Not Anytime Soon

She had my heart the moment I seen her little black and somewhat white-gray picture.

I was upset yet but it was time to get over that and move on. My mom wouldn't want me to harbor hate and living in a hole.

Then the day came and it was over for me...

The tiny bundle was place in my arms. She did her crinkle coo at me and drifted off to sleep. I stared at the wrinkle little old man looking tiny baby girl in my arms that I had tried so hard to hate. She wouldn't be taking the place my deceased sister; she found her own space in my heart.

Avary Tilly McLachlan was placed into my arms placed into my arms six years ago this year.

She was the main reason for me to keep returning home while I was away at college, because it honestly hurt to return home and see places where I had grew up.

Avary changed so much of that for me. She let me see that it was okay to move on. She helped me to see the sparkle of Christmas even more. She was a baby on her back and we would lay her on her back under the tree and she would wildly kick and squeal especially with the lights were "dancing" and twinkling.

I feel privilege to look back and realize to see the impact I have had on her life already. She would run to me every single time I would come home. She knew I was going to protect her. I watched her grow from being two years old to twenty-two years old.

And now she is becoming legally mine. She loves the idea but knows that I am stricter than her biological mom and my dad. She gets away with a lot now that I wouldn't let her. However, this will be amazing thing for she and I both.

Avary knows over 200 mainstream and country songs. She loves zebra print and glittery. She already loves to shop and wears over sized sunglasses like a celebrity. She can get an attitude despite her being shy at times.

I was taking this three foot, five year old (who thinks she is twenty-five) out for lunch yesterday. She came down the stairs all dressed up. We get frowned at all the time for what we let her dress in but her mom let's her dress in whatever. But yesterday's outfit was not terrible. The thing that matter was that she had on little red wedges for little girls.

Avary grinned at me. "Look I have on red shoes! I'm like Kellie pickler! I'm about to show you how good leaving feels in my red high heels." I grabbed her up and spun her around. "You aren't leaving me anytime soon." She is my favorite little human.

In the future she will leave me and I may just have to watch her ... in her red high heels.

Dirty Dancing

I carried a watermelon.

So this post is going to be about my day with my daughter/sister. I am adopting my sister and she will be my daughter. She is my pride and joy right now (besides my gorgeous girlfriend.)

Today was Nathaniel and Avary Day. She is starting to take and like dance more and more. She will soon be taking private lessons. But I decided to take upon myself to teach her some of the basics, because I started taking dance at the age of three. I do not regret it at all. I have more leg strength than most athletes. So go ahead and call me gay. Most girls dream of a guy who can twirl them like a princess.

So I was teaching her today. She likes learning the cha cha more and more even though that's not the basics. I definitively have a ball room dancer on my hands. She loves learning more complicated moves than basics. Which is frustrating for me and her but we are working through it.

Plus, crazy as it she loves the movie Dirty Dancing.We love watching dancing movies. I like the older ones and not the hip hop bull from today.

Well we had finished practicing today and I decided to treat her since she had really worked hard on her tap and ballet. She was still in her leotard and shoes and I went out in mine leotard and my dancing pants. We were eating our ice dream from Chick fil a in the park. She was playing my iTunes and doing different little dances. I was cracking up at her doing some of those crazy dances.

She was so entertaining she started developing a little audience of parents as their kids played on the playground. And then fate stepped in and "Time of My Life" and I scooped her up and tried my hardest to mimic the dance moves with her from the movie. She was loving it all the way. And then came the moment for her to run into my arms.

We nailed it. She squealed. We both loved that moment. She loved it because I made her dreams come true of doing that dance and I loved it because I realized that I can do this dad thing. Not every day will be like this, no. But the memories of days like today will get me through the hard days. That's what parenting and marriage is all about making sure there are memories that are amazing to get you through the hard times.

Needless to say we got applause and went home very happy.