Since I've become a father I have became

Santa Clause
Tooth Fairy
Easter Bunny
Bed for the baby
chauffeur
Chef
Health Care Provider

and many many other things...
A baby changes your world, and i was thinking today i cant wait til I get to play Santa for him
And I cant wait til he dads my racecar down the track for the first time.
sorry this post proboally makes no sense, but i just wanted to share my happiness

 

im there with ya bro....my lil girl is 4 mos old and every day i get to do something diffrent for her....shes already sitting up and cooing and trying to stand up and can stand if you balance her....just a few more years and she'll be on her dirtbike and then a few more after that she'll be the only girl in her highschool with a 10 second car as her 1st....cheers to the good times to come

 

How true is this?


I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice, really nice!!

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock!
That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be "rich." It is just the opposite.
What do your get for your $160,140?
Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
Glimpses of God every day.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up.
You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to keep: reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS!

 

My little girl is 13, enjoy being those things and much more for as long as you can!

 

My son is over a month
he can stand if you balance him, could hold his head up from day 4 or 5
he tries to coo a bit but not that often.
Very rewarding child

Good post there Mil

 

And you get most of those things without the expense when you let your siblings have them. You also get:

To be God when they are mad at their parents.
To be special because they don't see you every dayand have more energy than Mom and Dad.
To leave when they are crabby and won't nap.
To avoid teething.
To avoid diaper changes.
No strech marks.
To not have to sing "This Old Man" when you get sick of it.

 

my last girl was born 2 months before my back went to crap on me, an so I get to spend every day home with her, she is such a card, and has the looks of being the one to go out to the shop with me, she loves cars and such,car shows are her favorite thing. She is 19 months old! At the parking lot of the swimming pool, while Sis is getting her lessons, we alk around, check every little thing out, check out the smoothness of the custom wheels, pick up the lillt rock and look at it things like that. She is so curious, easily amused, and constantly on the go.

 

The rewards don't stop, my oldest will turn 40 soon and I keep receiving in more ways than I can count. Congrats, Andy..... Enjoy. It's a great trip.
Dono

 

Things I've realized.......

How blessed I am to see my kids growing up to be respectful, young adults.

That extra time you spend with your wife is well worth it.

You have to be patient and longsuffering with your kids as they growup, as they will take what you have taught them and apply that wisdom it to there lives.

 

Things I learned today...
giving the lil fella a lil bit more water by itself everyday cures "hard poops" as momma likes to call them. haha
I also learned that he likes the sound of my 76 F-100 w/ 302 and dual 40 series flowmasters going down the road. He got to ride in it and loved it

 

Sounds like you are happy Andy, glad to hear it.

 

I'm with you! My "little girl" just graduated from Portland State Univ. (w/Honors), then turned 31 years old a week later. I don't care how old they get, they are still your "little girl" and they still depend on "Daddy" (thank God)! Embrace the "highs" & then learn from the "lows", as it really brings you closer & closer!

 

All this goodness from kids...Makes me rethink all that microwaiving with the door open so I could avoid 'em...

Then again..my wife's kids are quite enough.

 

As a mom to four step mommie to four (yes 8 total) there are so many blessings to be had. Even my oldest who will be 21 in two weeks still does things that amaze me. She called and asked me if i would come stay with her (her husband is deploying for a year) after Christmas so she will not be alone when their second child is born. I see her blow soap bubbles for her 1 year old son jsut so she can see his smile even though she knows there are dishes to be washed and laundry to be done. I still see wonder in my 19 year old daughter as she writes me notes in Greek (her favorite college subject) and hearing from friends at college how when a student from kenya joked one day that snowmen were always "white" she made him a special snowman out of snow and hersey powder. He said it was the best Christmas present he could ever have recieved, When my two 15 year old girls perform in various things at school and put in the bulletins under shout outs they love their me so much and I am so special to them, when my boys come to me at 9 and 12 asking me to make their boo boos better, and when my 8 y/o daughter comes to me and asks for an Eskimo kiss or comes to me with the dilemma of falling in puppy love with her football teams quarterback midseason while playing Pop Warner football. It doesnt mean the special times etc will be gone once they grow up or begin to head that way. Old specialness is replaced with new specialness. Memories are made everyday. Keep a journal. That has been my way of keeping forever the special things they do .
Hope this hasnt bored the stuffins outta ya. I just love to share things about my tatertots.

 

Well, I have my 3, and I enjoy the time I get with them all. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with the oldest, so I am enjoying the time I have with the youngest, and last.Mom had to get fixed to save her life with her, so that'll be al for me.