My dad had a very fulfilling 4th of July. Since my second child was 3 months old they’ve had an aversion to my dad. They are over 1-years-old now. They would cry and push away. My dad tries to not be bothered by it. He’s a sensitive guy though, and it’s kind of obvious he wishes he could hold his grandchild without them crying. I send my dad pics of them most mornings because of how much my second means to him. And during my second’s baptism he saw my father-in-law, who sees both my kids much more frequently, holding them no problem. It really affected my dad. I felt really bad for him. That is until the 4th when for some unknown reason my second fell in love with my dad. We went over to my parents’ for dinner tonight and they only wanted to be held by papa. My dad is over the moon.

My first had a few of body autonomy lessons happen this holiday weekend. They’re almost 3-years-old. On the 4th they pushed their cousin (a few months older) down a slide without warning, which was a little scary for their cousin. Then on Saturday they remembered to ask another cousin for a hug but forgot to ask to give them a kiss. And when their cousin said, “Maybe,” that’s does not mean “Yes.” Then today we were swimming at my parents’ and my mom tapped their butt as a joke, and my first said, “I said stop. Stop means stop. That’s my private part and you can’t touch it.” I’m really proud of them.