Evie's Grandad...

... is pretty incredible.  My Dad came up from NC to visit us this past weekend, and Ev followed him around like a little puppy dog.  When she woke up in the morning, one of the first things out of her mouth was "GRANDAD!!"  They had fun playing guitar, coloring on newspaper with Grandad's special pen, taking walks together, and sampling Evie's first pork roll (blech).

I have a lot to learn about parenting from my Dad.  He has the benefit of both experience and retrospect; he knows that it's perfectly OK to let the baby push her doll stroller back and forth and back and forth and back and forth through one little stretch of the Echo Tunnel, rather than insisting on walking straight to the end of the path.  He is always careful to explain the in's and out's of good behavior to Evie, while I am often guilty of just blindly demanding obedience.  While I can become irritated with Evie's sometimes inconvenient cries of "Hold you, mama!  Hold you!", my Dad is quick to respond, "Great!  I love to hold you, Evie!  We're good friends, right?"  Though she's often the type of helper that makes the job harder, Grandad allows (even WELCOMES) Evie's "help" on a task, embracing the teachability of the moment.  My dad, the true renegade attachment father before his time!!

Lord, help me not miss these moments with my precious girl!  Help me to embrace the mess and the questions and the "hold you!!"s.  Help me to see the wonder of a smashed-up caterpillar on the walkway, or the excitement of the baby slide at the park. 

My friend Julie has this quote on her blog; I love it.  I want this perspective in my life:

"Here is a sweet fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery.  Here is a soul to train for God; and the body in which it dwells is worth all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant." (Elizabeth Prentiss)