So we are expecting our third child this year. Originally, we thought that it would be late July for the arrival date but it's looking like it could be a little later than that. if you haven't seen the announcement video then click here. I am realizing that the closer we come to having this baby, them more things pop into my head about this baby.
Ashley and I started dating when Audrey was 10 and Addison was 5. That basically goes to say that I was invited to the party that is their lives until 5 and 10 years after they started (selfish). I have had several different guys whom I have known for a while notify me that they and their wives are expecting daughters and that they'll be contacting me about advice on what to do when raising daughters. My response is that I can't but that I will be happy to as soon as the daughter turns 5.
This goes to say that I'm pretty much in the dark when it comes to this baby being born. We won't know the gender for another couple of months. Obviously, I will love this child unconditionally no matter what, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't pulling for a boy. Having 3 girls who are the opposite of tomboys tends to get kinda lonely on the testosterone end of things. The only other boy in the house besides me is our year old boxer puppy who is possibly the worst behaved dog ever. Addison just came in here 10 minutes ago to notify us that he had jump up on her bed and peed in it. Needless to say I'm the only appreciated male in this house and we could use one more. However, a healthy girl would be a total blessing beyond my wildest dreams. There will be a lot of estrogen in the house if this happens, but I am already preparing for it. I have been watching a lot of the tv show "Last Man Standing" starring Tim Allen to help prep for what could be to come. The show is about a manly man who lives with his wife and three daughters. I'm not exactly like Allen's character but some of the scenarios in the show do happen in my house. It's fun to watch and relate to on some level.
I am setting a lot of expectations for this kid and even more expectations for myself. This is very likely going to be the only child that Ashley and me have together. Something that I am making it a point to do is to gratify the girls through this. It is imperative to me that they do not think that I am partial to this child in any way. I love them just as much as this baby and that will never change. I also want to do all of the things that a good dad should do. I want to always be there for the kid. I want to help pick him/her up when he/she falls, I want to teach and discipline him/her. I want to teach the child how to ride a bike, tie a shoe, a dribble a basketball. I need to also convince myself that this isn't entirely realistic. Something that I have learned in being a dad to Audrey and Addison is that I will fail in parenting this child at times, just like I have with them. This doesn't make me a bad father or a bad person. It simply proves that I am human and make mistakes and this leads me to the biggest expectation that I have for myself: I want to admit my faults to this child. I think that this is something that parents can sometimes miss. It's something that can cause a kid to be very stubborn down the road if this becomes something that the kid never sees.
James the brother of Jesus said to confess our sins to one another and I think that this includes our kids. Now don't read this as me telling you or anyone else how to parent. Hopefully it's something that I look back at and use for myself in trying to parent and raise kids. My goal is to raise a child in Christ and when I fail at that, which will inevitably happen, I plan on admitting the fault and making it a point to do better.
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