Happy 2nd Birthday, Ale!

(Daddy blogs)

Ale turns the big two today, and already she is picking up stuff and saying things that never fail to astound me. Even though I have been through this phase before. Twice.

This tiny sweetiepie - it seemed just like thirty days ago when I was still cradling her in my arms - is changing. She is growing. She is beginning to talk, a lot and a lot. And she is well on her way to forming her own opinions about almost everything.

I first watched it happen with my Ash & Ayd. And now it’s happening with Ale too.

Inevitably, a song comes to mind as I continue to watch her grow each and every day.

Steven Curtis Chapman's Cinderella, a song which he wrote to remind himself to cherish the moments he had with his family, no matter how brief they might be.

She spins and she sways

To whatever song plays

Without a care in the world

And I'm sitting here wearing

The weight of the world on my shoulders

It's been a long day

And there's still work to do

She's pulling at me

Saying "Dad, I need you"

The thing is, everyone will tell you this is your fate. Time will sneak up behind your ass and let out a loud BOO! And you will freeze and realize that so much of what once seemed endless is simply gone. That’s just how it goes, I guess. I can’t change it. You can’t change it. None of us can do any crap about it at all.

Soon, my baby girl will grow up all too fast for my liking and she will have her own set of adventures to seek. These treasures that we have been gifted as our children are growing up, there is a need to cherish each moment with them now for as long as the opportunities are still there.

Hold that tiny fist in your own and squeeze it for an entire minute, before they are old enough to literally bite your hand to let them go. Run your fingers through their hair while you watch a little Dora or Elmo with them and let your hand crown their little head for a moment. Hold that stinky, stomach-churning diaper up to your chin and take a deep sniff. Breathe that stuff in; appreciate the fullness and ripeness of the odour and then, gag on it.

So I will dance with Cinderella

While she is here in my arms

'Cause I know something the prince never knew

Oh, I will dance with Cinderella

I don't want to miss even one song

'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight

And she'll be gone 

Because before we know it, that fleeting moment will be going, going, gone from us. Forever.

Happy Birthday, my dear Princess. 

For as long as you need me, you can always count on me to be here together with you.