So, yesterday was Father's Day and it was my first as a biological parent. It was definitely a great day to reflect on the past year and the changes I've seen in Elliot. He is now crawling around like a pro, pulling himself up on everything and getting into all sorts of mischief. He is also learning signs and even starting to learn new words & sounds. In fact mom just taught him "uh oh". We have also learned that he LOVES food even the things we like to eat. The other day Jill fed him red pepper hummus and he couldn't get enough. Unfortunately along with all the fun & good first come the firsts you never want to experience. A couple weeks ago we had to take Elliot to the ER because of high fevers and rapid breathing. It was so frustrating as a father to not be able to provide any relief for his pain & discomfort. Luckily it wasn't anything too serious (a double ear infection) and he was soon on the road to recovery. But the other firsts help me to forget the painful ones. Like the time Jill told me he was patting the area I sleep in and was saying "da da da da". Or how every day when I come home from work he will not let me do anything else until I hold him and love on him.
I would not be a good father if I didn't also talk about Simon and how things have changed with him. Simon has sensory issues and we have learned better how to deal with them. One of the casualties of this condition is not being able to go to movies in theaters. Simon is afraid that the movies are too loud even if we put ear plugs in his ears. With Cars 2 coming out this month Simon is now ready to go try the movie theater again. Another discovery we have made is that he monthly suffering of joint pains, in his legs, headaches & stomach aches are a genetic disorder so it should be something we can manage. For a long time the doctors could not come up with anything and that left us feeling confused and concerned. Now we at least have confirmation we are not going crazy. Hopefully with this knowledge we can treat the symptoms and have an idea of when to expect them to happen. Finally another sign of progress is how he is riding a two wheel bike with training wheels. Before we could not get him to even consider riding a two wheel bike. Now everyday when he comes home from school it's all he wants to do. I am lucky to be a part of Simon's life and experience his growth. A sign that he is happy to have me in his life is when Jill told me Simon wants to call me "daddy" now. I could have died happy after she told me that and it melts my heart to hear him refer to me as "daddy".
I am so blessed to be a part of the fraternity that is fatherhood. It has helped me to grow in so many ways. I get to see things through the perspective of a child again. I am certainly more selfless since I have to put the needs of my children above my own wants. And I especially get to be a part of unconditional love. So now that I have experience my first Father's Day as a biological father I am so greatful for the firsts I have experience with Elliot and Simon and look forward to the many more firsts we will experience.
