butterflyWhen Queen Kelley and I write posts about our daughters, we refer to them as Butterfly and Ladybug. Perhaps you’ve wondered why the nicknames. Well, it’s a good question and I’m glad you’ve asked.

Butterfly goes through her days fluttering from one project to the next. She lights on one activity just long enough to rest her wings and then moves on to something else. In just over three years, we’ve watched her transform from a small baby into a beautiful little girl. And just like a butterfly, we sit back and watch her enjoy her days oblivious to her surroundings. Ladybug crawls happily all over anything she can. And if you turn away for a second, she’s climbing up a window. Her “flights” are much shorter and sporadic than her older sister’s, but she still takes them and enjoys them. (Not to mention, she just loves the little critters.)

In reality, my words for my daughters are never as poetic as I intend, nor do they display all of the emotion that swirls in my mind when I think of my girls. When we picked nicknames for them, we really wanted something that would describe their personalities….and the above paragraph is about as close as we could come.

Ah, who am I kidding? We’re not that original…the oldest is daughter’s room is decorated with (take a guess…) butterflies and the youngest with (this one might surprise you…) ladybugs. And truth be told, we never call the girls these nicknames except in blog-world.ladybug

So why such silly reasons for such silly names that we never use? Because I’m an over-protective father. That’s also why you’ll never see pictures of the girls on our sites. If you know us, then you’ve seen the girls and we probably pester you with e-mails every week proclaiming their cuteness. If you don’t know us then your imagination should suffice…not to mention that your life must be really dull if you’re keeping up with my blog. (seriously…you need a hobby. Try zorbing)

Does the insanity stop there? Oh no…..If I’m not right beside my girls, I’m usually keeping an eye on them from a distance. Some parents are comfortable letting their children run free and mingle with others….not me. I don’t let them color with sharp crayons….I actually don’t let them color at all because of the risk of paper cuts. Do I let them run with scissors? No. What about drinking liquids from under the sink? Again, I just don’t let my girls have any fun. Why? Because I am an over-protective father…it’s what I do. And because I know that some day a boy will come by the house to take one of the girls on a date. And when that day comes, I’ll need all of the sharp objects and poisonous liquids at my disposal for his “interview.” Let this be a warning to any of you three year olds out there reading this blog who may be thinking of asking my daughter out…