Yes, this is true… Some of you may have already known this via Facebook, but our little girl, Ella Love Daubenmeyer, was born on June 7th. She stole my (Kyle) heart right from the minute she was born…

Honestly though, people keep asking me questions like “Isn’t it crazy that you actually have a child now?”, or “how does it feel to be a daddy?”, and it has been a tough question for me to answer! It still feels weird to be a “father”, and I don’t know if I have quite adjusted to that idea yet… Eventually Ella will get old enough to start calling me Daddy, and then all of a sudden it may hit me that YES, I am a daddy!

While I have been adjusting to fatherhood the last few weeks, I have noted a few ways my life HAS changed since this little beautiful girl has arrived into my life:

1.) I no longer am grossed out by the sight of puke - this is a huge one for me…. Just seeing someone puke used to make me want to puke. You know the feeling??? Good. In fact, just the other morning I spent about 10 minutes getting ready for work, then took my time to hold baby Ella when all of a sudden she threw up on my dress shirt - what a waste! On the bright side, the “old” Kyle might have thrown up at the site of this, but the “new” Kyle is strangely OK with puke!

2.) I have no memory of what real sleep is - I’m kind of fortunate because Ella has been sleeping pretty decent throughout the night…. But, she usually wakes up a couple of times in a screaming fit, and then Kristin feeds her and she’s all set. If you are out there reading this, and you can say that you have recently experienced a full 8 hour sleep with no interruptions, I envy you! Yes, I envy you greatly!

3.) I now drive like a Grandma - this is no joke, I almost had a panic attack the day that I had to drive home from the hospital with my sweet little 7 pound baby! I was walking through the parking lot, and had to take a break at one point to catch my breath… Shoooo… It’s tough having all that pressure on you! Now I take my turns slowly, look both ways before continuing through a green light, and always look into my rearview to ensure that Ella is still breathing!

4.) I am in love… with a new girl! - Yes, there are some days where I will sit there in silence and stare at Ella with a goofy grin on my face - if she could articulate her thoughts, she’d probably say her father is a nerd… But then again, who doesn’t love a face like this below. This was taken the first day she was born: