Ripley Anne; AKA Sunshine

Being a first time father, I never get tired of talking about my little girl. She is just amazing. Tomorrow, she will be 16 months old and she is a blessing from God. I’ve never shared why I call Ripley, Sunshine. I wanted to have a nickname for her ever since I knew she was coming. I didn’t want to use princess or pumpkin. When she arrived at 4:03pm on November 23, 2009 I knew her nickname right off; Sunshine. She lights up the room (any room) when she is in it. I enjoy singing all the songs with sunshine in them to her. I found out a few months after her birth that Teresa’s late father used to call Teresa Sunshine. That is according to Teresa’s mother. Teresa never really knew her father; he was killed in a coalmining accident when she was just 4 years old. I think me calling Ripley Sunshine make’s my mother-in-law happy.

Since Teresa teaches business courses at a local community college on Monday and Wednesday evenings, I get to have some daddy time (what I call it when it’s just me and Ripley). On Mondays, Teresa teaches two classes so she is out until 10pm so it’s just me and Ripley from 4:30pm to 10pm. Normally on Mondays, we have dinner, watch “So My Baby Can Read,” and either listen to music so Ripley can dance around the living room or we just watch a little TV. Yesterday was a little different; Ripley was content to just play with her books. Ripley enjoys looking at books more than playing with her toys. Since she was happy playing by herself, I cleaned the kitchen. While cleaning the kitchen, Mr. Mom popped out so I decided to put together Tuesday’s dinner and bake some cookies.

Before Ripley, Teresa was a manager at a local distribution center for a major company so I would get home first and cook dinner. Since Teresa was laid-off and then the arrival of Ripley, Teresa does the majority of the cooking. I cook on Saturdays and Sundays, but I thought it would be nice for Teresa not to have to think about what to cook for tonight. While I was putting together the Mexican layered dish (we have no name for it) we like and baking the sugar cookies (my favorite cookie by the way), Ripley noticed I wasn’t in the living room. Our kitchen is right beside the living room divided only by a counter so I could see her but she couldn’t see me. I was just about done when I heard a little voice laughing behind me. I turned and saw Ripley looking in the open pastry and refrigerator. That little girl had worked on the fencing we have to keep her in the living room enough to make a big enough gap to get out of the living room and walked around through our dinning room into the kitchen. I had to laugh. I picked her up before she made it to the oven where the cookies were baking. The door was too hot for little hands to touch.

While I held her, I kissed her little face and neck which makes her squeal because of my beard. I told her that daddy was almost one and that I would be over shortly. Of course that didn’t work. She kept trying escape; the girl has no fear. I finished putting together dinner and took the cookies out and relaxed with Ripley on my lap as I fed her the snack she loves the most; yogurt. After her snack, we watched the news. She was so tired by 7pm, it didn’t take long at all for her to fall asleep.

I love my little ray of Sunshine so much. I pray daily that God will draw her to Himself at an early age so she can serve Him all her days. As I said before, I am so blessed to have Ripley in my life.