A Walk on the Bright Side of Life

Katherine, today we went for a beautiful walk in the sunshine… your dad, you and me. As the weather is getting warmer, the walks we take become a lot more fun (even though you have been a good sport over the last few months when I took you out to experience quite cold Canadian winter days).

Talking a stroll down to the beach as a family was so much fun – you are exploring the world from the view of your stroller. Looking from daddy to me and back as we are walking you giggle and “talk” and once in a while you go silent, just taking it all in – the sights, the noises, the smells.

Spending time together as a family - life really doesn’t get much better than that.

You are teaching me that having a great time doesn’t need to be complicated. Watching you be joyful, watching your daddy pushing your stroller in circles to make you giggle, getting a big smile from you as we arrive at the beach – spending time together with the ones we love is a life well lived.

Learning New Things

Katherine, oh, you are 3 months old today! As you are learning rapidly about your new world, I can’t get over how much you have taught me in the last weeks and months…

And I don’t just mean those wonderful life lessons which make me smile every day, but I have been able to add some very practical skills to my repertoire of things in life that I can do now. I always thought of myself as a pretty efficient multi-tasker, but I have reached new heights by doing what I am doing with you cuddled up to me (yes, even writing this blog as you are sleeping in my arms right now). One of the skills that stand out to me… diaper changing. I have definitely become a pro at diaper changing – a skill I did not have at all 3 months ago (and I mean I was completely clueless in the beginning, but lots and lots practice over the past months has greatly enhanced my abilities…and you are very committed to this and give Mark and me many opportunities for training, both day and night).

You are teaching me that learning new skills is something I want to do continuously and always (… and yes, that even includes learning how to change a diaper). I know that it will be a long journey of learning as I help you grow up, and I’m sure I will make mistakes along the way…
but be patient with me and let’s giggle together about all the things that don’t go perfectly on the first try.

PS: I love you... always and forever. I know I tell you every day, but today I wanted to make sure I don't just say it, but also write it down for you.

Love of Books

Katherine, you are becoming so much more aware and are just a joy to be around. I love teaching you new things and you are eager to learn. I love reading books to you and even though you can’t even hold the books, let alone read them of course, you keep being captivated by the stories I read to you. We have accumulated quite a nice little library of baby story books. You are fascinated by the sound of the words and I can’t get enough of reading book after book to you again and again. The rhymes make you giggle, the story holds your interest, and best of all we get to spend time together. You now even have your own soft, crinkling book, colourful and complete with a rubbery area you can chew on (ah, who says books are just for reading?).

When I read to you before bedtime, you often fall asleep in my arms. And instead of just putting you to bed right away, I continue our cuddle time and I quietly put your story book aside - and pick up a “grown-up” book; often they are business books or non-fiction books as I love reading of other people who dare to dream big (and follow through with their ideas, letting nothing stop them) … I have bought many books, eager to read them and ready to learn from them, but over the last year or so I found myself always was too busy to actually get started. Yes, I know that sounds ironic – life before you wasn’t nearly as busy as it is now, yet now I find much more time to read than I did before you were born. Let me rephrase that… now I make a choice that I want to read and I therefore I make the time to do so.

You are teaching me that reading is an important part of my life. I used to love to read book after book (and I remember when I was a kid, I often would read long past my bedtime because I got so captivated by the stories), but then someday, quietly, life being life happened and got in the way, and I drifted away from spending hours at a time devouring books. By reading to you, you have rekindled my love for reading and I hope I get to pass this passion on to you and we get to share many moments reading together.