Happy (early) Fathers Day!

Because I'm really hoping to have a newborn by Fathers Day, I thought I should post this a bit early.

Top 10 ways that Toby is the most outstanding father, in no particular order:

1. Play! - Toby comes up with new games to play with Annie at least a couple times a week.  My latest favorite is when they act out the book "Where's Spot?"  They follow the book by searching all around the house for Spot, looking behind doors, in closets and under rugs.  He also recently started a matching game, and can generally come up with a new game on the spot at any time.  They also plant and pick vegetables together, renewing Annie's interest in broccoli (yay!). 

2. Patience - the man is a saint.  When I've totally lost my cool because Annie is "showing her two-ness," Toby is cool and calm.

3.  Empathy - Toby really  understands Annie and her her needs.  And not only that, but he is always willing to respond. 

4. Toby shows a complete willingness to take the blame for Annie's desire to flex her independence and run away.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. 

5.  Enforcement - okay, maybe we're still working on this one, but when Toby feels strongly about something, he's going to be the enforcer.  Just try to say "nuh-uh" around him.

6.  Bathtime - see Play and Patience, above.  Add 15 minutes when I get to lay on the couch.

7.  He's a really outstanding husband.  (This really helps in the really outstanding father category, too.)  See #4.  He knows when I need a break and tries to usher me out the door.  He has never asked me not to do something fun with my girlfriends even if it means he has to pull all the parenting duty for days, nights or entire weekends.

8.  Teaching - Toby is always teaching Annie something new, which is why she can show you what plate tectonics look like with her hands.

9.  Silly - I can't tell you how many times I've seen Toby do incredibly silly dances, but I know I've seen at least 10-12 this week. There really is no better way to diffuse a tough toddler situation than to start doing the Running Man on steroids in the living room.

10. Devotion - utterly, completely, amazingly.  I never really knew what being wrapped around somebody else's finger looked like until Annie was born.  I can't wait to see how he handles being wrapped around two little ones' fingers! :)

Block Party at Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood

Despite the 95 degree weather, we all headed out to the Westhaven Block Party last weekend. Annie was a spitfire, but who could imagine that would be the case? 

This is just too cute for words.  I love the elephant dress that Grandma and Grandpa got for her in Thailand.

Dancing with Daddy

And now two uber-cute videos:

First, rocking out with Grandma

Then a peek into college, where she stops dancing only to watch the older boys run by:

Update on Toby's colleague

The news has been excellent - Toby's colleague is off the ventilator, talking to friends and doing great!  He doesn't appear to have lost any brain function thanks to Toby.  The doctors are going to implant an internal defibrillator in his chest today to prevent another cardiac arrest. I just can't believe that he went from pretty much dead to strong enough for surgery in the course of four days.  Apparently Toby is not only capable of doing CPR, but it turns out he does it very well! 

Toby is a hero!

Keep Toby in your thoughts today as he navigates through a lot of emotions.  He performed CPR on a colleague this morning and managed to resuscitate the man, who had collapsed with no pulse and was not breathing.  We don't know the man's condition, though he had a pulse and was breathing by the time the ambulance left with him.  We understand that he is on the heart/lung transplant list and is very ill, so we really can't guess at his prognosis.  Regardless, Toby did an absolutely amazing thing today and I could not be prouder of my wonderful husband.  He is a true hero! 

You people lie - photographic evidence

Dear friends,
While I appreciate the love and support, you have all been lying to me. I am not just carrying this baby "in a cute bump" but rather spread out over my entire body.  Maternity photos at 34 weeks seemed like a good idea a few weeks ago.  I'm just really glad we didn't wait any longer. For more, see http://www.christinacolephotography.com/blog/

First photo from maternity session

After the first five minutes of our session, Annie completely melted down.  The only time she regained her composure was when we let her hold Toby's phone and show our photographer another photo of our family.  So this may be the one and only photo of us with Annie...but she sure is cute!  This is the only photo we've received so far - our photographer is on vacation - but we'll post some more when we get them.

Expert Witness Toby

Keep Toby in mind this week as he prepares to be an expert witness in a murder trial.  We think he will testify on Thursday.  He is well prepared and excited!