Nikki

A little over 7 years ago, a small little girl changed our lives forever, and is determined to keep the ship rockin'. Meet Nikki, my oldest. She just barely turned 7 and is the most lively, creative, and fun loving person that I know. This whole post is dedicated to my daughter Nikki.

Nikki is a very social person. Let me re-phrase that, she LIVES AND DIES by her friends. Right now at this very moment she is outside planning a circus with all her little friends in the complex. Earlier she got a scrape on her foot that took off some of the flesh and she was more upset about missing the circus than the pain from the foot. She put on two band-aids and a shoe and continued on with the show. Ever since she was little she has been social. Her first little friend was her cousin Ryan. These two literally love each other, like brother and sister. Actually better than brother and sister because they actually get along. They pretty much grew up together. Back when we were living in Salt Lake, when I was at work Kara would take Nikki to her sister's house, or vice versa, and they'd both eventually end up at Target. Needless to say, Ryan and Nikki got a lot of play time together, and it has been a real blessing for the both of them. They're pretty alike too. Both have red hair...... yeah that's about it.

Anyway, Friends, Nikki has always sought them out. Even when we go someplace where she doesn't know anybody, if there is anyone who is even remotely the same age, or can even talk, she'll make a friend. Splash pad, she'll find a friend. Kids Zone at the Mall, BFF in five minutes. I think she even made a friend in the bathroom one time. Where ever we go she always seeks out friends, and she remembers them and picks up right where they left off. And Nikki is not just about having friends, she is also very in to being a good friend. She is sensitive about how other people are feeling. Are they left out? Are they hurt? Did they eat too much sugar and need to vomit? ya know the usual stuff. She's very sensitive.

Family: In those few hours during the month when Nikki is not playing with friends, she spends it with us, her family. She is currently the champion at Just Dance 4, Mall Madness, Connect 4, and Headbandz. The family is important to Nikki, and she is a great big sister to her brother Lukas and her little sister Mollie.

She is artistic. When we went to Europe a few years ago for a study abroad, one thing that Nikki wanted was a sketch book (I usually have one for work or school all the time) so she could draw while we were going through the museums. Here is my little girl in the Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay, sitting cross legged in front of priceless works of art, and she is sketching her rendition of it (oh and she was 3 years old at the time). I think she follows after me, which hopefully that's a good thing.

Smart: This is where she follows after her mom. Nikki is incredibly intelligent and figures out things on her own. One time when she was at the doctor's office with Kara for a pregnancy check-up (Lukas was on the way) she was looking at all the posters on the wall and came to a cross section of a baby inside of a woman's tummy (I don't know how to say that with tact anymore, I've been a dad for too long) and she had the epiphany and she suddenly understood and put together in her mind how a baby grows.  She turns to Kara and says "It's a baby! That's a baby!" The light bulb had turned on. I believe she gets this gene from Kara because Kara is much smarter than me.

Cute: Have you seen my children? Seriously they're adorable. Everyone tells me so. People see my kids and they instantly want to procreate (well not right there, they go home first), that's how adorable my kids are. Nikki is no exception. People would stop us just to tell us how beautiful she was/is. Now she just tells us herself. But I can't say anything any more because I'm her dad and she gets embarrassed whenever I even open my mouth (but so does Kara but for other reasons). Which brings me to this last little bit.

She's growing up. Seriously, I've been at this for 7 years already. It seems like 2 at the most. Time completely flies with your kids. The problem with this is that I am scared that one day I'm going to wake up and my kids aren't going to want to play with me anymore, unless I buy a boat, then they'll want to play with the boat with their friends and leave me home. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE seeing them grow up, but every so once in a while I just cry, and it's usually when I'm listening to a country song or that Youtube video about Dads comes on. That's one thing that Nikki has done to me is she has turned me into the biggest boob in the world. I cried while watching Hook the other night (good movie by the way). That's not the worst of it, I've cried in some pretty dumb shows and for no apparent reason. Look what you've done to me Nikki, you've caused my whole tear duct system to malfunction.


Yeah that's the one. Nikki I love you, and I will always be your daddy. I may be a blubbering mess on your wedding day, but at least you know that I love you.

Love

Daddy