Being A Father Rocks…

by Robb Sutton

I know…catchy title right? Like anyone that is a dad didn’t already know that one before. You’ll have to excuse me. I am still new to the game.

I spent this rainy weekend in Atlanta hanging out with my family. We didn’t do anything really special. Mainly we just hung out at the house and went on a few adventures (gun range on Saturday and out shopping with my parents on Sunday), but for some reason it is different now.

My wife has been transitioning back to work, so time at home is her time to snuggle up on the couch with Daniel and play with him when he is awake. It is growing up quickly so she is trying to remember this time as best she can with being away from him so much during the week.

Normally, we would have been itching to get out and do something but now it is satisfying just trying to make him smile all day long. I guess that is also one of the luxuries of only having one right now. All we have to entertain is ourselves and him. That will definitely change if we are able to expand the Sutton clan in the future.

Daniel

I have been trying to do what I can during these times to make sure we capture the moment with pictures. It is also…by far…the most fun I have had with a camera. Especially now that his motor skills are improving, it is almost like I want to spend the entire day snapping a thousand pictures, but I also have to remember to interact with the moment and not just try to capture it.

Coming into fatherhood, I pretty much knew what to expect. So far, it has been almost exactly what I expected, but it is also one of those situations that you can know what to expect but not really know what you are talking about. It is an experience that you have to experience to really know…even if you have an idea.

I understood the mechanics and what to expect on a day to day basis. That part is rather easy to put together if you have any exposure to kids. What you can’t know is how much this little life is drastically change everything you feel. I started to see the world, my future and my family differently from moment one. Up until this point, the only human life I was really responsible for was my own. Now, I have this little man that looks up at me and smiles, laughs and cries. All he can hope for is that his parents do their part.

So here we are…a little over 3 1/2 months in…

And life is awesome.

We have tried our best to bring Daniel into our life and not flip our lives upside down for him. It was a promise that my wife and I made to each other before he was born. So far, we have done a pretty good job of that but it hasn’t been perfect by any means. We are doing a good job of getting out with him, but we could use a little bit more time for just ourselves. We just aren’t putting in the effort in that area that we really need to right now…and that needs to change.

It hasn’t been 100% easy, but anything worth having in life almost never is. D ended up getting sick from his first week at daycare (also something completely normal but new to us) so we had our first sick child experience. Luckily, the little guy kept smiling all the way through. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he would cough, sneeze and then laugh at me like he had done something funny. I guess he didn’t really know the difference other than he was making new sounds he had never heard before.

But..even through the harder times, the rewards and laughter that come out of the process are unlike any other and each day brings on a new set of challenges and adventures.

We get to watch this little guy grow up…and time is starting to fly by just like everyone tells you it does. Right now we are just trying to suck in every moment and enjoy the life of parenthood while also trying to not become too obsessed/serious with him. Life is all about balance and the more balanced we are in this house…the happier we are.

So…onto the next stage as he starts to learn how to use these things we call arm, legs and fingers. If only I could really understand what he is trying to say when he talks to us. Either way…its cute.

Oh yeah…did I mention being a dad rocks?

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1 comment

Corinne Edwards January 23, 2012 - 4:23 pm

Dear Robb –

This is a magical post and that little one is so beautiful. It is nice that you are enjoying all the stages. We will wait for your report when he enters the “Terrible two’s.” (But that is fun too)

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