Merry Daddy Day

Our Father's Day celebration began several days ahead of time, when I started trying to coach Elsa in saying "Happy Daddy Day!," the way she said "Happy Mommy Day" for Mother's Day. But I guess we must have drilled "Happy Mommy Day" into Elsa's head very thoroughly, because she seemed incapable of following "Happy" with anything other than "Mommy" and "Day." (We had the same problem with "Happy Birthday" on Bob's birthday last week.) At first, when I asked her to say "Happy Daddy Day," she'd automatically say "Happy Mommy Day." Then when she realized that was wrong, it was "Happy Mah—." And eventually she completely stopped trying and refused to say anything at all. So I gave "Merry Daddy Day" a shot instead, and sure enough, she had no problem with that one. So we stuck with that. : )

And it was a merry day indeed. We had everybody over for a cookout: Opa and Grandma Heinrich, Tom, Tanya, and Karina, Katie and Nate, Quentin and Lisa, Aunt Beth and Uncle Bob. Surprisingly, both the rain and the mosquitoes left us alone for one afternoon.

Here are all the dads giving Karina a push on the swing.

Even though it was Father's Day, Opa was the one who came bearing gifts—specifically pinwheels and bubble guns for the girls. Karina loved manning the guns, while Elsa had lots of fun chasing the bubbles.

Also a hit: Elsa's mud table (oops, I mean "sand and water table").

Quentin shows the girls how to inflict maximum damage with the water.

The girls dine al fresco (and there's Elsa's patented "say cheese" smile again).

Opa's present from Elsa was this coffee mug, hand-decorated by Daddy and herself. It says "Bester Opa der welt" (best Grandpa in the world).

Of course, Bob was the grill master, so he didn't exactly get to relax and take it easy on his Father's Day. Elsa and I made him French toast for breakfast that morning, but after that he hardly had a chance to sit down all day. The guy who works so hard six-plus days a week to provide for his family ended up providing the dinner on Father's Day, too. But the man does love his grill, so he was happy to do it, and we all know Bob's incapable of sitting still anyway. : )

Thank you, Daddy, for everything you do for us! We love you and appreciate all your hard work, every single day (not just on Father's Day). And thanks to all the other daddies and grandpas who made our day special this year, too.