Happy Australian Father's Day

Happy Monday!

Yesterday was Father's Day in Australia so I thought I'd take a minute to write this appreciation post for Tj. 

I have always known that Tj would make a great father one day but he has completely blown me away.

Tj likes to describe how the day Baby Tj was born she was 'plopped' onto my chest, and from that moment our world changed forever. In those blurry first days at the hospital, I’d wake up to find Tj watching YouTube videos on how to swaddle the baby, or how to do baby massage. He quickly earned the nickname ‘Baby Whisperer’ for his ability to calm and settle her.

When we first came home, it was survival mode haha. Tj took over doing all the laundry and dishes. He would take the baby in the morning so I could have an extra hour or two of sleep, and I’d wake up to a sleeping baby and a clean house! After a few sleepless nights, he made our lives so much easier when he persisted and got her to sleep in her bassinet, rather than us taking shifts because she’d only sleep in our arms.

Baby Tj loves her daddy very much. She smiles and ‘talks’ to him and loves when he bounces her on my exercise ball (she seriously calms down in seconds!). She even loves all the kisses and cuddles (the cuteness aggression is real!). He does bath time and bed time and he even made a Baby Tj playlist and he sings to her (although calling what he does singing might be a little too generous).

Last night there was a fire in our apartment building and it gave us our first scare as new parents. I was up feeding the baby at 4:00 am, when I heard the building’s fire alarm go off. I woke up Tj and we heard the sirens from the approaching fire trucks and could hear the neighbours in the hallway. It became apparent that this was the real deal. Tj grabbed Baby Tj’s jacket and bundled her up tight. When we rushed down the stairs, we could smell smoke, and for a minute it was scary. Tj covered her head and face with a blanket and held her tight as he quickly ran past the firemen and got her out of the building. I followed along behind them, feeling so grateful because I knew she’d always be so safe in her Daddy’s arms. It probably sounds more dramatic than it actually was (hey I’m a first time mom - give me a break!). Turns out there was a car on fire in the parking garage.
About an hour later we were let back inside. Tj carried Baby Tj back upstairs, changed her, and bounced her on the exercise ball until she fell back asleep. She was none the wiser - smiling and laughing, excited to see us all awake in the middle of the night and giving her lots of attention. But I definitely slept a lot better knowing her Dad was on duty. What an end to Tj’s first Australian Father’s Day!

I hope he already knows every day what a great job he is doing and how much he is loved and appreciated. Happy Father’s Day to the best new father around.

Have a great week :)