Success...well partially....

Alyson has been growing and so has her vocabulary, both in sign language and in words. Well with me getting more and more shop time lately, it was bound to happen and today she finally put everything together. As we worked on fixing a couch arm rest, she "helped" me and toyed with some of my tools. Then she looked at me and said...

"Daddy ools out in op."

Translation for those of you that don't have two year olds..."Daddy's tools are out in his shop."

First I just had to hug her, and then I was filled with this overwhelming feeling of accomplishment as if my work on this earth was done. But as I slowly came down off my euphoric daddy high I realized she still has not got that potty thing down, can only count to three and can only pick out about ten letters of the alphabet. Obviously I have a long way to go...

Still she is starting to understand the correlation between Daddy, tools and his shop. She also has to be near me whenever I work on something in the house. between her toy tool bench she LOVES to play with, her Grandfather allowing her to "fix" things with him, and her Dad always letting her hang around him while working, I think she is steering towards tom-boyism. But is that a bad thing???

Either way, its been awhile since I posted a picture. Here is Daddy and Daughter taken yesterday at a park for those that have not seen her in awhile.

It just keeps getting better. Enjoy every moment.

Enjoy this now--she will be a teenager all to soon!

Before you know it, she'll have her own small work bench, complete with tools, and free reign over the scrap bin. Lee Valley has those safety goggles for little kids. My 4 and 6 year olds also both like their ear protection with the louder machines.
They have great fun. As long as they're being safe, i don't get in their way except to answer questions or teach a new task. We do build some toys together - they "get it" that you can generally make anything if you can draw a picture of it and then figure out how to put it together.
Favorite things to do: - drilling, sanding, hand planing, nailing, painting, and sometimes sawing. It's a lot like cooking - they figure out the ingredients, prepare them, and assemble them. It's a great tool to reinforce numbers and math as well.
I overheard Nick, my 6 year old, explaining to Yvette (my wife) the difference between a shaper and a router the other day - makes a dad proud.
paulh

That feeling/moment will be repeated all your/her life, enjow every one of them. The potty one, first day at school one, the reading one, the graduation, the wedding one and so forth... and remember we harvest what we sow.

Haa Haa just wait till she hits teenage and makes "DAD!" sound like a dirty word.

All worth it though.

ken werner said:

It just keeps getting better. Enjoy every moment.

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and alot more expensive

Ron Jones said:

Enjoy this now--she will be a teenager all to soon!

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ken werner said:

It just keeps getting better. Enjoy every moment.

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allen levine said:

and alot more expensive

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And a lot more frustrating -and a lot more hair-graying!!!

Enjoy it. She will soon be a teenager and won't want to be seen with you except when she wants something. We are now starting over with grandkids. Oh my wife got the gray hair and mine dissappeared. But the new solgan is " SILVER THE NEW BLONDE"

I agree with the others, enjoy every moment. The teenager years aren't always fun, but enjoy those too, the aliens will eventually return them back to you.