Happy Father's Day, Dada!

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads in our life! We were especially thinking of the Papa's (Madeline's name for my dad and Rob's) and of course, our Rob....Dada!

On Saturday night, Madeline and I playfully gave Rob his Father's Day itinerary for the following day -- we had some very serious fun to keep on schedule...

Sunday morning, Madeline and I quietly snuck downstairs (so Rob would keep sleeping) to start the blueberry pancakes. We even moved the loud coffee maker/grinder out to the back porch and closed the kitchen door so it wouldn't wake him up. After breakfast, he and my dad went out to enjoy a peaceful morning on the Illinois river in the boat that my grandpa told my dad he wanted him to have before he passed away. They had a terrific time -- my dad gave Rob a set of keys and taught him everything he needs to know!

When Rob came home, Madeline and I had a "special performance," which we had sort of rehearsed in the days leading up to Father's Day. We, well....I....dressed up, grabbed giant serving spoons from the kitchen and sang Christina Aguilera's, "Ain't No Other Man," reading the lyrics from a notebook ("You got soul, you got class, you got style with your bad a**"). Madeline, who normally chewed on the spoon or danced (i.e. shook her head) during practice sessions, was a little afraid of her mom in a black wig, sunglasses and sequin, and sat in her dad's lap while I made a fool of myself. But it made Rob laugh pretty hard, and that's all we were going for.

While Madeline napped, Rob washed the cars, enjoying the quiet time to think and be outdoors. Then he came in for hot dogs and we met my dad and Ning at a Chiefs game, Peoria's Cub-affiliated minor league baseball team. The storm came through during the fifth inning, and rather than shy away from the downpour, Madeline insisted on playing in it (which meant Rob and I got just as wet as she did). Within a few minutes, a handful of other children joined in the fun.

That evening, my dad and Ning came over for dinner -- I grilled salmon and made fresh sides from the farmer's market, using basil and oregano from my garden.

To finish off the celebration, I presented Rob with a nomination I sent to Parenting Magazine about him. Here's what I submitted with the following picture:

Rob is the best bath-giving, tickle-monstering, silly-song-singing, pool-tossing, "of-course-I'll-read- you-another-story" dad/ make-believe horse ever. He brings home flowers on birthdays, fixes breakfast every morning and adores "his three girls" (which includes the dog, Maple). He also can't wait to teach his daughter about baseball and finance!

We love you, Rob!