tonight i want to talk about the greatest man i know.  and i happen to be related to him....my dad.  tomorrow is his birthday.  he is in brazil right now, which makes me miss him even more than usual.  or maybe not more, because i always miss him a ton, but further.  i miss him further.  

my dad is my best friend.  he has been there for me through all my ups and downs (and i have had A LOT of downs, let me tell you...)  through everything i have had a constant.  my daddy.  i have put him through so many things throughout the years, i don't know how he has put up with me!  if there's one thing i've learned, it's that i should just listen to him the first time he tells me something......but i guess i had to make my own choices and mistakes so that i could learn from them, right?  (i've done LOTS of learning)

my dad and aubrey, or aubbie waubbies as he calls her, have been best buds from the very beginning.  they have a special connection that i can't quite describe.  

they are so SILLY together!  my dad turns into a kid again when they're together.  i have listened to them both just laugh and giggle to the point where they can't stop. :)

aubrey has a special love for her Papa.

they way they are together reminds me of when i was little, and how i was with my dad.  i'm so glad aubrey gets to see just why i love him so much.

 

although, i don't ever recall him playing Polly Pocket or Fairy Princess with me......we liked games like scrabble and othello (until he quit playing that one because he could never beat me:)

we love it when papa comes to visit us, but we are always way too sad to see him go.  i always want to hang on his leg too and say "no,don't go! please don't go!"

i love it when i get to go home to illinois in the summer.  having aubrey and connor be and play where i played as a little girl is so awesome to me.  i love showing aubrey all the things i used to do when i was little.  if she even notices me----while we're there, she barely remembers i'm her mom.  she's too busy playing with her best pal, papa :)

my dad has been with me every step of the way with connor.  he calls him his 'superboy'. these pictures of connor in the pool are so tender for me to see....he was so thin, this was at a point in time where the doctors weren't sure if he was going to make it very much longer.  my dad is so gentle with my sweet, beautiful boy. i love them both so much.  my two favorite boys in the world <3

papa and his superboy.

this was when we flew out to New York to take connor to one of the top neurologists in the country.  this trip was really hard for me, emotionally, and my dad was such a support to me. i know i couldn't have handled it without him.  he is my rock.

this was just this past june when connor had his surgery to trim the muscles around his voice box, sculpt his pallet to bring it forward, remove his tonsils, and remove his uvula (hangy ball thingy).   he can breathe so much better since having all that done.  my dad watched aubrey for me, which is always such a huge relief---to know she's in such good hands.  (might i note that shortly after this picture, a few days i think, we took aubrey to get her 'short haircut'......my dad's attempts at 'doing' her hair were.....entertaining.)

 

 

 

my dad is the best dad i could ever wish for.  so it's only natural he's the best papa, too.

 i think he's enjoying his role as grandpa, just a little. ;)

i admire and look up to my dad in every aspect of my life.  everyday i try to be a little more  like him.  without him i wouldn't be where i am today, and probably wouldn't even be alive.  i am so grateful for him and for the friendship we have.  best friend i could ask for.  my dad truly is the greatest man i know.

and since it's probably already past midnight in Brazil, i'd like to say happy birthday daddy!  LYMTYLMSITSIB

(love you more than you love me, said it first, said it best)  

<3