Memories

When I was growing up, me and my sister used to go on “dates with Dad.”  They were special times and I have some very special memories from them.  In fact, my sister and I still go on dates with our dad.  So, when we first found out – many moons ago now – that we were having a girl in Myla, it was something that I wanted Johnny and her to do as well.  For Christmas this year, my parents got Johnny two tickets to the Sacramento Kings vs the Denver Nuggets basketball game.  At first, he had thought to take his brother or my brother or even me (even though the sport of basketball escapes me completely).  Things came up and Johnny mentioned out loud “who am I going to take to the basketball game?” and Myla said, “what about me daddy?”  And so off they went.  Myla had a great time mostly watching everything else but the game, but she told me her favorite thing was Rocky and being there with daddy.  My hope exactly.

Kinsley is learning more every day, but it’s the changes in her imagination that amaze me.  She has taken up a little game – she will put on a hat, scarf, sometimes sunglasses, and a bag of some sort and she will wave goodbye and blow you kisses, tell you something and off she goes.  She walks around the house “circle” and then comes back, takes it all off, and runs to hug you like she hasn’t seen you in days.  And then, it all goes back on and she starts over.  She is still talking in some strange baby language, but is picking up a new word all the time.  And reading – this girl has discovered that to sit and listen to a whole book – of a reasonable size – is the best thing and that you can finish a book and find a new one to read.  It’s a refreshing change from reading the same book over and over, although she still has her favorites.  Of course, her absolute favorite thing is to sit next to Myla and read books together.  I hope she remembers that as she grows up.