball Images 2010

For his first year, we are very proud of how Ean is doing in T-ball. His ability to try and hit the ball has been great and he has only needed to hit off an actual Tee during the first game. Every game since he has hit when at bat.

Fielding on the other hand is a different story. Because they have put him out in Right field, the ball very rarely comes to him so he gets bored out there and doesn’t really pay attention. I wouldn’t expect anything less of him out there because of the lack of action.

However, we are still very proud of how well he is doing for his first year.

Here are some of the highlights photos from the season so far:

From T-ball 2010

Keep an eye out on this photo album, because I will be adding more for the rest of the season.

T-ball 2010

Another McIntosh Garden Update

We are getting good about checking our garden daily and about once a week I take some photos of how our garden is growing. Everything seems to be growing and we have even started eating some of our onions over the past week as they have been sprouting up.

We can’t wait until we can start eating our home grown veggies.

From 4MA Garden

For the full album, you can go here:

4MA Garden

Tincaps Game – Star Wars Night 2010

If we were only go to a select few Fort Wayne Tin Cap games, do you think we would miss the Star Wars Night?

Of course not! Unfortunately, the Tincap’s pitchers did not play like they wanted to be there, but other than that we had a good time. Both kids actually behaved in public at the same time so it made the game a lot more fun.

Ean, with his fear of costumed character, did surprisingly well with the members of the 501st as well as Johnny Tincap and he even gave Johnny a high five. Ella, on the other hand, loved the costumed characters and wanted to see them every minute. She probably would have wanted to go home with Johnny or any of the stormtroopers.

To top it off, it was a fireworks nights and we stuck around until the very end to watch all of the fireworks. Both the kids loved them and April even commented that the fireworks were better than Bluffton’s 4th of July ones.

It was a very entertaining night for a relatively low cost that everyone enjoyed themselves.

From Star Wars Tin Cap Night 2010

Ean’s Last Day of Preschool

Ean is growing up. No matter what we do, nothing will stop it. On the final day of preschool, Ean had a play party where the afternoon preschool kids all got together in the gym (it was supposed to be at a part, however there were rain storms the night before).