Just Because He's an Awesome Dad

I write a lot about Eliot, but little about myself and less about Christopher.

I have this whole kid raising thing easy.  My husband works from home, and, yeah, we both have to do work at the same time at points, but I always have a helper (and he always has a helper in me).  I can always shout from across the house, "Hey, can you grab me a diaper?"  No problem.  Don't feel like putting Eliot in his car seat?  Chris does it most of the time.

But more than helping throughout the day, Chris is an amazing dad to Eliot (and Jack too) in ways I just can't compete with.  Eliot comes to me for cuddles, but he knows Chris is the one always ready to play and can throw him in the air much higher.

Eliot requests to play football allll day, every day.  At 8:45 pm when we're just tired, he approaches Chris with football in hand, pointing at his back.  "Tackle me!  Tackle me!"  I can tell Chris is simply exhausted and wants to call all of the chasing a night, yet he gets up anyway and they're running through the house.  Eliot can always count on his dad.

I mentioned before that Eliot has been obsessed with this idea of driving the car lately.  He really thinks he has a license (or is unaware of this requirement and also the need to be able to reach the pedals).  There have been daily tantrums over this.  Yesterday, Chris let him play in the car even though I said it wouldn't end well.  But what do I know?  Eliot turned the steering wheel, adjusted the windshield wipes, and pressed buttons.  And then when Chris said it was over, it was fine.  Sometimes Daddy knows best.

Of course, there's more to being a good dad than playtime.  Chris spends lots of time with Eliot and takes him on one-on-one adventures, but he is actively involved in the less fun aspects of parenting too, like discipline, sleep transitioning, food preparation, and diapers.  If Chris is in the room, he offers to help me change every single diaper.  And if I know Eliot has a wet one to be changed and I ask, he does that too.  If Eliot is being a moody eater or asks for a smoothie, Chris is much more likely than me to jump up and create an amazing, yummy, nutritious smoothie with greens, fish oil, and fruit for Eliot.  Did I mention that Chris does almost all of the grocery shopping entirely by himself?

Chris is always trying to show Eliot the things he loves and then celebrates Eliot's unique interests too.  They've already ran two races together.  When Chris goes for a run, Eliot cries that he wants to run too--and Chris takes him in the jogger whenever it is warm enough.

p.s.  In the photo below, Chris won first place for his age group and tenth overall! Chris is too humble to tell anyone this, so I brag for him.

Chris is already a great dad for Jack too.  He makes sure I eat well; he encourages me to exercise and also rest.  He helped me pick out a good prenatal vitamin.  He reminds me to use cocobutter.  He listens to me complain and offers empathy.  I can't tell you how many times he has praised me and said how hard it is to be a woman (with all sincerity), which always makes me laugh (because he really means it and says Beyonce would back him up).  He feels Jack's kicks and checks up on how Jack is doing multiple times throughout the day.  He loves his boys, both of them, and is the best dad I could imagine for my boys.

Nothing makes me love him more than watching him love our sons.