A new family tradition

In this series of postings I'll explain a new family tradition we've been trying since last fall. When I started working and traveling more I worried I wasn't spending enough time with the kids one on one. With the extra work came some extra money, so I thought I'd take each girl out for a meal from time to time. It has turned out to always be breakfast on a Saturday morning, so it has become known as "breakfast with Dad." The first time I took Catherine I made the mistake of telling Emma what was going on, so she was really upset. But after she had her first time, she has been fine. It is special to me how much they look forward to it and like it.

Usually I don't tell them the night before that we're going to do it, in case something comes up or the baby has a hard night or whatever, then I just do it the next week. But last month Emma was really good on Friday night and I told her that when she woke up I would take her to breakfast. At 6:55 the next morning I sensed someone in the room. It was Emma, standing about a foot away, fully dressed. (She usually sleeps til 8:30). The image of her standing there is one of my favorite memories, and it actually worked out great to go and come back before anyone else even woke up. Following are some photos of me and Emma's June breakfast (she's wearing a visor she made at preschool).