Inflation and Deflation- Oh the joys of Fatherhood!

For those Dads (or soon-to-be-Dads) out there, you can probably relate to the content of this blog entry. There are moments in life where your kids do or say something and you can't imagine how in the world they came from your own loins. These moments I'll refer to as "deflation" moments. And then there are those moments where their actions make your heart swell 10 times normal size and you are just so doggone proud of them (inflation) !! I had one of those weekends and I wanted to share my experiences with you:

Inflation: I went with Tyler and Colby to get our haircuts today. On the way there, Tyler buckled the empty middle seat between he and Colby. Colby said "Tyler, why did you do that?" Tyler said without hesitation, "Because I'm buckling up God." Oh, how sweet.

Deflation: Same trip. Colby unbuckles the seat belt. "No he's not. I don't see God!" Ouch!!

Inflation: Same Trip. Tyler re-buckles the seat belt. "Stop Colby. God is here because God is always with us". Swelling !!! (he might have been yelling at his brother but I'm going to take his comments in the spirit and not the tone in which they were said!! HA
Inflation: After we left the haircut place, Tyler asked me "Dad, why do you have your sandals on? Is that so you can be like Jesus?" Love that phrase coming out of his mouth.

Deflation: Friday night, Colby and I were at the YMCA to have our soccer team photos done. While waiting in the small lobby, Colby decided to KICK his ball, almost knocking over a table and several trophies off a shelf. "COLBY!!! No, sir, we don't kick the ball in the....." I couldn't believe he had done this!

Inflation: Before I could finish my sentence, Colby ran over to me and "I'm sorry. I'm sorry Dad." I then looked at him and tears were welling up in his eyes. As Kendra said, he hated disappointing me. When I asked if he was sad, he said "No, I'm sorry Dad and I love you Dad." Swelling (and maybe a tear of my own) !!

Inflation: Tonight I had been feeding Brady some cheese sticks that he likes alot. I stepped away for a moment to catch the last few seconds of an NCAA BB game. Brady started to cry a little later and when I came back in, I said "Brady, do you want MORE or are you ALL DONE (he can use sign language to tell us). Brady said almost as clear as day "Cheese Dad-dy, Cheese Dad-dy" ! Oh, the words were so cute as he said them.

Deflation: (weak stomach alert!) I had to change Brady because he decided he was truly #1 in the #2 business (NOTE: That actually is a tag line from a sewer company in Carlsbad, NM!!! Ever since I saw it, I had to find a way to use it again!! HA). And while changing a poopy diaper can certainly be "deflating", that's not the end of the story. After I cleaned him up, I took him directly to his bath. We sit him in a bath seat b/c he can't quite hold himself up just yet. After I had bathed him real good, I let him play for a few minutes. I stepped away just long enough to put some shoes in Colby's room that were left in the bathroom. When I came back to check on Brady, he had ... uh ... well ... how do I say this ... uh ... dumped a load in the bathtub!!! It was disgusting! So there he sat, in a pool of his own ... Ok, enough of that !!

Inflating: The boys both said prayers tonight and I thought you'd enjoy:

Tyler: Dear God, thank you for this wonderful day. Oh wait God... Dear God thank you for this beautiful night. Thank you for letting Daddy and me and Colby get our haircuts today and thank you for letting Daddy wear his sandals so he could be like Jesus and thank you ... uh ... help us to be like God and thank for you Jesus and thank you for letting us be like Jesus. In Jesus name I pray, AH-men. (Tyler always likes to say AH-men and he thinks its funny)

Colby: "Dear God, thank for our heavens. Thank you for Daddy, Mommy, Colby, Tyler and Brady. Thank you for letting Brady go poop in ... SCREECHING HALT !!! Dad - "Colby, stop it. Let's not talk about that in our prayers". Colby - "Dear God, thank for you our heavens. Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Colby, Tyler and Brady. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. Daddy, I like to say Amen, not Ah-men like Tyler."
========================================================
Dear God, thank for you my 3 wonderful and funny boys and the joys of fatherhood. In Jesus name, Amen... I mean Ah-men!! (that one's for you Tyler!)

God bless you all,
SJ