Dear Holly: Your Final Week of Kindergarten

6 years.

Dear Holly,

A week from right now will be your first day of summer break; meaning that you’ve now got less than a week left of being a Kindergartner.

And this makes your final week of ever being at the same school as your brother.

It has been such a perfect year for you!

This past week I took you to the final school sponsored event of the year, where you and I got to make some crafts together.

You were so proud of the robot we made: “Daddy, it looks just like R2D2 from Star Wars!”

We now have it on display in our living room.

You are so special and I am so honored that I get to be the Daddy of such a sweet little girl.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: You Loved Superhero Day!

6 years old.

Dear Holly,

As your Kindergarten school year is coming to a close, there are often special themes for each day of the week now.

Your most recent favorite was Superhero Day.

Conveniently for you, your brother happened to have a stash of superhero apparel stashed away in his closet- so he gladly got you all fixed up!

You came home that day and told me, “Daddy, everyone thought I was Wonder Woman! Most people didn’t even dress up, but I did!”

I admit, I was especially proud because you chose to wear your “Daddy’s Girl” t-shirt as part of your superhero ensemble.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: The Family We’ve Become in the Past Decade

10 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

Tonight before bedtime, as a family, we ended up randomly looking through our family’s photos on Mommy’s Facebook account. We spent about 20 minutes travelling back a solid decade; back to when you were still just a baby.

Back to when Mommy and I were brand-new parents, still in our 20s… and now we’re both 40!

And now, you’re less than a month away from turning 11 years old; as strange as that sounds to say.

From my perspective, it almost seems like when Mommy and I got married over 13 years ago, we were just playing house. Then, after a year, we found out about you coming along.

Flash forward to now: This is your last year of Elementary school. You do Taekwondo. You don’t really care so much about plastic toys anymore or Pokemon cards.

You’re growing up. And this whole time, I’ve been doing my best to not let a minute slip past me.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Finger Painting Baby Pumpkins with Nonna

5 years, 5 months.

Dear Holly,

When Mommy visited Grandma in California last week, I invited Nonna and Papa to come up from Alabama for a few days.

I took off Saturday morning to go to the gym and then meet a friend for coffee. Meanwhile, you and Nonna decided to have some good old-fashioned fun, by turning our kitchen table (which usually serves as my “office” for work) into an arts-and-crafts station.

The week before, our family had visited a nearby pumpkin farm and you chose two little pumpkins as your souvenirs.

You decided that you wanted to paint them with Nonna… with your fingers!

So you did- and you sure had fun!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: To Miss Seeing You for a Day is Like Missing a Month

5 years, 5 months.

Dear Holly,

Now that we are on our 2nd hamster as a family pet, which only has a lifespan of about a year and half, it puts it into perspective that a day in the life of humans is equal to a couple months in the lifespan of a hamster.

I feel like in a similar way, time passes by too quickly on my end as I watch you grow up; in your little girl phase.

One day is not just 24 hours. One day, for a 5 year-old girl, is more like a few weeks, or even a month!

So when I don’t see you for a few days, like when you recently spent the weekend in Alabama with Nonna and Papa, it made me feel like you grew up a little bit more without me!

I do my best to cherish every minute I have with you!

Love,

Daddy