Meher Family Adventures: "A Girl's Father..."

“A girl's father is the first man in her life, and typically the most influential.” – David Jeremiah

What a true statement. This weekend was Father's Day and although our days were low-key, the meaning of this weekend was not lost on Kins and I.

Now anyone who knows me knows how unemotional and stoic I usually am, especially considering that I only cry at commercials about once a week and usually no more than once a day while looking at Kinsey. All of that is about to change, so grab your tissues.

I want to begin this post by saying that my life has been truly blessed with two of the most wonderful men that any girl could ask for.

The first is the man that I call Pappy...my dad, Derek Pike.

Here he is hooked up to my ghetto IV creation. I'm convinced that face he's making is from the painful diarrhea and not my IV.

As you can see he is always extremely serious.

Now, if I were to describe my dad in just a few short words, I wouldn't be able to do it. I need a lot more than just a "few short" to get the job done. He is funny, charming, handsome, down-to-earth, lovable, sensitive, sarcastic, tall, outgoing, intelligent, hard-working, tough, and has always been my biggest cheerleader. I would not be the same person I am today (which would be a travesty, I know!) without his guidance, leadership, and support.

One thing that I want to specifically give him all of the credit for is my confidence in life. According to my dad, no guy was ever good enough to date me, and he also told me on a regular basis that I would be the president of a corporation one day. Well he was kind of wrong on both accounts, but for a little girl, hearing that so frequently was the boost of confidence I needed to be able to take on life's challenges with the self-assurance and self-reliance that I now can.

And now that he is a grandpa, he is just as fun and encouraging, although maybe a little slower (which he will kill me for saying) with Kinsey. I know dad..."Take a picture!" ;) I'm amazed at how fun and active you have remained and yes, I do hope I can keep up like you do when I'm your age! ;)

The second wonderful man in my life is my best friend and husband, Jordan Meher. I seriously count my lucky stars on a regular basis because I'm pretty sure that there aren't many guys in this world like him. When I was little, I wanted to marry someone JUST like my dad, and although they are worlds apart in some respects, Jordan cares for me just the way my dad has all of these years. The way that he still looks at me after 10+ years together makes me feel like the most special girl in the world. And now that we have Kinsey, he has been such an incredible, hands-on father. Nothing makes me smile more than when I hear Kinsey's giggle as daddy is flying her around the room or having conversations with her toys. It's a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. I have no doubt that Kinsey will hope to marry someone JUST like her dad the way I did all those years.

And here, I would be completely remiss if I didn't give credit to Jordan's dad for raising such an selfless, caring man. Jordan's mom and dad have been together for 38 years and he still treats his wife, Meryl, with a great amount of love and respect. David, or Mr. Meher as I still call him much to his chagrin, is one of the most devoted husbands and dads that has ever existed and I know that Jordan is the way he is because of his excellent example. So, thank you David (and Meryl) for raising such a sweetie!!

And we are so lucky to have him as a grandfather too! Talk about devotion...I don't think there is anyone in this world that Mr. Meher loves the way he does Kinsey...she is one lucky little lady!

Now a quick few words about the actual weekend itself :P

*Sadly, I realized recently that I blog for two reasons. The first being that I want our children to be able to look back on this and remember (or at least have evidence) that we did really fun stuff when they were little. And secondly, because I can barely remember anything more than 3 days old. Seriously, if I don't write down what we did for holidays and special events I won't remember it the next week, much less a year or more later. Really freggin sad.

So here goes...

We colored daddy's card and got it all ready for him. Unfortunately daddy didn't get a present per se. He wasn't being punished, it's just that he very recently bought himself a new mountain bike, so we are considering that his present. And Kinsey even got a present for Father's day...her Weeride Kangaroo Bike seat to go along with daddy!

On Saturday we went for our first family bike ride to the park. We rode a total of 5 1/2 miles and Kinsey loved every minute of it! Ironically, I was actually proud of myself. 10 months ago I would scoff at a 5 mile bike ride being considered a "workout" but at 38 weeks pregnant I was definitely feeling it in the quads and giving myself pats on the back. I am fully aware of how pathetic that is.

Biking wore all of us out, so that was followed by a 2 hour family nap and then a quick trip to Toys-r-us to play with some fun stuff. Next we went to the park, fed some duckies at a nearby pond, and then had dinner at Zupas and a cake bite from the Sweet Tooth Fairy.

On Sunday we went to brunch at Corner Bakery and then ran some errands. I know what you're thinking. Jordan got to run errands on Father's Day? What a lucky schmuck. Unfortunately I have no pics of our errands because Jordan refused to let me carry my Nikon into the grocery store.

After that we took another nap, washed the car, worked in the yard, and then went for another bike ride to the park. And after all of the stares we got the day before, this time we remembered Kinsey's helmet!