I think "Kitties, Cookies, Puppies, and Cake!" are gone.

 As a dad (obviously this is not Lauren) I have found that I don't always get the chance to see the little things that go on with our children. Lauren and sometimes Quinn, will tell me about them, but it's just not the same as being there first hand. So when I do get to be part of a habit or ongoing story or an everyday event in our kids lives, I do my best to never miss it. Those things are special little pieces of who Quinn and Judah (to a lesser degree, he's only 10 mths old) are, they are their own people and do their own things. So when one of everyday special moments comes to an abrupt halt, I take notice. Even if I didn't want to notice, and most of the time I don't want to, I don't have a choice. It's in those moments that you realize, she/he is getting bigger, I'm never going to have this time back with them.

 So that brings me to the title of this post, "Kitties, Cookies, Puppies, and Cake!". One of the things I look forward to the most, are the days where I get to either wake Quinn up, or get her out of bed after she wakes up. There is just something so sweet and innocent about a child waking up. They always seem to be expecting to see something amazing when they open their eyes, and if that "something" they see happens to be you, that is one of the best feelings in the world! Those are moments that I try my best to make special and to remember. When I was riding to work with pastor Jerry, he would tell me to make "kodak" moments with my kids, and I try my best to take his advice. This is one of those moments. So I have made a point to always ask Quinn what she dreamed about while she was asleep, and for as long as she has been able to hold a conversation (which if you know her has been a LONG time) she has given me the EXACT same answer. "Kitties, Cookies, Puppies, and Cake!" I always knew those words were coming no matter if she were crying, or smiling, or jumping around on the bed. The answer was always the same, until a few days ago. I asked the same question I have for months on end, "What did you dream about when you were asleep Quinny?" and the reply was not what I expected "I didn't dream daddy". Maybe it was just a fluke, maybe she was just still a little sleepy. The next day I asked the same question and I got the same reply "I didn't dream daddy". It was not a fluke, she was not just sleepy, I believe those "kodak" moments are now "kodak" memories.

 This is no surprise, we know that children are only children for a while. We know that God has not given them to us as ours, but has given them to us to watch over for Him. We know that memories are called memories for a reason, and that something has to end for it to be a memory. It would be easy to be sad about this, and sometimes I am, but God is full of blessings. There are still so many moments that I have with Q and J! I am grateful for those moments! I still greet Quinny the same way I always have anytime I walk into some place she is, with a loud (sometimes too loud) "Quinnyyyy". And almost every night after we eat together, I still lay on the floor with Q on my arm, and do absolutely nothing. And I love it! And who knows whats in store for me and baby J, my little man? I can only imagine what two Swonke boys living in the same house can come up with! So I will continue to make those "kodak" moments that turn to "kodak" memories, and I will love EVERY second of it!

 So what about you guys? What are some special moments you had with your kids? Feel free to share them in the comments section, I'm sure people would love to read them. I encourage you, if you still have your kids at home, write this stuff down because it is to easy to forget. Lauren and I have notes all over the place, although we have a hard time finding them sometimes, of things that we want to remember. And we will make it a priority to make moments to remember.

P.S. Thank you to my sweet wife for letting me guest post on her blog!