Last Will & Testament

Matt and I signed our wills today.   Quite the intense morning.

The actual signing wasn't intense or stressful.  In fact, it's always a pleasure to hang out with our lawyer.  He's hysterical and happens to be the president of our synagogue so I actually feel a little more Jewish after spending time with him.

The rest of the day was fairly intense, though.  We had to get these wills signed because we are going on a very long trip without Daniel.  Signing them was a last minute "G-d forbid" action that we've been meaning to do for 15 months now and those papers have now made the whole "what would happen" so real.

I'm feeling excited, yet incredibly nervous/guilty about going on this trip.  10 days in Argentina without our little man.  My friends all say that this is good for all of us.  While I've been on business trips (max = 4 days), Matt and I have only been apart from Daniel at the same time for 2 days.  I've been working so much and traveling so much that any free time I have I want to spend with him.  So, you can understand the guilt.  BUT, Matt and I need this trip and I know that Daniel will be in good hands (with my parents in Atlanta probably mixing Gin & Tonics by the time we return).  So, we find ourselves signing wills.

Anyone who has gone through this understands what a mind trip it is.  We're not going to die on this trip... but we could... but we won't... but we could.  But really we'll just be eating delicious steak and hiking on glaciers and Daniel will be spoiled rotten by my parents.

Happy 70th Birthday, Daddy (Papa!)

Today is my father's 70th birthday.  OMG!  70th!!!

I've always been a daddy's girl and today is just another amazing reason to tell the world why I love him so much (and why Daniel loves his Papa so much):

1.  My dad puts his girls (me, my sister and my mom) before anything in the world... especially himself.
2.  My dad has treated Matt like his own son since the day I introduced them (my dad likes to tell the story of Matt skating up to a bar on his skateboard).
3.  My dad gives the best infant massage.  This started with Julia Guiness when she was one day old and still holds true today.
4.  My dad tells ridiculously bad jokes.  Mind you, he thinks they are hysterical (and, sometimes they are pretty funny) but most of the time my sister and I tell him they are lame and he laughs anyway and says, "I know".
5.  My dad fixes everything.  Nowadays it might take him a little longer to complete (cue my mom to complain that he's not finishing everything on time) but the man has put more energy into making his home up to date than anyone else who doesn't remodel homes for a living. 
6.  My dad works harder than most people I know, even though the outcome isn't as lucrative as he probably hopes.  My dad is a contractor and, at 70, still does a lot of manual labor.  He deserves to win the lottery but still takes pride in helping people out every single day.  His can-do spirit is absolutely inspiring.
7.  I learned the following important life lessons from my dad:
- How to drive offensively, not defensively (and how to stop short)
- Talk to strangers and be super nice to everyone - whether they are paying your paycheck or bagging your groceries
- Love your family and tell them that you love them every day (I learned this from my mom & Dad, but being a Daddy's Girl, I'll give credit to Dad today)
- Love food and don't feel guilty about it (I could also blame him for the 20 extra pounds I have right now, but I won't.. or did I just do that?)
- Never say "shut up" to your mother.  Ever.
- Drink whiskey to get rid of a sore throat
8.  My dad is an INCREDIBLE grandfather.  His eyes light up when he sees Daniel and watching them together melts my heart.
9.  My dad is an INCREDIBLE husband and he still opens the car door for my mom and buys her flowers.
10.  My dad is the MOST INCREDIBLE father of all time and I love him with all of my heart and soul. 

Happy Birthday, Daddy!