Sunday night was a special bedtime for Daddy. Our bedtime routine has been outlined in other posts on this blog, but last night was different. We covered the usual bases of "where's zuri? - "there she is!", running around in circles and falling over and laughing, turning on the noise maker and then sitting in the rocking chair to sing songs, but last night was different. Last night as I was rocking her, on her own accord, she raised her head up from my shoulder and planted a slobbery long kiss on my cheek and then returned to my shoulder, but that was not enough for her. She had to give me another one and as she was placing her head back on my shoulder to cuddle she said: "Da-ddy" in the sweetest and most innocent voice. She might as well have said: "Daddy, I love you - you are the best daddy in the world." Well, I am sure that is what she meant? Right? Well, it doesn't matter because I am going to claim that as her first word and it could not have been in a sweeter way and it will be a memory for me as long as my brain can contain them. For those of you who wonder what it is like raising a child whose skin is chocolate, I have to say that my love, affection, and adoration for her is truly color blind - we do not see a color, we see a person and we are crazy in love with that girl! For those of you who wonder how we do it by parenting an infant a decade after our last go around - Jesus must give us supernatural energy and the joy, hope, and love that Zuri brings us is plenty sustaining and we are blessed to experience that on daily basis. Who knows what will be the next words from the rocking chair, but with one word volumes have already been spoken.
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