A Daddy’s Birthday Gift

My Mother and MeMany, many years ago in a land far, far away… well, in Florida… a baby boy was born on this day. My father took this photograph of my mother and me. Sadly my dad passed away before he was able to photograph his beautiful grand-daughter who was born just 26 months ago. That said, along my with wife’s late mother, we still feel his loving presence in our lives. I don’t know if they are really still here with us, or if it is the love they gave during their lives that lingers in our hearts.

If they can see us, then today on my birthday they saw my barely two-year-old girl sing… really sing… “happy birthday” to her daddy this morning. My wonderful wife who was holding her had just sung it to me and though I’d never heard my daughter string more than a few words together before, she actually sang “happy birthday to you” to me in her sweet little baby voice. Surrounded by so much love, I could not have received a better gift on my birthday. Happy birthday to me!

<p

55 comments

1 ping

Skip to comment form

  1. Happy birthday to you. There really isn’t a better gift than that. 🙂

    1. Hey, Christopher. Thanks so much for dropping by. Yes, it was a wonderful gift! Though not as wonderful as the day she was born or the day my wife married me. 🙂

  2. It was truly precious! Definitely a memory for a lifetime! Love you baby- happy birthday! Love you!

    1. I’m on lunch break and squeezing in a few replies to all the sweet messages. I love you and our wee one soooo much. Thank you for all the joy and love you bring to my life!

  3. awwww that was really touching to read and so sweet and wonderful of Shan and Molly to sing to you! I’m sure your dad and Shan’s mom were looking down and smiling at that scene. Happy Birthday Michael!

    1. Thank you, Nikki! It was a wonderful way to start my birthday. Also, yesterday upon hearing today was my birthday, Molly insisted on Shan getting me birthday cake (even though my wife knows it’s not on my diet). 😉

    2. A really good answer, full of ratnioailty!

    3. dCwDH8 izwbhwxuzwpb

  4. That is probably one of the sweetest things you could have heard on your birthday!
    Happy birthday! Hope this next year continues to be filled with wonderful blessings!

    1. Hi Liz. Thank you so much. Yes, she just melted my heart with her song. So sweet. Your twins are just over 19mo’s old, right? Soon they’ll be serenading you if they haven’t already. Have a great day!

  5. Awwww….what a wonderful gift! Happy Birthday Michael! I’m so happy for you and for Shannon and Molly that you all have each other. What a lovely and loving family 🙂
    Sending loads of love to all of you on this very special day.

    1. I am definitely one lucky guy! Thanks so much, Laura. Sending tons of love back at you and Dave. Have a great afternoon!

  6. Happy Birthday! You are so blessed to have 2 ladies singing to you today! That is a beautiful pic of you and your mom. I’m sure your Dad is smiling.

    1. L. Eleana, thank you so much. I am blessed indeed. I do hope my Dad can see our sweet little girl. As a Dad I try to do what would make him proud.

  7. happy birthday. what a great way to start the morning with a song.

    1. It really was the sweetest thing ever, Rosie. Thank you so much!

  8. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday and God bless YOU!

    Hope you have a great day!! You already got one of the best gifts there is! Isn’t so exciting when they surprise you and start putting all those wonderful words together!?!

    Hope you have a great day! You deserve it!

    1. It was a wonderful birthday. Thank you, Nicole. I’m going to wear one of my birthday gifts to work today, a shirt our 26 month old helped her mommy pick out for me. I’m so lucky to have such a great wife and baby girl. Yes, her language skills are growing so fast. It will be fun to have more in depth conversations with her.

      1. Yes you are very lucky to have them! You have a beautiful family!!

        Just wait! She is going to blow your mind with some of the stuff she comes up with! Make sure you write them all down too!! I didn’t write all mine down and I dread that. I wrote most but there are always those little ones that you just love but they are so simple and then I forget to write those down!

        She will also blow you away with what she will remember!

        1. I’m awful, as my wife would tell you, about not writing things like that down. I’d hate to forget all the super cute moments. At least our blogs (my wife has two) document much of it. Appreciate the push to write it down. Oh, and yes, her memory is scary good already. :0

  9. Sweet! 🙂

    ….& happy Belated Birthday! Hope you enjoyed your day!

    1. Thanks Ann. Don’t worry about being late to the party. I know it takes a long time for my blog to reach Ireland. 😉 Yes, I had a wonderful birthday thanks to my wife and baby girl.

  10. That is a fabulously and incredibly beautiful photo!

    A very happy birthday to you!

    P.S. I found your blog through MOM LOOP FRIDAY FOLLOW.

    1. Hi Laura. Thanks you so much for the birthday greetings. I do love that photo of my mother and me that my dad took. So nice to meet you. I commented on your most recent blog, btw. Have a wonderful weekend.

  11. How totally sweet! There is nothing in this world better than our little ones and their pure sweetness. Nothing can melt my heart more than when my babies tell me they love me or just do the sweetest things unexpectedly.

    1. Wow… five children from 21 years old to 16 months old? Well, you know all about the things kids do. Yes, when she says “I wuv oooo, daddy!” it certainly melts my heart. So nice to meet you, Jennifer!

  12. What a wonderful gift of song! If they can hear what we are saying, I bet they were excited to hear your little ones precious voice.

    1. Awww thanks, D. I do hope they could hear, as it was the cutest, sweetest thing ever. So glad you dropped by.

  13. This made me smile!
    Thank you for this post, and for your help with my questions earlier!

    1. I’m happy it made you smile, Nicole. You’re very welcome for the blog help. I love that about online communities… the way we can help and get help from each other.

  14. What a wonderful gift! I love the picture! Stopping from the Mom Loop!

    1. Thanks for stopping by from Mom Loop, Esther. Yes, it was the best gift ever! Have a lovely weekend!

    • Tabitha the KnittingJourneyman on at
    • Reply

    This is such a gorgeous and heart-felt post. It’s beautiful.
    Greetings from Tabitha
    via the Mom Loop Friday Follow
    http://theknittingjourneymanrefitted.wordpress.com/

    1. Hi, Tabitha. Thanks for dropping by and for the compliments on my writing. I know you are prolific writer, so that means a lot.

  15. Happy birthday! Love the photo and wish your Dad could be there with you today!

    1. I’m taking a quick lunch break and so going to hop on to leave a quick reply or two. Thanks so much for the birthday greetings, Rachel. I wish my dad could be here, too, but he’s certainly not far from our thoughts and hearts.

  16. Thanks for visiting Welcome To My Kitchen. Im a new follower from the blog hop folllowing you back. Have a great week.

    1. Thank you so much! I’ll be sure my wife checks out your recipes like those spider cookies. Yummy and fun at the same time. Have a great weekend!

  17. Hi! I am stopping by from Mom Loop. First of all I love your header!!

    To me there is nothing sweeter than the sincerity when small kids sing songs to their parents. I love it and the more off key – the better!

    Happy, Happy Birthday and it is nice to meet you!

    1. Hello Erika. Thanks so much for dropping by yesterday. I just left a comment on your Freaky Friday blog. Very cute… and telling. Thanks, I had a wonderful birthday. How could I not with such a sweet start? Have a great weekend!

  18. Man, another awesome Dad’s Blog. Bout time. Happy belated Bday to you man. I am going to be checking out the rest of the blog. Us Daddy bloggers are so much more fun.

    1. Thanks so much, Scott. I just came from your Friday blog post. Loved it! It’s great to hear from other dads. I like your writing style. You’ve got a great “voice” as they say, whoever “they” are. Have a great weekend!

    • Sarah @ Frugal Fun for Boys on at
    • Reply

    What a sweet post! Stopping by from the Mom Loop!

    1. Thanks so much Sarah. I just left a comment on your most recent blog. I love this sequence of photos and the story telling you attached. My wife does that in some of her personal blog posts for the family. She also has her public blog (milkandcuddles.com) that you should check out sometime. Thank you for your comment on my humble little daddy blog. Have a wonderful weekend!

  19. Thanks for commenting my post on MBC, I am now following on FB and GFC;)

    1. Hi Karen. So you are just up north of the border… not Canada… Oklahoma. We’re down in Texas. Thought your tip about putting veggies in the blender and adding them to sauces and such is a great idea. Have a lovely weekend!

    • Swanky Baby's Mom on at
    • Reply

    Happy Birthday!! Great blog, i am now a follower from MBC!

    1. It’s so nice to have folks dropping by from MBC. I’m pretty new (and a daddy, not a mommy) so it’s always a pleasure to meet other bloggers. Just left a comment (well, two really) on your site… and am following you now. Have a great weekend!

  20. nice article, keep the posts coming

    1. Thanks. I’ll do my best. Have a good week.

    • Medicine Ball Exercises on at
    • Reply

    My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!

    1. Thanks to you and the cousin. I’ll do my best. 😉

  21. Happy belated birthday! Being a parent makes these days so much more precious. I am following you now because I could have sworn I was already but obviously I need a Scooby snack. Lol

    1. Thanks, Maria! Yes, my little girl certainly made my day with her impromptu serenade. Don’t worry about the “follow” thing. I’m always certain I’m following someone and then find I’m not. In your case I’m following you on GFC, Twitter and Facebook… any more following and you’ll have to issue a restraining order. Have a great weekend!

  22. kapec ne:)

  1. […] A Daddy’s Birthday Gift […]

Leave a Reply to Ann Gorman Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
Instagram