be the one to guide me, but never hold me down.

this started as a flashback friday post. i hadn't done one in awhile and thought with easter coming up, i'd post some from l-bug's second easter. and then i came across these pictures. and i couldn't tear my eyes away.

i wanted to touch on a different subject. the love, the protection, the safeness. these two men are anchors in her life. they are a source of security and stability. they are always there for her. they will always be there for her.

poppa. he's my dad. but he's better know as poppa to his four grandkids. he may look big and tough. okay, he is big and tough. his beard may look scary. or like santa claus. i guess that depends on who's looking. but he is smitten with lia. and lia is smitten with him. he has all the patience in the world for her. he is caring, kind, loving. he spoils her. he loves her. he's her grandpa and he is everything i could ever ask him to be for her.

living in new york for the first year of her life, she didn't get to see her poppa as much. he works hard and his business doesn't always let him go away when he wants to. but the few times that my parents did make it up to new york, no matter how short the visits were, lia always made a connection with them. she always knew who grandma & poppa were. when we moved in with my parents early last year, the bond just grew. now she calls them mom & poppa but the same connection is there.

daddy. papi. my amazing husband. he's her biggest anchor. he's the one she spends almost every day with. when she was little, it was all about me. i'm mama. she spends 24/7 with me and a bond like that is special. there isn't anything in the world like that. but now that she's older, it's all about daddy some days. when he opens the front door after work, her eyes light up and she yells "daddy!". when i'm on the phone, she always asks if it's daddy. when she's mad at me, she runs and tells daddy. when she wants cereal, she asks for "daddy's cereal". and hearing her call him papi makes both of our hearts melt.

he plays with her. he bathes her. he gets up with her every weekend. he takes her on little errands or just out of the house to give me some time. he talks to her in spanish. he teaches her numbers and how to count. he spoils her. he loves her. he's her dad and he is everything i could ever ask him to be for her.

a mama's love may be one of a kind. but so is the love these two men have for lia.

i guess i am just beyond grateful that lia has this. that lia has them.