We are in the season!

Dear Marlie,

Fall has come.  The weather is beginning to change and all of the leaves on the trees are taking on new colors.  It is something extra special when the temeratures begin to drop now because you were born on a cold winter day just a year ago.  In fact, I drove past the hospital you were born in the other day and it was cold outside.  It was as if I was in a movie because as I drove past, I could see myself carrying you out of the hospital on December 16th of last year.  Your dad is a softy at times...and this was one of those times.

Daddy recently moved to be MUCH closer to you.  You are about a mile away now and this means that when I pick you up during the week, we can spend some REAL time together instead of driving around, or walking through the mall.  You come come with me and we play and you hang out with Chloe.  This makes me so happy.

You are laughing now :)  Not just smiling, or a just one giggle.  You literally laugh and it is the sweetest sound in the world.  For some reason you thing it is hysterical when I talk to you in a deep voice, so I do it often.  You are such a ham.  You love to laugh.  It is one of the 6 million things I love most about you.

It was super fun being with you on your first Halloween.  We got you a "Lil Stinker" costume and you were the cutest little skunk :)  Crystal decided we needed to put a pink flower on your ear so that people didn't think you were a boy skunk.  We took you to a pumpkin patch and we fielded many comments about how cute you were.  I can't lie.  That never gets old.  You, as always, were really cooperative as we took pictures.  Here are some from our night at Hall's Pumpkin Farm in Colleyville!

While we were at theis pumpkin farm in Colleyville, we were able to get some video of you, too.  You are crawling like a maniac these days and at the end of this vid you try and embark on a pumpkin patch exploration.  Halloween was so much fun with you and we are excited to do it again next year!

We took you to see Auntie Sonya in the hospital this weekend.  She had a really long surgery last weekend, but it was the surgery that marked the end of her battle with her sickness.  Nana was there and so was Uncle Kevin and of course Faith was there, too.  Faith is running around everywhere and when you two saw eachother, Faith ran toward you laughing and you crawled toward her.  I am so thankful that you two will be able to grow up together!  In this picture, Faith looks sassy and you are trying to eat your toy.  It represents the both of you well :)

We are so thankful that God has rid Auntie of her sickness.  Things were really tough for her and He made her all better.  She was pretty sore from her surgery when we went to see her this weekend, but I am sure being able to see you made her feel much better.  She loves you so much just like your Nana and Uncles do.  You have so many people that love you, daugther.

Well we are going into the Christmas season!  This is exciting for so many reasons.  First of all, all of our birthdays are in December.  Yours is the 16th, Crystal's is the 14th, and Daddy's is the 24th.  Crystal has been working so hard on your first birthday and it is going to be awesome!  And then Christmas comes.  We will do gifts and have meals and just spend time with family.  I can't help but look forward to the first time we talk about what Christmas represents.  I am so excited for us to talk about Jesus together.  Jesus loves you so much, Marlie and He loves your Daddy and everyone else, too.  I am so thankful for Him because He gave me my first little angel in you.  I hope to be your best friend and the best father possible, but somehow, Jesus will always be a better friend to you and a super special father.  And I am thrilled about that because you and I are both His.  You will be going to church with us for the first time very soon and you will continue going from then on.  I cannot even express how happy this makes me :)

Well, I get you again this weekend and it is going to be fantastic because this will be the first time I will have you TWO nights in a row!  So, get ready for some fun, sweetie.  Until then, sweet dreams, Marlie.  I love you from here to Pluto!

Love,

Daddy

So much happening!

Dear Marlie,

It has been nearly two months since I last wrote on your blog. I am not sure why, but there is a lot to catch up on! You are becoming such a charismatic little girl. You are always smiling and laughing, just so content. We see each other a lot more often now and it is awesome!

To start, you have become a model. Not really, but we take pictues of you just about every 30 minutes. It's the only way daddy can make the time stop and sometimes I want to do that because I don't want you to grow up too quickly :/ Here are some photos you took!

We have been having so much fun! You have more clothes than the Kardashian's (hopefully this name means nothing to you when you are old enough to read this) and your Nana and Auntie Sonya just spoil the daylights out of you. Every time I go over there they have something new for you. We are doing a walk to celebrate your Auntie and your cousin Faith because they beat their sickness. You and Faith are wearing matching outfits. Don't worry. I am sure we will have 600 pictures of that event, too!

You are talking so much now, Mars. When we are driving down the road I will turn off the radio just so I can hear your little voice. Sometimes you scream just to hear yourself and I think it is the cutest thing. And when I call your name you will turn to find me and smile at me when you do. You really do melt my heart and there isn't anything I love more than spending time with you.

These days I get to hang out with you after work twice a week. Since I live a little bit away, we go shopping, or to eat until I have to get you back to your mom. But in just a few weeks I will live down the road from you. This means that when we hang out during the week we can just go home and spend time together instead of having to waste our time driving around! I can't even begin to tell you how happy that makes me.

So I actually got to see you today and we had our very first picnic :) Here you are!



This picnic was so much fun. We brought a couple of your new toys, including your friend Violet. Violet was a gift from your Auntie and she actually says your name. She tells you she loves you and you and Violet have the same favorite animal and food, too! A lot of people stop and waved to you and you smiled back. It was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again.

And the greatest thing to happen yet happened today...you gave me a kiss for the first time :) Now I will need them all the time. Sorry.

Well, tomorrow I get to pick you up from your babysitter and keep you overnight :) Saturday is the walk and then we are just going to hang out. I can't wait.

I promise to write more often from now on. Thank you for being so beautiful, sweetie. I am excited to play this weekend. You are the greatest little girl ever, and I am so happy to be your daddy. I love you, Marlie...from here to Pluto. See you tomorrow!

Love,

Daddy

All by ourselves

Dear Marlie,

So today I went and picked you up at your baby sitter and we hung out for a few hours. Usually Crystal is with me and we all three hang out on and have fun these days, but she had to be somewhere this evening. So it was just you and me, all by ourselves :)

I picked you up from Maryam (she is your baby sitter and she is amazingly in love with you and we love her back) and off we went. I forgot your bag with all of your things at home because I was rushing to a meeting so our first stop would be to get the necessities. You know...diapers and wipes so I can take you to your mom fresh and clean, some food for you so you can eat, and somehow we made out with a bunch of toys and a new diaper bag, too. Don't ask me how, but you chose the diaper bag and you loved the toys when I handed them to you, so I got them. Some would argue that you'd love any toy I handed to you, but that's besides the point.

Anyway, I picked you up and you fell asleep pretty quickly as you normally do. We got to the store and I snapped this pic

Those are your little chunky feet with nail polish on them. So we went in the store...and did some damage.

After that we went across the street to the mall and just walked around. You get so many smiles from people when they see you. You have the cutest cheeks ever and the brightest eyes. And you are just the happiest baby. Always smiling and laughing and grabbing for toys. We strolled the mall and then I just wanted to hold you, so we stopped by the carousel and we played. You loved watching the carousel go round and round and you kept reaching behind you to touch my face. And when you felt me you would turn and smile at me. I have a feeling that this memory will stick with me forever.

All in all today was pretty much amazing. Just the two of us, laughing a lot and sharing us time all by ourselves. I get you tomorrow and you get to spend the night and we are going to see your cousin, Auntie, and Grandmother on Saturday. But today was so much fun and I can't wait to have a sleepover tomorrow.

Until then, I love you from here to Pluto, daughter. See you soon.

Love, Daddy

I see differently now

Dear Marlie,

I was browsing through today's news online a few minutes ago and I ran across this video...and all I could think of was you.

I have always had a gentle spirit, feeling for those in need and wishing everyone could be as blessed as I am. But I saw this video and the thought of you going without food, going without water, flies practically living on you...absolutely broke my heart.

We live such a privileged life. Although we have our challenges, we live a charmed existence and the thought that there are actually people who live in these conditions makes my heart weep. Daddy can get you new toys and new diapers and all of the food and water you need and I rarely stop to think what a blessing that is. As you continue to grow, if there is anything I hope I can instill in you, it is a compassionate heart that hurts when you watch videos such as these. I never want you to fly through your life never realizing how fortunate we are. We have the necessities. We have life without boundaries. We have each other.

I love you so much, Marlie girl and I promise to work as hard as my mind and body will allow so that you will never go without. Thank you for fixing my eyes. I see differently now.

From here to Pluto...

Love,
Daddy

It is all so good

Dear Marlie,

We had some fun this weekend! I picked you up from your babysitter on Friday and we immediately went and looked at some houses closer to you and your mommy. A couple of weeks ago your mother and I met with our friends and I am getting to see you so much more. I can't even tell you how happy that makes me. Anyway, with as much as we are getting to hang out now I just need to be closer to you so that all of our time isn't spent driving! So we went and looked at some houses and you got to meet my Realtor's daughter who said "Hello Mawie" because she was young and couldn't say your name.. You have been sick so you had a sad cough, but you were a trooper and we had a lot of fun and maybe even found a house!

You slept through the night, only waking up once for a brief moment. It is so awesome waking up knowing you are here. The moment I know you are awake I bring you to the bed so that I can hold you and play with you for a while before the day begins. I am certain that after not very long, I will wish that I still could do this. Your father never stays still. I like to be going all of the time and it is a fault of mine. I work hard and always have 1000 things going through my mind. But when you are around, nothing else matters. I want to soak in every moment we have together because although we will always be together, these baby moments are fleeting. And as quickly as you are growing, I want to hold on to this time we have together as much as I can. If I could, I would make time stand still.

Finally, I got your middle name tattooed on my forearm this weekend! :) But don't think for a second that I will allow you to do this to your body when you get older!

I'll see you tomorrow, mama. I love you from here to Pluto.

Love, Daddy

It's our first night

Dear Marlie,

Tonight is a very special night. I have been waiting so long for this evening and as I listen to you coo in your crib, I am consumed with absolute joy because tonight you are staying with me. I watched over you earlier as I put you in your crib, turned on your favorite toy, and watched you lay there with your binky in your mouth. To most, it seems like such a small thing. But for a father that has never gotten to watch his baby daughter fall asleep in his own home, the thought that I have you here simply reduced me to tears.

I wonder if those fathers that get to put their daughters to bed every night know just how lucky they are. I'd do anything to be able to watch you sleep every night. To bathe you, put you in your nighty, get you all tucked in...I couldn't think of a greater end to an evening. Daddy's life is so good right now and having you with me as I ate dinner and winded down the evening tonight trumps all of the other amazing things that I have going on. Tonight has been a long time coming and the road to get here has certainly been painful, but, Marlie girl, listening to your toy sing you a lullabuy and knowing that you are here, asleep has made this journey seam trivial in relation to the smile in my heart right now.

I can't tell you how happy you made me tonight, sweetie. And the thought that I will wake up tomorrow and you will be here really is something special. I hurt for the days that we have not been together, but my heart celebrates with fatherly love the fact that tonight is the beginning to new days for us. Because of you my understanding of Jesus' love for me is so clear now. And for that, I thank you more than I will ever be able to express.

I'll see you in the morning, baby girl.  Ioves you from here to Pluto.

Love,
Daddy

Things are getting better!

Dear Marlie,

So much has gone on since the last time I wrote you! All I can say is that I fall more and more in love with you every time we are together. You are such a perfect little girl! And you are growing so fast! Last week I got to see you sit up on your own for the very first time :) I caught it on camera. Look at you!

I was so proud of you when you did this. And you think it is fun to fall over. You are grabbing for everything in sight now and when you are leaning back in a chair, you try your hardest to pull yourself up. Maybe you are like me. I have to be able to see in the distance and maybe you do, too :) You are talking up a storm now and you are always smiling. It's just the cutest thing ever and I can't get enough of you!

So last week your Nana, Auntie Sonya, and cousing Faith came to see you. Your auntie and your cousin both got checked to make sure they weren't sick and guess what?! They aren't! Auntie Sonya wasn't feeling very well for a long time and your cousin Faith was born during it all. Those two are super strong. I hope that when you get old enough to understand, Cancer has been beaten that way we don't have to worry anymore. Until then, WE will keep praying!

While they were here, you could tell that you and your cousin are beginning to recognize each other. Y'all held hands and your cousin even kissed you on your head :)

She is crawling now and she walks when we help. She looks like a little soldier because she steps so hard, but it won't be long until she is walking and YOU are crawling. It's all going by so fast. Your personality keeps coming out more and more. I think I might be in trouble and no picture says it better than this one

Well today we got to hang out a little bit. We went and walked around the mall in your super neat stroller that daddy's friends got for you at the baby shower. Everywhere we went everyone talked about how stinkin' cute you are. Your cheeks are tubby and your eyes are gorgeous. I am a proud, proud father :)

Things are getting better, Marlie. We are seeing each other more and more and that's all I want. Daddy's friends are meeting with mommy's friends in just a little bit so that we can really create a schedule that will let me see you all of the time! AND you are about to start spending the night with me sometimes! This means we can play more, you get to see your aunties and uncles and Nana and grandpa and you get to see Chloe :) You love Chloe. You reach out for her and want to pet her all of the time. And she loves you, too. She gives you these really soft kisses on your face and you love it. This is when you and Chloe met for the first time

Well I get to see you again in two days and hopefully next week will be our first time to stay the night together. I can't wait :) I love you from here to Pluto, Marlie and I miss you already. See you Thursday!

Love,
Daddy

This was one of our first days together...

Dear Marlie,

Tomorrow will be a week since we have seen each other.  I was suppose to have you last Thursday, but I didn't. Hopefully, soon, things will be in place that won't ever let a day that we are suppose to hang pass without it happening.  Tonight I was just thinking about how much you grow in even just a week and how much that means I miss out on.  I went back to some of your pictures and this picture I could't stop looking at. It seems like yesterday that your mommy and I were in the nursery spending our first evenings with you. You weren't born until 11:46pm, so it made for a really late night! It was super cold out, but late nights and cold weather were all just fine because you had arrived.

There is a really neat story behind this picture and the rest that came with it. At the hospital, when babies get to the nursery, they have photographers come in and take pics for and with the parents. So the gal came in, took our pics, and went to upload them to a web site where we and all of our family and friends could look at the pics and even order some if we wanted.

The photographer made her way back to us and I asked her about how much different types of photographs would cost. She gave us the pricing and then told us a story. And it was a super special story for a super special day.

There is something called "paying it forward". That means that people do something special for often random people in hopes that those people will then do something kind for a stranger. So after telling us her pricing, the girl said, "My boyfriend told me a really neat story the other day. He works at a Starbucks in Arlington and the other day more than 70 people paid it forward. That story really inspired me and I wanted to give you this." The girl then pulled out a disk with a bow wrapped around it and on the disc was all of your pictures.  The disc usually cost more than $100, but she gave it to your mommy and me as a present, for free. It was such a sweet moment. And a perfect ending to our time at the hospital.

No matter what anyone tells you, Marlie, there are good people out there. And there are people that are hurting so bad and they just need a stranger to show them that there is still hope for humanity. I am really thankful for this stranger that gave your mommy and me this present and I pray that I can raise you to see the value in such a heart. Jesus loved everyone and even as the Son of God, He lived to serve and heal people that didn't even seem worthy at times. And although we are not Jesus Himself, we are made in His image and He has given us the ability to make lives better just by caring. I want to love you and care for you so strongly that your greatest desire is to do the same for others.

If I want to teach you anything today it is that you can choose to be a shining light on this earth. And that means that even when some people don't deserve it, we need to love them anyway because we do things all the time that hurt Jesus...but He will never stop loving us. I want to set an example for you that the way to the greatest life here on earth is to help other lives get better. I'll never stop loving you. You better never stop loving me. You are stuck with me!  Let's not stop loving others together, k?

Well, I hear that I will get to see you while your mommy works on Tuesday :) I can't wait because I miss you to pieces. It was a long day for daddy today, so I am getting some rest. I love you from here to Pluto, Marlie Grace. See you soon.

Love,
Daddy

Technology is our friend

Dear Marlie,

I took this video last weekend on the day before Father's Day.  I love it when you lay on my chest and play.  The sounds you are making in the video are my favorite and it's so cute how you are trying to put your binky in your mouth.  So ambitious already :)

My appreciation for technology has grown so much since you have been here.  I don't get to see you very often right now, so it's a way for me to see you and listen to you when I begin to miss you which is all too often.  I wish I could just go in the next room and know that you are in your crib napping.  Or I wish that I came home to you waiting on me.  My favorite moment that we have had together was one time at Auntie and Nana's house.  You were super fussy and I took you and held you and rocked with you in the rocking chair.  Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" was playing on the computer and I was singing it to you in your ear.  You quickly fell asleep on my chest.  I just wanted time to stop for a while.  I'll never forget that moment.

Well, tomorrow is suppose to be my day with you!  Hopefully it all works out and we can play for a few hours.  I will write you again tomorrow, but until then, I miss you tons and can't wait to play again.  Love you from here to Pluto, Marlie.

Love,
Daddy

6/19/2011 My first Father's Day :)

Dear Marlie,

You turned 6 mos three days ago!  Time sure is flying.  This weekend was so special because this was the first time I have ever gotten to spend two days in a row with you.  What a fantastic Father's Day present that was :)  I don't get to see you as much as I would like to right now, but I am prayerful that changes soon.  Every time I see you, you have grown so much that I feel as if it has been a year since the last time I was able to play with you.  You are such a little doll and your personality just makes Daddy melt!

I got many "Happy Father's Day" text messages and messages on Facebook (don't worry.  I will explain what these are to you when you are old enough to read this) today and they were all awesome to get.  But I could have heard from no one at all and as long as you were with me today, my first ever Father's Day would still have been a day to cherish forever.  Being a daddy is so special.  And being your daddy is the greatest gift I will ever receive.

Here are some things that happened this weekend:

We went swimming together for the first time!
You got me a Father's Day card :)
You held your cousin Faith's hand when Auntie Sonya was taking pics of the two of you!
You reached for me when I picked you up from your Grandma this morning :)
We found out that you are super ticklish!
I turned off the radio after I first picked you up so I could listen to you talking in the back seat...

It's as if ever single second that I have you, something significant is happening.  I absolutely melt when you smile at and reach for me.  Everyone knew that if I had a girl that I wouldn't stand a chance and, well, they couldn't have been any more correct.  I just want to hold you all day and sleep at night with you in my arms and wake up to your cooing.  Soon enough, mama.

Well, I only dropped you off an hour and a half ago and I already miss you.  Thursday won't get here soon enough.  Just know that when you aren't with me, I wish you were and that Daddy loves you more than I am afraid you will ever know.  Until next time, thanks for a perfect weekend and I miss you tons.  Love you from here to Pluto, Marlie.

Love,
Daddy