Fatherhood

The tractor ... we can always climb on, but not when it is turned on ... that would be scary. The car ... steering and moving all the buttons and levers ... nothing scary here. The big-wheel ... only the original; the new ones are cool, but only the original is the best. Swedish-Fish ... how many can we shove in at one time ... The broom ... so we can sweep up the mess we just made. The computer ... how many times has he turned this one off while I was working on something?

Patrick had a different day today. His mother stayed home, since her mother was in town. We planned a trip to the local shooting range (indoor) / gun store ... practice for Jen and I, as well as an introduction to pistols for my mother-in-law. I got there after work and Donna and I quickly got onto the range. Patrick and Jen watched from the window. After firing a few times, I wandered by the window while throwing out the trash and saw Patrick hauling a manual vacuum around the shop. The smile on his face would light up any room. A while later, I stepped out to give Jen some time on the range. Patrick and I "swept" the store (one of his favorite activities for those that haven't been following the blog). The staff were delighted ... they were happy to let him clean any area and he was certainly willing. Following more cleaning (and more range time for the adults), we called it a day and headed home. Wouldn't you know it, but the first thing he went for was...

Last night was awesome ... Patrick was an awesome little helper. I was assembling a bookshelf that took several screws on the outer edges. He plodded into the kitchen where I was working and saw me working with a ratcheting screwdriver. He then proceeded to sit on my lap and help me screw in the screws. It was so cute that Jen turned on the video camera and got some awesome movies. Then, as I was attaching the back, he wanted to help again ... with the complexity of the processes, Jen took him downstairs to help her with the laundry. Later, as I stood the bookshelf up, he came over and helped me insert the metal dowels and put the shelves in place. And to top of the bookshelf process, he pushed on one side as I dragged it into place. We then had dinner and Patrick jumped in with his own broom as Jen cleaned the floor afterward. He even managed to sweep toward the dust pan, although not a lot of what he did made it in. Later, Jen was cleaning some spilled cereal (originally ...