"Being a father, being a friend, those are the things that make me feel successful."

I'm not usually a fan of being woken up early in the morning before I'm ready to get out of bed. For the last 6 and a half years though it has pretty much become the norm. Becoming a father means giving up many of the luxuries that you become quite accustomed to over the years, which doesn't sound great, but what you get in its place is a sense of purpose and an unconditional love that you could never get anywhere else. Becoming a dad for me was my defining moment, and from that moment I felt like my life had finally started and everything about this new path was glowing.

Every day feels like fathers day to me and being the stay at home parent makes me feel like that even more. Yesterday as I was woken by the usual "Daaaaaaad" it seemed like the start of every other amazing family morning but this time, there was an extra pitch of excitement in Opeie's voice and he wanted me awake right away because he had something very important he wanted to give me. Walking through the house and seeing colourful decorations everywhere and handmade cards are going to make any doting father feel very special.

Yesterday as always was a great day and that amazing little boy of mine that fills my world with complete happiness yet again reinforced the importance of having a loving and caring family around me. It was a shame that Seth wasn't there too but we have more than made up for it after school today by starting a new project so we can spend some quality creative time together. 

The only thing that did get me a little down yesterday was thinking about my own dad and how disappointed I am that he let our relationship go the way that it did. We're on different paths now but I will always hope that he is happy. Becoming a parent isn't something you go into lightly, you have to make an enormous amount of effort every day to make sure your children develop in the happy and content way that they should. I can go to sleep every night knowing that I have done everything I can to show them how much I adore them both and how proud I am of the little gents they've become.

Happy belated fathers day to all you amazing dads out there!

"Being a father is the most important thing, if you ask me. It changedme as a person and gave me an all new life."

Selfishly, I love this time of year. I spend so much of my time doing thoughtful little things for the boys to make sure they are as happy as they can be. so when it gets to Father's Day it's all about me and my relationship with the boys and it will always be a special time of year. Maybe that sounds bad that I love a day for me, but when there is one special day every year dedicated to dads everywhere then I don't think it is at all bad to celebrate the one thing I am proud of the most, parenting two very special little boys.

Each year during the weeks before the big day, Im asked if there is anything I would like and each year I give the same (always grateful) answer "something I can do with the boys". A 'world's greatest dad' mug would be lovely but what I really love is something that me and the boys can do together, that's what Father's Day is all about, right?

I think that subliminally when I say 'something I can do with the boys' it must come across as 'LEGO please' because the boys usually wake me up on Father's Day with something LEGO related. I am quite clearly an ENORMOUS fan of those amazing bricks but more importantly, Lego brings so much creative and educational play and bonding time for me and the boys. So what's on my Father's Day wish list I hear you say? Well... I think that the Spider-Man Web warriors ultimate bridge battle kit is aiming a little high and may be deemed a touch greedy but all of the new marvel kits are definitely high up on my list, The LEGO City volcano exploration base and City people pack have also just been brought to my attention and they look really interesting too. there are some great LEGO kits perfect for Fathers day for us dads to drool over in the lower price bracket like the Hoth attack And the Droid escape pod From the star wars range.

If you want to go for a kit from the lower price range then you can't go wrong with Micro Fighters, these little kits are amazing and I loved them so much that I included them in the Hoth scene in the LEGO arcade. These little ships are very cleverly designed and each one comes with a great Minifigure. Star Wars not your thing? The Super Hero Mighty Micro Racers Micro Racers are also great little kits for the price.

I image there are countless dads worldwide who would be over the moon being given the gift of LEGO, not all of them though are fans of Star Wars and Super heroes. One sure way to appeal to those dads is LEGO Technic. I would love to build the new Porsche or Remote control Volvo with Seth as I think he would get a lot out of building something technical that size. Whenever I am custom building I very rarely use Technic parts but I love to get the occasional technic kit to build because I find it fascinating that you can see how the moving parts are going to work as you are putting each piece together. These are the sort of kits that I love to build with Seth because he asks a lot of questions when we are playing and from an educational point of view, being able to see the mechanisms built is the kind of learning resource that you don't get with most children's toys.

LEGO with continue to be my favourite way to spend quality father/Son time with the boys. Being able to watch them build and develop their creative thinking is amazing to watch and as a doting dad I am so proud of the way they are both turning out.

I hope all you amazing dads out there have a fantastic well-deserved fathers day.

"Wingediet: When you eat nothing but Giraffe wings!"

It's my favourite time of year again and despite the attempted wake up call at 5am yesterday, i loved being woken up by two excited boys eager to dish out the fruits of their artistic labour. The boys have been secretly working on cards and i love the excitement in the air on the build up to fathers day. I used to like all the secrecy myself when i was growing up. It does make me feel a little sad now though that my own dad has failed to step up and make the effort over the years. 

Anyway, yesterday was awesome, a relaxing day playing with the boys and taking time to spend quality time with them is what fathers day is all about. They make me feel like the luckiest dad on the planet and Seth especially has been the cutest. Being a step dad can be difficult at times but hardships aside my relationship with Seth has blossomed over the years.

What i love about Seth and Opeie is how they fully appreciate what me and Mrs M do for them. They are thoughtful and caring boys and everyone comments on how lovely they both are.

(Opeie shamelessly revealed my true age on this card, I'm still looking good for it though)

Fathers day ended with a family game of scrabble which left us all in hysterics when Seth attempted to play 'iet' off of 'winged'. The word was crazy enough but it was followed by a very sleepy Mrs M explaining that a 'wingediet' is when you eat nothing but Giraffe wings, she's a crazy woman! A great end to a fun day with my special boys.

I hope you all had an amazing fathers day.



 

For me, every day is like fathers day.

Fathers day is my favourite time of year, not because i crave the attention, i get all the daddy attention i need every day, but because its a day that celebrates everything i hold dearest to me. Being a dad has completely changed my perspective on life and it is bettering me as a person more and more as the days go by. After craving children for so many years it so lovely to feel like I'm exactly where i am supposed to be now. it is lovely also to wake up to Opeie though waving a card he has made and shouting 'happy daddies day'.

This year Opeie's card was me if i was an Octonaut.

The card was brought to me in a box made of Duplo that lasted about 20 seconds before crumbling before my eyes, bless his wobbly hands. And a special gift inside a Custom Lego box which also put a big smile on my face especially when Mrs M informed me that it took her an hour and a half to make. 

I feel like the luckiest guy on the plane, I hope all you dads out there had an amazing fathers day.