father

william is very lucky to have several strong male role models in his life -- his grandfathers, uncles, and honorary uncles are all going to play an important role in shaping the man that he becomes.  but the most important role model is, of course, his daddy.

i am just as blessed to have aaron as a husband as william is to have him as a father.  he is my rock and best friend (i know, sounds cliche, but it's true), and he is a wonderful partner to have on this wild journey that is parenthood.  i love watching them play together in the way that only fathers and sons do (e.g. roughhousing on the floor while i am sitting there wondering how long it will be before someone gets hurt!).  aaron has been a very involved father through the joys and difficulties of this last year.  when i have hit a wall and just can't find the energy to get up with william nearly every hour at night anymore (yes, this does frequently still happen), aaron spends several nights in a row getting up with him so i can get some sleep...even though he has to be at the hospital by 7am for his shift at work.  and he does it all without complaint.

william loves his daddy very much; however, even aaron admits that he is a big mama's boy.

this boy, on the other hand, only has eyes for his daddy.

brinkley has been a wonderful furchild for the last 2 1/2 years, and he is wonderful furbrother for william.  when william and i get home from an outing, brinkley slowly rouses from his nap on his dog bed, slightly wags his tail, and greets us for a brief petting before laying back down.  i think he enjoys spending his days with william and me, but man oh man, when aaron gets home from work you'd think that milkbones and squeaky toys started raining from the sky.  all i have to do is say "brinkley, dad's home," and he instantly starts whining, running in circles, and staring out the door in anticipation while aaron parks the car.  then i open the door and brinkley shoots out the door like a bullet to greet aaron on the sidewalk.

thank you aaron for being a wonderful, husband, father, and friend.  we love you!

(admittedly, the above pictures were not taken on father's day.  we spent the entire day celebrating with our families, and somehow i never manged to get out the camera!).