Posted on by therantinghousewife@gmail.com

#91

Yeah new tradition!

On February 13th I took Raim and Jon took the girls on a Valentines date.  It was the best date of my life:)
I took Raimy to see his very first movie and he was beyond excited.  I got him a huge box of popcorn, fruit snacks and “an adult drink!” (It was sparkling water).  We had the theater to ourselves so we got to talk and laugh and scream way too loud.  
After the movie we went to Toys R Us and he got the girls each a Valentines gift.  
I asked him “What is your favorite restaurant in the WHOLE world?  I will take you anywhere”  “ANYWHERE??!!!”  “YES!!”  “I wanna take my mommy out to the most specialist place…Marie Calendars!!!”  Love him!  We got there and he put our name in.  He also told the hostess and everyone in the waiting room that he was taking his mommy out for a Valentines date and that he had driven us there! I felt so special.  
We sat down and he told the waiter the same.  He ordered a cup of soup and calamari for his meal “I’ll just have water…I already drank an adult drink today”.  We got to sit just the two of us and chat it up.  He is such a good conversationalist:)  We talked about love, the presidents, his friends, superhero’s, his family.  It was great this one on one time with my boy.  He is truly one of my best friends.  I have such a good time with him.  His humor is ridiculous and makes me get the scream laugh.  
The check came and he pulled two quarters and a nickel from his pocket.  “I’m paying for my mommy”.  I almost fell to the floor crying.  The tables of people around us (whom he had also been holding conversations with) melted as well.  It literally took everything in me not to crumble it was so sweet.  I slipped my card in without him seeing and asked that the waiter bring a receipt.  The waiter was awesome, he brought Raimy some pennies as “change”.  He felt like such a big boy.
It was one of the best nights of my life and I hope to always share this day with him …until he is too mortified to go out with me:)
I thought of Jonny out on his date with the girls.  Daddy is the first guy they will ‘date’.  He will set the precedent for how they expect to be treated when it comes time to really dating (which will be never!).   That is such an awesome thing to me!  I see so many girls with guys who treat them poorly and wonder why they don’t expect better.  My daddy was one of my best friends, I could tell him anything and he treated me like gold.  I think dads are the most important person in a girls life when it comes to shaping their self esteem and standards.  So happy my girls have that close relationship….

Counting down the days until the next Valentine’s Eve!

32 Replies to “#91”

  1. OM Goodness your date with Raimy made my heart melt and made me cry. What a sweet young man. He knows how to treat a woman right. It did make me laugh though when he told the waiter that he already had an adult drink. LOL. Too funny!

    So wish I would have had you and Jon for parents when I grew up. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful memory your kids will never forget! I can't wait until next Feb 13th to hear about your next date with Raimy!
    Your such a good Mom Haylie!!!
    Mary Kay 🙂

  2. This made me cry, too! I'm glad I wasn't alone in that. What a sweet, sweet boy and I'm so glad Jon got to spend the day with his girls. I agree that dad's are so important. I didn't have the best dad, though he certainly could have been worse. Thankfully I had a great mom who allowed me to learn from her mistake(s) and good brothers. I'm so thankful that I chose wisely and my kids have a great father.

    This was a really sweet post, Haylie. Loved it. <3

  4. Beautiful :')
    These kids are blessed to have level headed parents. Especially BOTH parents. May joy always bless your home and family 🙂

  5. It's amazing to follow you on twitter. Since I was in middle school your husband has been one of my favorite artists/biggest influences. I love knowing that he is such a good person, and that his wife is an even better person that keeps him in check! Y'all really are changing the world 'one person at a time.' Tell him we're waiting on a new album!

    Best wishes from Ga,
    Heath

  6. I'll always be envious of great father daughter relationships. I didn't have a good father figure and the concept of having your dad be a best friend is so foreign to me. I can't imagine how great it would be. In my childhood, men were to be feared. They were cold, aloof, stern and far too strict.

    I used to watch all the great sitcoms of the 70's-80's that had wonderful father figures and wonder why I couldn't have that. The beauty of finally being a parent myself is that I can now watch my kids have that type of relationship with my husband (their dad) that I never had.

    You guys are great parents and you can tell by your blogs that you are totally in love with the joy of parenting. It's rewarding to see that.

  7. I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day but that tradition makes me one, brilliant idea!
    I've got some retroactive dating to do…
    Connie

  8. Such a great post!! Seeing so many young ladies looking so hard to fill the empty unloved feeling in their hearts left from their dads is such a heart-wrenching site! Hubby and I share your belief that the relationship between Daddy and daughter plays such a crucial role in a girl's life. My 7yo looks forward with much anticipation to her dates with Daddy. They've been dating for 5 years now. Such a treasured memory it will be for both of them!! My 2yo loves dating her daddy…a new development for her. I can't wait until my little man (7 mo old) is big enough to go on dates!!! Thank you for blogging about this!

  12. Beautiful post!! Just as a father/daughter relationship is important a mother/son closeness is equally important. All of your kids are so blessed to have you and Jon as parents!! This is a wonderful Valentine's Eve tradition!! 🙂

  15. Personalizing new traditions that surround your children like a big warm hug is truly special, it becomes a memory they will tell their children and it will be a tradition they will keep. I can not begin to tell you how wonderful it is to see your family values put into place. Haylie, God has truly blessed you all. I look forward to your post.

    Blessings from Alabama!

  21. Thanks Candice:) Yeah I was so blessed to have my daddy….even if it was for way too short a time:( It's funny how having kids magnifies the good and the bad in your own childhood. It's like rereading a novel but getting a change the story to hopefully affect the ending.

  22. Connie!!!! Loved the thoughtful gift!!! You and your fam are ADORABLE. The subway pic? Are you kidding me….Amazing!

  23. 🙂 So special. Wait til your boy gets older. Ugh the girls have your heart but he will rip it out and eat it up. Maybe it's the whole idea of (How the heck does it go) "Lose a son when he takes a wife but a daughter you have for life… " saying.

  29. Laurie,

    I sooo agree that traditions are important. Starting new ones was my theme of 2011. ANy suggestions? You can never have too many traditions!

  30. Checking in and saw this, so sweet, thank you! (slight delay, right?)
    And BTW, in post #92 Raimy's your spitting image don't you think? In personality too, it seems!

  31. Haylie, One of the traditions I started with my kids was….when they were two or three depending on their interest attention span…once a year we did a book…the book was to be their idea of what they wanted it to be. They first did picture books, they chose a theme like, All about Dolls, or for boys All about Trucks, or Daddy's Tools. At age two and three the books were mostly cute little paintings or coloring of unidentified objects and as their signature they put their hand print. I of course dated the books and wrote their names in them. I also at the end of the book saved a blank page for me to add special comments about things that happened or what was said during the making of the books. As they got older the books got a little harder…they had more ideas and became more creative…it was so good to see how smart they became and how their imaginations increased every year. My children are 18 and 26 now…they grew out of it in their early teens but now to go back and look at all of them and see their growth and read my comments at the end of their books is priceless. My oldest daughter who has a three year old and a one year old has already started gathering up the supplies needed for the three year olds first book. Also on Christmas Eve we put on a play of the Nativity Scene for our family,it helped to teach them and remind the girls every year what the real reason was for celebration was. I hope this gives you some ideas.

    Let me know what you decide to do…
    Laurie Knight

  32. One more thing…I also took their pictures with the them holding the book when it was finished and placed it in on the last page.
    Here is another good idea….do a "My favorite dish" cook book for each child…the idea is to write down or let them write down the recipes of each childs favorite foods as they grow up, maybe add some comments about things that may have happened while the kids helped you make the dishes. When they get older and have kids of their own it will be fun to try those same recipes on their kids. This one I am planning on starting with my granddaughter who is three, I call it "Gigi & Kinnedy's Creative Cooking" We have two recipes already…sugar cookies with peanut butter swirl and M&M Monkey Cookies. We take pictures of this event as well…so much fun while doing it.

    Laurie Knight

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