Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Date night

Two weeks ago, B took Ella to Arlington for a climbing competition, just the two of them. They left Friday evening, spent the night in a hotel ("I can watch SpongeBob in bed!" said Ella.) and came home Saturday afternoon after the competition. Ella placed 6th out of 12 climbers in the 12-and-under category.

Since then, B has been looking for a way to spend some one-on-one time with Lily.

Last Monday, as we were getting ready to go to her ballet class, she sidled up to B and said, "Daddy, remember that time you took me to ballet instead of Mama? I really liked that." B clutched his chest as though she had just stabbed him in the heart. I chuckled at how non-subtle she was being.

So yesterday B took Lily to her ballet class and then he took her out to dinner afterwards. He wore nice clothes, and I packed Lily a pretty dress to wear after class. On the way to ballet, they discussed where they should go for dinner. Lily requested McDonald's, but B told her they were going somewhere that had real food, and real tables, and real napkins.

When they got to the restaurant, B opened Lily's car door for her and explained that's what gentlemen do (nevermind that he never opens my car door). She giggled, but when they got home, she asked if he would open her car door again. He said that since a date didn't end until the gentleman walked her to her door, he'd definitely open the car door. Then he told her that she should never date anyone who didn't open car doors for her.

She looked at him, puzzled, and said, "But daddy, I haven't been on any dates yet."

And he told her things would stay that way until she was 30. She just giggled and twirled into the house.

******
A big thank you to everyone who commented or sent e-mails. Your words of support mean a lot to me. I love my bloggity friends.

6 comments:

Ann in NJ said...

Daddies and little girls. Is there anything sweeter? Kudos to you and B for recognizing that kids need one-on-one sometimes. We struggle with that, and we only have 3!

Family Adventure said...

That is too cute! I often wish I had a girl, and I wish I could see how great Mike would be with a daughter. It is fantastic that you are both able to see the importance of spending 'special time' with all the kids individually. The last line made me giggle, though. I'm sure he meant it, too!

Thanks also for your kind words on my post today. I appreciate it!

knittergran said...

Just one of the many reasons I heart my son-in-law!

Unknown said...

that is sweet! I love Daddies who give advice on men to little girls. hope it sticks

Baino said...

You know until my dad died (I was 50!) I was always his 'little girl' hilarious. Good luck with delaying the inevitable until she's 30! Nice to see you back and refreshed!

Anonymous said...

YAY! You're back! Now on to the important stuff.

That's awesome. My husband has been taking the kids out on dates since Trout was little. It definitely is such a treat, for both of them. Glad Lily got her Daddy-time.