#gracevstuart

[daddyslittleprop]

A Visual History of Make Believe and Playing Dress Up.

We can do better than dividing playtime into pink and blue. Strong adults need strong role models. I’m very proud that a lot of Grace’s imagination goes into rescuing people in trouble and exploring the planets. She can pretend to be a princess anytime she wants, but since little girls are bombarded with princess themes everywhere you look, I feel like presenting plenty of other options is one of the most important things my wife and I can do. 

[daddyslittleprop]

It’s a bird... it’s a plane... It’s Grace!

I know every parent says this, but she is so funny. And, well, brilliant. I can’t believe we have this much fun at 20 months. 

[daddyslittleprop]

Chris Hadfield.

If you're going to get all starry-eyed over a celebrity, you can do worse than a brilliant astronaut. I really appreciated him signing that for us. What an enthusiastic and charming speaker. I enjoyed his book, but it was great to hear some of those stories, and a couple of new ones, first hand. 

[daddyslittleprop]

She's almost 15 months old.

I convinced my best friend and photographer to do some family photos at a farmer's market we went to a lot this summer. He would tell you he is better at taking photos of old buildings and dead sticks, but he's a good sport.

I take/have a lot of photos of Grace. And I mean a lot. I have most of the moms on Facebook beat. But taking these constant photos is my way of fighting to hold on to as many memories as I can as I get older. And, not to be depressing, but I also like to think of it as a way to ensure that if anything ever happened to me, there are piles and piles of evidence that I not only loved her more than anything, but that our little family has had so many truly great and happy times together already. Especially now, in this amazing but weird age where she (somewhat sadly) won't remember any of the times we've had. I don't mean to paint an unrealistic picture, we've had our rough days and tears and fears like everyone, but they are drowned out by days like this.

Here are a few of them. I'll be back to fun and costumes eventually I promise. I don't expect anyone on Tumblr to care about some random guy's family pics, it's just my version of shouting my love from the rooftops. 

[daddyslittleprop]

There's a monster in our closet.

Last week when we were on vacation, Kristi had to leave early for work. The last night I was there in the bedroom by myself and I heard a noise. When I checked, there was a monster. Friendly though, it kept me company the rest of the night. 

This weekend at home, just before morning, I heard a noise coming from our bedroom closet. Luckily I had set up a motion activated tripod. I had a feeling...

[daddyslittleprop]

I already see a lot of determination in that face.

Related posts:

The sky isn't her limit.

She's more than a princess (Chris Hadfield Version).

She's more than a princess.

Apollo 13 cameo.

[daddyslittleprop]

The sky isn't her limit.

There may be a few more of these, but don't worry, there won't be as many as the Star Trek posts. 

Read the original post here. 

[daddyslittleprop]

The Commander Hadfield version. 

Read the original post here. 

For some posts inspired by my other space hero, you can start here. ;)