Happy Birthday Abby Doodles!

IMG00196I can still remember that morning. Destiny had been up most of the night in pain, however she didn’t bother me about it at all. She should have though because she was in labor and just a few hours after she woke me up that morning we would be holding our baby girl.

The night before we went on a nice walk in Creve Coeur Park. We watched a beautiful sunset and then went home and had a nice dinner. We were still expecting our new arrival in about a week. Little did we know she would be coming the next day.

Abernathy Ann arrived around noon on August 26th at 5 pounds 9 ounces and was completely amazing. The next two days were spent at the hospital which is pretty much standard procedure in our area. We could not wait to get our little Abby home for the first time.

IMG_0061Over the next five years Abby has grown into an amazingly creative little girl. Her imagination runs wild with ideas for crafts, videos, and other little projects. She sets up scenarios with her toys and brings them to life.

It will be an adventure to see where the next five years will take us. I’m sure there will be laughs, and tears. Fights with her brother and sleep overs with friends. There will be school and events with family, and I hope to capture her growth through it all.

Happy Birthday Abby Doodles, we hope all of your wishes come true.

My Kids are My Superheros

1400_Comic Book Kids SepiaEach and everyday I wake up thinking that today is going to be a good day. It doesn’t matter what kind of night or day I had before, I try and stay positive. My reason for being this way, my kids. Without even knowing it they help me every single day. They help me feel like today is going to be one for the books. They are the ones who help raise a smile on my face before I leave for work. Even though they are most likely still sleeping, it is these two little wonders of imagination that are my superheros.

I find it incredible how a child can change your mood in a matter of seconds. You can easily go from happy to mad when they are getting into something. But more often than not, I would like to think these little replicas of ourselves bring in an abundant amount of joy into our lives.

In the scene below from the movie Jaws, Chief Brody appears to be in deep thought about this killer shark, he’s vulnerable and has his back against the wall. He doesn’t even notice that his son is mimicking his every move. Then once he does, he plays into it. Escaping if even for just a few seconds from the terror that lurks in the water.

In this instance it isn’t the parent comforting the child. It is the child that is comforting the parent, just by doing what they do best, having fun. This is how I see my kids. I might be in an off mood or had a long day at work and the silliness of these kids is all that it takes to bring me out of my slump. Brody tells his son to give him a kiss and his son asks “why”. Brody responds with “because I need it.” He did need that kiss, just like any dad or mom having a tough day, no matter the circumstances, “because I need it” is the perfect reason.

1379 SepiaThere are other ways my kids can be included in the Williams Family Justice League of St. Louis. Many days before I head out to work, I will (if she is awake) ask Abby to be a super big helper for mommy while dad is at work. And when I get home and get the daily rundown from mom, there are always positive remarks about how helpful Abby was all day.

Alex on the otherhand cannot do much in regards to being a big helper or really even following directions. He is still learning those concepts, but he shows his true super hero colors when giving dad and mom kisses becomes a game to him. First mom, then dad, then mom, then dad again and so on and so forth. His little personality shines through when he wants, and it just melts my heart.

Even if they look to me as their Super Dad, they (and my wife of course!) are the reason I get up out of bed every morning. They are the reason I smile. They are my little superheros.

Do you have your own little superhero? What kind of things do they do to help save the day? Comment below!

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It’s not always easy being super…

Bull Shoals Family Vacation (day 4 & 5)

Destiny and Abby Bull Shoals 2015Day four of our family vacation was one for the books. Earlier in the week a few of the guys went out and put together this amazing water slide. It was suppose to be over 50 feet but ended up being 30 feet because of how high the water level was. Using a water pump we got the water flowing down the slide and that is when the fun began. Using the GoPro I was able to capture some pretty cool footage going down the slide. My niece took it with her as well as my wife. Alex is still too little to go down the slide and Abby was just a little too scared to try it out. My niece however was a trooper and was having a blast sliding into the lake.

It will be interesting to find out next year if the slide is still there or if the core of engineers will tear it down. Several years ago we hung a zip line between two cliffs and would zip line between them and drop off into the water. They shut down our fun pretty quickly that year. That’s okay though, we still had a lot of fun.

Day five of our vacation was a slow one. We woke up later in the day because of a very active night. Pretty much a lot of the same. Swimming, riding the wet bike, and having fun. Check out the video below to see our fun from day four & five and click here to see day 1 & 2, and here for day 3!

Day Four

Day Five

Bull Shoals Family Vacation (day 3)

Uncle Mike and AlexDay three of our family vacation was a lot of fun. I had attempted to fly a kite with my GoPro attached but it never took off like I expected. Maybe next year we will have a drone or some helium balloons to send the GoPro up into the sky. Day three had more swimming and riding the wet bike. There was some turtle spotting! I did my best to capture the little guy on camera. Alex even had a chance to ride the motorcycle with his Uncle Mike. He absolutely loved every second of it. At first he cried when we put the helmet on him (safety first!) but once the engine was started his face lite up like a firework. Enjoy the video below and watch out for day four and five!

If you haven’t checked out day one and two click here!