Friday, July 9, 2010

Just Like Daddy!

Dante has become Randy's little Mini Me. Whatever Randy does, Dante wants to do too......which is not always the best thing in the world. Everything from wearing "no shirt just like Daddy" to "I want a glass of tea just like Daddy", whatever Dante says is always followed by "just like Daddy".

It is really heartwarming to watch him follow his daddy around mimicking his actions and mannerisms. When he looks at Randy you can see such love and admiration in his eyes that you just want to cry.

The other day Randy was putting up a poster in Dante's room of a Medieval Knight. He was standing on D's bed, pounding the poster in the places where he had put the tape. Up goes Dante onto the bed, stands in front of Randy and starts pounding the bottom of the poster "just like Daddy".

Last night, instead of wearing pajamas, Dante demanded that he be allowed to wear shorts and no shirt "just like Daddy" to sleep in. At dinner, he had to have a big fork and a big spoon, "just like Daddy!" and this morning he had to shave (with a spoon) "just like Daddy"!

But of course, there are some things that Daddy does that Dante should NOT imitate or emulate. For example, a couple of days ago, Dante said to his father, "Daddy I would like some FUCKING iced tea".

While trying to hide our laughter behind our shock and anger, Randy asked Dante where he had heard that word and why would he think it was ok to say it. Which of course prompted Dante to say, "You Daddy, you say it all the time!"

Which, of course, reminded me of this:



Of course, it's not EXACTLY like that since we aren't drug users, but you get the idea.

Randy has his own little assistant when he's working on cars too. Dante will walk around with tools in his hands and (amazingly) if Randy asks for a specific wrench or hammer or thingamabob, Dante knows which one to hand him!

It is definitely the greatest thing to watch them interact. Sadly, I know that as soon as "teen" follows Dante's age, these moments will be just a fleeting memory.

2 comments:

Kristy said...

They don't have to fade just because he becomes a teen! As he gets older, just introduce more stuff - that is really cool - that is family fun! Our boys have quads, bows (for hunting), our oldest-almost 13- has a rifle (for hunting) . . . They know that no one will be just handing keys to a running vehicle to them on their 16th birthday. They will find a car that is in desperate need of work, and they'll get it running with Dad. We figure if they know they are going to have to work on it if they wreck it, they'll be more careful, conscientious car owners.

Garret, our 13ish year old, absolutely LVOES hanging out with Dad. They go hunting together, they work in the garage together, they do projects together, Garret wants to build a speaker box for his dad's Blazer. There are tons of things that they enjoy doing together. And some things are things that Garret can't do without his dad! If Randy stays entertaining and fun, Dante will keep enjoying his company.

Susie Kline said...

This was so sweet! It reminds me of when my husband was laid up after hernia surgery. He wasn't moving a lot, which is unusual because he never sits! My youngest crawled on to the bed next to him, wrapped his arm around his waist and said, "Daddy, you're my best friend." Awww, I want that adorable little boy back! lol

xo Susie