being a dad

Zoë was excited from the minute she woke up! "It's Halloween Daddy" she said and indeed it was. I took Zo to her Mums at 2:00 along with some things to play with and her costume - a mermaid princess as she liked to call it - so that Nino could take her to the Halloween party at the garden centre in Mossley in the evening. I got a call in the afternoon from Nino to say that Zo was missing me so would I come to the garden centre too - I did and all went well for a while









Zoë had a great time for an hour playing hide and seek and having her face painted and then, as food was being served for those who wanted it, we went off to the pub for a J2O, a beer and a large glass of wine for Nino.

Birthday party day! I'd invited Nino and she said she'd come and help get the party ready - she was so late that I'd pretty much done everything I had to so all she could help with was putting the party bags together with all the stuff I'd bought after she'd changed her mind about getting anything herself. She'd only been there 10 minutes when Jon arrived with Zo and Joe. Zoë had no idea she was having a party so she was both happy and surprised to see all the balloons, party food and cake on the table.

15 minutes later her friends started to arrive and before long she was partying, playing and drinking J2O. Nino gave her the present I got for her to give - Peppa Pig's camper van - which she was delighted with. "I really wanted this" she said. I even got some money from Nino which was unexpected.

Everybody left round 5:00 - just in time for me to go to the band club to see Man U beat Aston Villa while Jill took Zoë to her house to play with Eadie and Milo.

Part 1

Zoë was very excited to get up today as you'd expect. I brought her into the living room were she was faced with a bag of presents from me for her birthday. I'd wanted the presents to be beteen her mum and myself but Nino decided, after originally offering to do the party bags for Zo's party on Saturday, that she'd rather get her a present herself. The reason she gave for changing her mind about the party bags was that she didn't want to buy gifts for "my friends children". It doesn't matter that these children are Zoë's friends, friends that she sees and plays with regularly, it's only important to Nino that they're "my friends children". Anyway, I got all the party bag fillings from the Man Utd and Man City superstores at their respective grounds so at least that's out of the way.

Breakfast was forgotten as Zoë opened her presents. A Peppa Pig house and roundabout, her name in painted wooden letters and a box of ... that turns bathwater to goo! I told her it was bubble bath so that it'll be a surprise when she has a bath.

Part 2

Nino came at 12:00 so we could take Zoë for a birthday lunch at the Junction. It went well as I just avoided saying anything to Nino and concentrated on Zo. I was really surprised though that Nino hadn't got Zoë a birthday present - especially as she'd not wanted the Peppa Pig stuff to be between us. When I asked her why she'd not brought her present she said it was too big. Then she said she'd not got it yet. I asked what it was and after a pause whilst she considered not telling me (as usual) she told me it was a Doll's House. I guess she's chosen this as she knows I plan to make one for Zo when she's a little older - and, of course, I've given her a Peppa Pig house for her birthday today!

Part 3

Suzanne gave Zoë her present when she got back from school - a Manchester United kit with her name on the back of the shirt. Zoë put it on straight away and announced that "she was never going to take it off, ever!" Then she asked "where are the boots? There are no boots!" but once she put her trainers on she was more than satisfied with the way it looked.

Jon came home and gave Zoë her present - a Fisher Price digital camera! Zoë was absolutely delighted, jumping around in excitement and immediately taking photos of everything! Here are some of her first photographs - pretty good for a three year old! Still she is a photographer's daughter

We were just getting ready to go out for tapas at the Clarence when Nino called to say she wasn't working that night and could she come with us. So, she came with us. It was OK, no problems just more expense as she didn't pay for her meal - just as she didn't even offer anything when we went for lunch. Fortunately Jon and I paid between us so it wasn't so bad.

Zoë had a great time at Emma's party at Cheeky Chimps. Apart from Maria, Isabella's mum, none of the Delph Tots mums who Nino has poisoned against me were there so all went well. We had to slide and climb, jump around in the balls and generally bounce around before party food and singing Happy Birthday. Zoë enjoyed it all!

Zoë and I - and Jon and Joe - all went to Grace's party at Delph Cricket Club. We'd only been there about half an hour when Nino called to asked where we were and said she'd come down to the party. She duly arrived much to Zoë's surprise (as I'd told her Mummy wasn't coming) and then mostly stayed outside on the cricket pitch playing with Zo and not involving her in the party. I went and asked her to bring her in so that she could get involved.

All went smoothly then until Nino said she wanted to come to Emma's party the next day at Cheeky Chimps. I told her I'd rather she didn't as there would be a number of the 'Delph Tots' mums there who would feel uncomfortable in our company - as she'd told me before. I thought it important that the party was Zoë's day with her friends and I didn't want anything to spoil that. Nino complained that she'd been invited and so she wanted to go. I thought it best for Zo that she didn't go, besides, Sunday is the only day that I get to spend with Zo on my own.

Zoë and I had our hair trimmed today at Stephanie's downstairs. Zoë is having her first school photo tomorrow and she's naturally quite excited and wants to look her best. Steph did a good job and whilst Zo was waiting for me to have mine trimmed she found a sticker and colouring book in Steph's toy box. Stephanie let Zo have the book and after I'd finished having my hair trimmed we took it upstairs to the house.

After half an hour every sticker was in it's place in the book and Zoë decided she'd like to colour in and finish one of the pictures. We chose 'Feeding the ducks' which was an old man (me) and a young boy (Zo) sat on a bench in the park feeding the ducks. She then decided that the old man was Jon as although he was grey haired he was mostly bald. I was the Swan; Mummy, Mrs O'Dwyer Suzanne and herself were the Ducks; two ducklings were Edie (her friend) and Miss Lewin (her other teacher from school).

I helped her with a bit of the colouring but she mostly did it herself. I went down to make a coffee and she proudly told me, when I came back up, that she'd done the sky and the pond herself. They were both coloured in blue, inside the lines quite neatly and she was obviously pleased with herself. I told her she was brilliant and that her colouring was really getting very good.

At bed time after her story, she asked for her colouring book to show her animals. I brought it, opened it at the right page and said goodnight. As I gaveh her a kiss I told her again how beautiful I thought the picture was - especially the sky and the pond she'd coloured herself. "Oh thank you Daddy" she beamed at me as she hugged me with the biggest, happiest smile I've ever seen on her face. Even now, reading this back, it makes the hairs on my neck stand on end .

Being a Dad - the best job in the world!