Papa's last day at home

For the first 12 weeks of Wyatt's life, DeeDra was home with him all day every day. She was very sad to go back to work, but fortunately Papa Dap and the grandparents were able to take over caring for the little guy. Since DeeDra went back to work, we've been splitting home time with Wyatt between me and primarily my mom. During much of the summer, DeeDra works 4 day weeks, so my mom covered Monday and Tuesday, and Papa Dap stayed home with Wyatt on Wednesday and Thursday. Today is the last of my weekdays at home with the little guy, since my vacation time is now exhausted. When DeeDra went back to the full 5 day work weeks, her mom stepped in to take over the Friday duties with Wyatt. It truly is incredible how fortunate Wyatt has been to have so much of his family so willing and able to spend so much time with him. Everyone has chipped in, and yesterday DeeDra's dad came over to spend the afternoon with Wyatt while I attended some important meetings at the office.

It's been amazing to spend this time with Wyatt as he's changed quickly from an infant to a near-crawling 5 month old. Like DeeDra, I'll be sad when this phase of the adventure with him is done, but I know there will be many more to come. I'm just thankful that I've had this rare opportunity as a father to watch and interact as my son has gone from a 3 month old to a 5 month old. He wakes up every morning with a smile on his face ready to face the day, and there's nothing quite like it to see a little piece of me and a little piece of DeeDra in those eyes of his.

We had planned to put Wyatt in daycare starting next week, but it looks like once again his grandparents are sacrificing their time to keep him with family as long as possible. My mom and DeeDra's mom will alternate each week, with one taking care of him for 3 days a week and the other for 2. The plan is to continue this process until the middle of December when DeeDra's time off starts. This will delay the daycare step until the first of 2008, when Wyatt will be 9 months old, and I'm quite sure walking, talking, and doing algebra (trig and calculus will come after the first birthday).

My days with Wyatt started out with the finger-nail-cutting accident, but since then things have gone pretty smoothly. Of course, there have been some sleepless nights, some cranky days, and one SERIOUS poop and pee incident, but all in all it's been a great experience. Just as Wyatt's learning daily about the world around him and how he can interact with it, I'm learning about how to be a dad. It's not easy, and I've got TONS to learn, but every time I look at him I can't hide how proud I am of the little miracle that DeeDra and I have produced.

So with that, I'll leave you with a few of the many faces of Wyatt.