See you later, Dada!

Today we say "see you later" to Chad! He is hitting the road for the next 30 days. (We did find out yesterday that after a little schedule change we will actually get to see him for a day and a half on this run!) Having Chad home these *almost* 9 months, has been nothing short of amazing. I picked Chad up from the bus May 31st at 2PM. Exactly 12 hours later, my water broke, and our baby girl arrived on June 1st. She was waiting on her daddy. And I knew instantly that they would have such an incredible love for each other.




Since then Chad has (for the most part minus a couple little trips), been home with us. And when I say home, he has been here, at HOME, through it all. We have gone through, survived, persevered, laughed, cried, been completely sleep deprived, slept in different rooms so that he could get sleep and then get up with Salem in the morning, stayed in our pj's for days, been neurotic first time parents, taken Salem to the doctor for a sniffle, taken Salem to the doctor because she stopped breathing, taken her to the doctor because the doctors thought something was wrong with her hips, been with our daughter as she had tubes put in her ears, sat with her in our arms on an airplane for over 10 hours on our way to Arizona, held her in our arms for HOURS just so she would sleep, smiled more than we ever thought possible, and have loved harder than we ever could put into words.

We knew this day was around the corner when Chad would have to hit the road again. It kind of snuck up on us. So today we are beyond sad to say "See you later, Dada!" I have grown to love my husband in a way that I didn't know existed. Just when I thought I couldn't possibly love him more, I see him everyday with our daughter, and I'm smitten. He has gone from being so nervous and not sure what to do with a "baby" to being the most confident, loving, and attentive father. Every morning he goes to get her up out of her crib, he sings her the same song, and her face LIGHTS up. Then she starts yelling, "Dada, dada, dada!!!" and raises her arms up to get his good morning hug. And I know he melts at this each and every time. They have a special bond. She knows her daddy will drop everything to play with her and spend time with her. She LOVES having his full attention. This morning I heard them both playing and laughing and I could've sworn I heard Salem say something that sounded like, "Ohhh, Dada!" haha! She adores her Daddy. And I know he adores her. Can't you tell? ; )



We love you Dada! Safe travels! And we are already counting down the days until we are all together again!