Joys of Fatherhood

I love being a dad! While at times it can be tiring and frustrating, it is so rewarding. Here are a few of my recent highlights.

Father's Day was a really fun time of feeling appreciated by my family. Lyla made a tasty breakfast for me, with Vanessa's help. They then lavished some great gifts on me, including a new travel mug, coffee, and anew shirt. I also got a gift that Lyla hand-picked for me. It was a children's horseshoe game. She apparently told Vanessa that she thought it would be fun to play with daddy. trying to teach a almost three year old to play horseshoes was quite the adventure. She couldn't understand why you would ever throw a horseshoe at a stake far away when it was so much easier to just drop it over the one right next to you. In the end Lyla ended up using the stakes as drum sticks.



As Lyla get older things change. A couple weeks ago, I went into Lyla's room to let her know that "nap" time was finished. This is what I found

I asked her to sit on her bed for a photo & she couldn't

I was playing guitar the other day and Lyla wanted to play with me. So, she went to get her maracas. Below is how she returned to the living room.
We've had lots of thunderstorms recently here in Jacksonville. As a result we've spent a fair amount of time without electricity. Searching for inside, no electricity activities has been quite the challenge. I think I found a winner. Lyla really enjoyed this fort we made, and weathered the storm inside while reading her favorite books.

While Lyla requires the most attention, I'm still able to spend plenty of time with our new little bundle of Joy. This is how she likes to spend her time with me

Sage is the rage

Since my last post, the Herrema family has grown. Sage Jennie was born on May 14 at 4:28 pm. She decided to show up ten days late, but when she decided to come she came quickly. She was born 13 minutes after we arrived at the birth center. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. and is already growing like a weed. It's hard to believe that this Friday she'll be a month old. Fatherhood the second time around is just as great as the first. Although it has caused a lack of sleep and extra work, I wouldn't trade it for the world.



Lyla has been a really good help as a big sister, but we've also gotten to have some good father/daughter times. We've been able to go to the zoo, out to breakfast, Disney, and to see the Jacksonville Suns, her favorite minor league baseball team. She was quite disappointed yesterday when I informed her we'd no longer be seeing "Big Mike" (Mike Stanton) as he'd been called up to the Marlins. But, we were able to watch a part of his first big league game on TV and she found it almost surreal that someone she'd seen in person was now on the TV.

Every good baseball fan needs their team gear