Tag: Dad

Well if there’s something that will make you feel like a dad (besides having a kid), it’s moving things around, painting, fixing, and getting your child’s room ready for their arrival. As we started getting our daughter’s room ready, I quickly learned that I needed to keep my tools accessible and ready to go. So, I got a tool bag together full of anything and everything I’d possibly need so I wouldn’t have to make a million trips downstairs to the garage for forgotten items. I call this tool bag my ‘dad bag’.

The bag holds lots of great things like, a drill, drill bits, hammer, level (very important), tape measure, a pencil, some screw drivers and other odds and ends. There’s even more in it now since this picture was taken.

After clearing out the room, hanging guitars in our hallway (we have way too many) and throwing a ton of stuff away (I’m still amazed at how much stuff we had in there), it was time to paint. A few weeks ago we visited Home Depot to pick out the colors we wanted. We chose grey and white, neutral colors that would lend themselves well to Rachel’s favorite accent colors. Then, the real work began. I taped everything off and started painting like a mad man. No really, see…

It only took a day or two to paint my daughter’s room and I’m pretty happy with the results, if I do say so myself. After brand new paint, we bought curtains and a new curtain rod and now we don’t even recognize the room anymore. Once we have a crib in place along with a couple of art pieces I am working, on I will post a little gallery of her room. Here’s a quick shot to tide you over until then.

Sweetie. I hope you love your room as much as we do.

– Love Dad

A letter to my little chicken wing,

We had another appointment a few weeks ago and we got to hear your heartbeat, for like a second. Thanks for cooperating. Then we saw you on a screen practicing for what I am assuming will be your olympic gymnastic career. Our next appointment will be a little different. We’ll get to find out your gender… but until that day comes we’ll just refer to you as “Chicken Wing.”

Why chicken wing? Well… thinking through the different names we’ve heard, like “bean,” “peanut,” or “egg,” etc., we knew we had to give you a nickname after food. Not only do your mom and dad love eating chicken wings, it just sounds like a nickname we’d give to someone. So, boom – “Chicken Wing” you became. One thing you should be used to eating by the time you get here will be chicken wings – and other BBQed or smoked foods (if I have anything to do about it!). Smoking and BBQing meats is a skill I hope to master, and I plan to pass the knowledge on to you one day – regardless if you’re a girl or boy. Love you Chicken Wing.

-Dad

As you may have seen via Instagram or Facebook we are expecting our first child in July. We are beyond excited.

As we continue on our adventure to becoming parents I have decided to write on this blog a bit more. My hope is that it does not stop after this post. My wife is a way better writer/story teller than I am so I would check out her blog as well (www.rachelkleist.com).

Other than announcing that we are going to have a kid in July, I decided that in this post I would also like to write about the mental notes I am taking as I journey closer to being a father. These are things I plan to teach our child as they grow up.

I would like to call this session:
“WHAT I WILL TEACH YOU ABOUT GROCERY STORES”

Lesson 1: Don’t go to the store hungry. If you choose to ignore this lesson (lets face it, you are your mother’s child you won’t take this to heart) you will walk into the store to buy a three dollar bottle of BBQ sauce and walk out with $50 worth of ‘car snacks’ which you will devour on your way home. It’s just science.

Lesson 2: Please please please, I repeat PLEASE let me show you how to use the self-checkout (CAUTION: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS ON YOUR OWN). The other day I witnessed a young girl, I will say high school age, attempt to pay in cash at one of these self-checkouts. I say attempt because she was trying to put the total amount of money in to the machine, as in two 5 dollar bills and two 1 dollar bills. She was getting quite frustrated when it kept spitting the money out at her and the light was flashing red. ONE BILL AT A TIME, I don’t want you to be that person.

Lesson 3: Coupons. READ THE FINE PRINT. Just because you have five 20% off coupons does not mean you will get that item for 100% off. If that was true I would be on one of those extreme couponing shows on TLC.

Lesson 4: You and your cart do not need to block half an aisle while you decide if you want Captain Crunch or Lucky Charms (just get Honey Nut Cherrios). Be aware of the other people in the aisle with you, because you and your cart are not see-through; just step out of the way.

Lets start with this for now and once you have mastered these lessons I can teach you how to move around in Costco on a Sunday and/or buy only what you want to when you go to Target.