dear david,
i remember the day we found out ava was a girl. do you? we were in new jersey and we took a drive to a private ultrasound studio one sunday. i remember seeing her little tiny girl parts and the technician printed out her photos and i wasn't very surprised; i dreamed she was a girl earlier that week. the next day we drove to south carolina and we talked about our little girl and what it meant to be a dad to a daughter and i felt a little nervous that you were disappointed that she was a girl. you come from a family of all brothers and i remember you asking me what girls played with. if it wasn't balls or mini micromachines or football card collections or toy guns, what else was there?
the day ava came to us, you waited patiently to hold her for over an hour. she laid on my chest and she nursed and then the nurses cleaned her up and weighed her and checked her out and you waited patiently. they say a woman becomes a mother when she finds out she's pregnant, but a man becomes a father the day his child is born. you waited to patiently and then came your turn. they handed her to you and you were hers. you held her like a little football with her tiny, bundled body fitting entirely in your hand. you held her up so proud and so in love. you stared into her eyes and i knew you were hers and she was yours and that i was witnessing the most beautiful connection i'd ever know.
i never could've imagined the kind of love that you two have. the way she instantly lights up and does her happy dance when you come home from work. she way she melts into your arms and watches sofia every morning. the way you are so devoted to her and the rest of the world disappears when she's there. you are the kind of dad that remembers to grab her a jacket when it's slipped my mind, the kind of dad who changes her diaper without being asked, who gets up to grab her first in the morning, who has a special playlist of her favorite songs on his phone.
you are the best dad.
you are something i didn't even know existed; the kind of dad who stands by my side and does just as much for her as i do.
you are my partner in this parenting adventure and i can't thank you enough for that.
thank you for taking such good care of us girls.
thank you for your unconditional love.
thank you for showing us both what love is with your every day example.
we love you so much and need you so much and thank God every day that you are ours.
we'd be lost without you, big guy.
happy father's day, sweet david.
ps. i love you the most.