Goodnight, Kate

I stole this entry from Jared's blog because he rarely posts on it and I would like Kathryn to have access to this (myself too), when she's older.  I got a little lump in my throat reading it.  Our Honeybaby's growing up.

I think a page has been turned in my personal story of fatherhood. Kathryn has started rejecting her nightly bottle feedings, she seems to just want me to read her favorite story to her and then she climbs out of my lap, makes her way to her crib and attempts to throw her little foot into the bottom slat of her crib to climb in.
I used to use the bottle feeding time to just hold her and contemplate my life with her, daydreaming about what kind of person she would become. Those quite moments with her in my arms have been some of the most peaceful moments of my life. She would look at me and I would bow my head to kiss her forehead. She would giggle at me when I adjusted my arm and accidentally tickled her, admittedly, it wasn’t always an accident. I love her smile and her innocent laugh.
There were times when she would gently ease herself to sleep during the feeding, I would carefully remove the bottle and pick her up to cradle her even closer. Other times, she would finish her bottle and I would give her the pacifier that she sleeps with. I would then give her kisses and steal her pacifier and place the handle in my teeth and let her try and pry it out. She always laughs when I do that, even when it isn’t bedtime. Either way, she would fall asleep in my arms and I would spend as much time as I could just rocking her and cradling her. I would then place her in the crib and watch her roll on to her belly, reach out for her backup pacifier (she insists on sleeping with one in her mouth and one, sometimes two, in her hand) and fall asleep.
Megan complains that Kathryn sleeps better when I put her down, I take it as a compliment and those moments with my little girl are priceless. There is nothing in the world I want to do more than watch my Honeybaby drift away to her special dreamland. These days appear to be at an end and I wish they could continue. Over the horizon there will be more special moments, but this one is probably the first that will affect me the most, so far
Sweet dreams, Kathryn. Daddy is watching over you.