When Gianni and I first started dating we knew pretty early on that we had found the one, as cheesy as that sounds. We were at that point in our lives where we weren't looking for a fleeting relationship or just a good time (although plenty of good times have been had and continue to be had). We were looking for a serious relationship and we just instantly clicked. We spoke of marriage and children even before getting engaged and I just knew that when the time would come that he would be a fun and lovable father. My little sister was 2 when we first met and he was and is amazing with her. I would find them on the floor playing when he would pick me up for dates. He would indulge her constant questions. He would throw her in the air just for fun. And he would cuddle with her on the couch on nights when we babysat. He was just built to be a dad.
They say that women become moms the moment those two lines appear and that for men it happens when they first see their child. For Gianni the realization that he was a dad came the day he first felt Lucas kick. I was well into my second trimester and the little guy had been quite stubborn, stopping to move the moment Gianni would try to feel him. Then one night we were watching tv and Gianni absently laid his hand on my belly and felt the biggest kick. The look in his eyes is one I will never forget. Then he reached over and started talking to his son. It was like I wasn't even there. It was just him and his little man. 
From that day on he has been a dad.
I've watched him hold both our sons in the operating room. Be the first one to talk to them. Hear him tell them sweet little nothings and reassuring them that though the world is big and scary that he would always be there to walk them through it. I've watched this great big teddy bear of a man get emotional over seeing his son walk or crawl for the first time, or when they reach for him the moment he walks through the door, or when they cry in pain that he feels too. I've seen him melt over the sweetest toddler kisses and hugs. I've seen him crumble into a pile of mush over a sleeping baby.
Everyday he goes to work and still comes home and helps me give the boys dinner, baths and get them ready for bed. He doesn't ask for any me time on the weekends. He's not the husband that calls and says he's going to be late because he's going to grab drinks with coworkers before coming home. He tells his buddies that home playing with the boys is where he wants to be; because he get 3 sometimes 4 hours a day to spend with them and he wants to make them count. He's teaching our sons the importance of providing for a family. How to treat a lady. And how to be a man.
I want him to know that through the haze of those newborn days. At the end of a trying day playing referee and fielding toddler tantrums. When someone is refusing to sleep. When someone needs a drink, to eat, a diaper changed. When some days we have fallen exhausted in bed with only enough strength to kiss each other good night before we are both snoring away. When I have questioned every move or decision I make and you tell me everything is going to be ok and that I'm doing not only my best but that I'm doing more than I recognize. Through all of that and more I want him to know I see him. I see him helping, doing, reassuring, and loving. Oh so much loving.
I hope one day the boys realize just how lucky they are to have him as their daddy because I couldn't have asked for better for them.
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