A Great Father

My husband is a great father. I knew he would be. I remember my first visit to Canada. We stopped by his school that he was working at, an elementary school at the time, and I saw him in action with those kids. I swear, my heart melted right then and there as I saw him working with those kids.

I knew he would be great, but I have to admit, he has blown right by all of my hopes and expectations.

Kevin is a great dad. He hugs and kisses Rusty all of the time, every day. He tells Rusty how much he loves him, calls him his little buddy, and smiles at him constantly. Kevin is patient with Rusty, sometimes more so than I am.

It's funny, before we had Rusty, Kevin refused to hold a baby. This always caused me a bit of worry. Our friends had babies, and we would go and see them in the hospital. Whenever they asked him if he wanted to hold the baby he would always politely refuse and say, "I'll let Stacy have my turn too!" He hadn't spent much, well, really any, time around babies before Rusty was born. I wondered how it would go when we brought Rusty home. I didn't need to worry.

From the moment Rusty was born, that was it. It was love at first sight for those two. One of my favorite pictures is the first moment Kevin is holding Rusty in the hospital. Because the cord was wrapped around his neck we didn't get to hold him right away, but once they knew everything was okay, they wrapped him up and handed him over to Kevin. I will never forget the look in his eyes as he saw his son, and realized that this sweet little boy belonged to him.

I have heard that it is tough for guys to bond with the baby in the early stages. They aren't that responsive, the man doesn't always get to help with feedings, and there is just a sense of disconnect. I know that the first few months weren't always easy for Kevin, but he was there, helping out in any way that he could. Bathtime was his specialty. Dirty diapers? No problem! Does Rusty need to be held for hours on end? He's on it! He was involved 100%, right from the start. There was a time that I remember going over a week without changing a single poo diaper because Kevin was on top of it.

He plays great games with Rusty. He is the one that taught him to stick his tongue out, give a high five, play peek-a-boo, and now their current game, hide and seek. Kevin will run and hide somewhere in the house and call out to Rusty, and little Rusty crawls all over the place, squealing in delight when he finally finds his dad.

Kevin prays for Rusty. Every night when we put Rusty to bed, we pray for him as we hold him beside his crib. I love hearing Kevin talk to our heavenly Father about his precious son. I love hearing the things that he prays for him, the hopes that he has for him, the love that he has for him.

My husband is ever so patient, not only with Rusty, but also with me. When I am stressed and maxed to the limit, he whisks Rusty away for some "boy time." This may simply be running errands to the grocery store or somewhere else, but by the time they return Rusty is usually giggling and I am relaxed and refreshed. Kevin is actually better at feeding Rusty his solids than I am, he has the patience to sit and wait, or to let Rusty explore things. He also can be very good at distracting Rusty and tricking him into eating.

Rusty adores his dad. Every day when Kevin comes home from work and Rusty sees him through the sliding glass doors in the living room, he crawls over to them, stands up and starts kissing the door, all the while putting his hands on Kevin's hands through the glass. He reaches for him the minute he comes through the door, all smiles to be with his dad again after the day away.

I am thankful for my husband. He is a godly man that his son can look up to. He's not afraid to hug Rusty, to say I love you to him, and to play with him. I hope that they will always have a close relationship. That they will be able to talk and share things. That they will laugh and play together. I hope as Rusty grows into those years of teen angst that he will feel that his dad is a safe person to talk to. I hope as he grows into a young man that he will seek advice from his dad and learn from his dad's wisdom. I think that he will. I know that Kevin will do everything he can on his part to make it happen.

What a great dad!