Photo of the Day: See How My Daughter Improved in a Year (Shameless Self-Aggrandizing Fatherhood Stuff)
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- by Mark Stephens on Mon Dec 13, 2010 - (2) Comments
If you'll pardon your gag reflex for just a moment - shameless dad stuff coming your way.
What a smile, huh?
This shot of happiness comes to you direct from a snowy day in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, as if that matters for some reason. We were Christmas tree hunting, looking for a lovely spruce or fir to sacrifice for our own pleasure of propping it up in the living room and gussying it up with our trinkets.
A warm drink goes a long way to make anyone happy.
Even this little girl. It's been a sustained, steep climb to get her to like a warm cup of hot chocolate. Nuts. Can you imagine that?
Well, yes, maybe you can. But if you're not quite a parent of a child who can talk yet (or not a parent at all) let me tell you a secret: children have to learn about chocolate, candy, and other sweet things before they know they love them.
As you can see here, Chloe finally likes hot chocolate. But let me tell you about that sustained, steep climb to get here . . .
Last year in November, we camped in Kofa National Wildlife Refuge for a few nights. In the morning, I rose early to prepare a few café mochas, as I always do. (Read that as "Tip For Camping in the Cold With Your Wife: Fix Her Something Warm to Drink in The Morning, You Fool"). Chloe heard me get up, so she wanted to come out with me.
I couldn't talk her out of it. "It'll be cold" I said. Didn't work. So when she realized that it really was cold outside and that she didn't like it, I offered her hot chocolate.
The Dad Of Awesome
She looked at me like she'd never heard of it before. In fact, she hadn't. Few things rank higher than hot chocolate in the mind of a child, right? Popsicles and brownies, perhaps, and always, always, always, a trip to Grandma's house. So I took this opportunity to show her about The Awesome That Is Hot Chocolate, clinch myself as The Dad Of Awesome.
I leaned in close to her face and whispered, "Do you want a real special treat?"
"MMMM HMMMM!"
"Okay. I'll make it special, just for you. The special Chloe Drink, okay?"
I poured the water in her cup, added the spoonfuls of chocolaty powder, mixed it, looked at her, smiled and asked her again, "You sure you want this treat? It's really really good."
"I WANT DAT TWEAT!"
This was her reaction on that joyous first time (yes, it's the same hat, but a year a part):
There's more to this story, BTW >>>
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