Month: December 2022

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Dear Holly: Our 90 Minutes Together Before School in the Morning

6 years, 7 months.

Dear Holly,

On the days during the week when Mommy has to drive to downtown Nashville to work in the office, and after your brother has already gotten on his bus, you and I have an hour and a half before I have to start work and I walk you out to catch your bus.

So I always say, “Alright, Holly- we have about 90 minutes before you have to go. Let’s get you ready real quick so you can have more time to do whatever you feel like doing.”

Therefore, it takes about 5 minutes to get you ready- and from there, you love to play upstairs in your room with your dolls.

Meanwhile, I’m unloading the dishwasher or running loads of laundry- whatever tasks I need to get out of the way before the day really gets started.

I love checking in on you. A few days ago, I walked in, and you had meticulously wrote out your two dolls’ math assignments on two tiny sheets of paper: One for Willa and one for Isabella.

I assume you were playing the role of the teacher, because I noticed you went through the trouble of grading both of their papers.

You are just the sweeting thing!

 

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: You’re Our Family’s Handyman

12 years.

Dear Jack,

You love being involved with putting things together- and you always have.

This especially comes out when it’s time to prep the house with Christmas decorations.

You truly enjoy putting the Christmas tree together. Not me.

You took pride in going outside and setting up the new reindeer inflatable out in our front yard. Not me.

And yesterday, when your sister needed help putting together a made-in-China Christmas snow globe that erroneously came with the instructions locked inside of the globe, with no way of knowing how to detach it from the base, you figure out. I tried… but still, not me.

We need you around!

 

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: Our New Hamster, Snowball!

12 years old.

Dear Jack,

After our Saturday morning routine of going as a family to get donuts, we swung by the pet store to pick up some bedding for our hamster, Beta.

But while we were there, you and I showed Mommy the super furry hamster we saw there the week before.

Things escalated quickly:

We asked one of the workers there to let us hold the hamster.

That led to Mommy suggesting we buy an aquarium for him.

Needless to say, as a family, we are all very excited to now have a 2nd hamster in our home:

Snowball.

He is super cuddly. He loves to be held.

And he especially likes you!

Now our hamsters both have a friend to look at through the glass of their aquariums.

Even though they are both male, they can’t live in the same space because of how territorial they are.

Two hamsters, two aquariums… your bedroom!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: Helping Your Brother Decorate the Christmas Tree

6 years, 6 months.

Dear Holly,

This past weekend, as family, we decorated our “Charlie Brown Christmas tree”, as Mommy likes to call it.

My role is always to climb upstairs in the attic and bring it into the living room and then to snap a few pictures of the rest of you actually doing the “fun part”.

After Mommy assembles the tree, you and your brother then take pride in carefully adding all the ornaments.

The system the two of you had set up was that you picked out which ornament would go on the tree next, and then your brother would find the spot on the tree to put it.

It was a family affair!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: Our New Fireplace Warms You Up… Even When It’s Not On?

6 years, 6 months.

Dear Holly,

This past weekend, our new electric fireplace arrived in the mail. To my surprise, it really added a whole lot to the ambience of our living room.

It simply plugs into the electrical outlet- and has an option to use the heater option, the fireplace display, or both at the same time.

Shortly after we got it set up, we had just the fireplace display on.

You ran up to it, bending towards it so you could heat up your buns.

Within seconds, you announced, “Ah, that heat feels good!”

I decided not to reveal to you that there was actually no heat coming from it. You were already convinced!

Love,

Daddy