When my beautiful wife and I got married, we lovingly picked out stuff that people were obligated to buy for us if they wanted to see the babe in the white dress and eat yummy beef wellington.

Much to our delight, people actually fell for this and purchased nice enough stuff that we still use much of that stuff eight years later. The beef wellington is long gone but that pasta strainer is still going strong.

But, as you might imagine, over time some of those gifts have become less and less useful. Andrea burned the toaster a few years back, the soap dispenser became rusted and some of the non-stick cookware became a bit more sticky.

But the latest casualty has me a bit perplexed. You see, for the price of admission to witness the coming together of two beautiful people in the bonds of holy matrimony, eight different people bought us 100% genuine silver-looking flatware. Each of those sets of flatware consisted of a knife that’s perfect for scraping burnt parts of toast, a large spoon that fits perfectly into the peanut butter jar, a small spoon that you can hang from the tip of your nose, a big fork that is perfect for fishing out the last pickle and a small fork that is the perfect size for stabbing your toddler sibling.

We started out with 8 of each of those individual pieces of flatware but lately I noticed that I was always searching for forks. There last straw was when I had to fish out the last pickle with my hands. I finally decided to do an inventory of flatware and this is the number of each item I found.

Burnt Toast scraper: 6
Peanut Butter spoon: 8
Balancing Nose spoon: 6
Pickle Jar fork: 2
Stabbing Sibling fork: 2

That’s right, we have lost 12 forks over the past eight years. And since I don’t think people will fall for the “bring us some flatware for some beef wellington” ruse again, I had to think of what to do. As far as I knew, I’d have to buy full sets of the flatware to get us back to the number to have dinner guests without resorting to the forks with bunny rabbits on the end. But then we’d end up with 14 Peanut Butter spoons and I don’t eat that much peanut butter.

But the wonders of the Internet never cease to amaze me. I found a company called Replacements, Ltd. that actually will sell you individual flatware pieces! So, last night after recounting all of the flatware, I purchased the missing items. In a 7-10 business days we can finally have you over for dinner.

But you can forget the beef wellington. How about a beef hot dog?

Your curls hang softly, framing your beautiful face that is so much like your mother.  You are concentrating on the task at hand, coloring in your Princess coloring book, slowly turning Princess Ariel’s fins a nice shade of purple.  The crayon rests gently in your hand as you pause to push back the hair dangling in your face with your forearm.

I’m watching you from a few feet away but you don’t notice this.  Princess Ariel commands your attention and you are in your own little world.  I take this moment to watch you closely.  I am amazed at how once again you have managed to grow without me noticing.  Your eyes, for instance, are framed by less cheek than in the past.  I can’t get over how fast you are growing up and I start to reflect on the things that I don’t want to forget about my three-year-old Swee’Pea.

Like the hugs you give me at the end of the day.  After a long day’s work, I come home and get the longest, hardest hugs ever created.  You wrap every wrappable body part around me and squeeze with all of your might.  You do the impossible and squeeze whatever stress I am feeling that day right out of my body.  What makes these squeezes even more special is that I know that you don’t do that for just anybody.  Your love and affection are hard-earned and I feel extra special that you love me so much.

In fact, you are a very independent little girl.  While your brother will ask for snuggles, you stand off by yourself and have to be talked into coming and snuggling too.  I worry that you feel like you aren’t loved or that we somehow love your brother more.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I just have to work a bit harder to include you and it’s a small price to pay for the love I get in return.

We have created a bond that I have always dreamed I’d have with my litle girl.  When you have a bad dream, it’s me you cry out for in the darkness of the night.  When you make a special dinner with your plastic food, it’s me you want to share it with.  And while you also have a wonderful relationship with Mommy, being a father who’s close to his daughter is very important to me and I feel blessed that we are so close.

Did I mention you like princesses?  You have a very fine wardrobe that includes shorts, pants, t-shirts, blouses and, of course, dresses.  But what do you want to wear every day?  A “princess dress.”  Luckily, any dress is a “Princess Dress” to you but every day, when I dress you in the morning, we pull out a dress you approve of and we put it on.  You’re lucky we live in a warm climate.  You just might be able to wear dresses for the rest of your life.

But beyond the dresses lies the heart of a beautiful little girl.  And that, my sweetheart, is what I’m most proud of.  While you have a passion that erupts into tantrums beyond belief, you also have a gentle heart who loves animals and, I’m proud to say, loves her brother.  Your are the sweetest, most special little girl I know and I’m so blessed that I get to be your Daddy.

And as you get older I know it might be harder for us to be as close.  But I’m going to keep working at it because I want you to always know just how much your Daddy loves you.  I love you more than there are stars in the sky, my little one.

And I always will.

Love,

Daddy.