Happy Father's Day, M.!

We hope all the fathers had a wonderful Father's Day.  We especially hope Papa M. had a great day. But in usual selfless form, M. wanted to keep things simple.  He wanted us to be happy.  But no, M.!  Father's Day is your day!  Oh, how hard it is to try to spoil this papa.  He just won't have it.  M., you need to work on letting us take care of you.  A. got off to a great start, rushing down the stairs, cheerfully yelling, "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!"

In an attempt to keep things simple and to keep Papa happy, we started the morning out with simple pastries and yummy coffee at Le Pain Quotidien.  That's all he asked for: a pastry and a delicious cup of coffee.

But try getting him to sit back, relax, and not worry about the kiddos' or my comfort.  NOT easy.  And so we - E., A., and I - had to remain viligant as the day progressed, trying to keep M. from working, save for the carseat adjustments he later made.  And the changing table correction he undertook.  Sigh.  Papa! So, while he worked, A. made him his favorite dessert:  chocolate-frosted yellow cake.

And Papa took a moment to enjoy and watch his girls prepare his treat.

Oh, and we made this banner to remind him how much we love him.  We're keeping it up as long as he'll have it so we can be sure he really knows that we love him every single moment of every single day.

Then, after the nap time . . . (here's E. during A.'s afternoon nap.  Their naps, unfortunately, don't always line up.)

. . . it was cake time.   We sang "Happy Father's Day" to the tune of "Happy Birthday."

And then we ordered BBQ for dinner, M.'s specific request (maybe he desired a home-based BBQ, but didn't trust me with the grill?  That's okay.  This worked nicely!). That was our day.  It was lovely, quiet, cozy, lazy, and uneventful.  Just the kind of day I think M. really likes.  Thank you for everything you do for us, M. What we do for you will only ever pale in comparison to how you care for us!