Yes, friends, Michael Oakley finally gets to celebrate Dad's day! Though his sweet son was still cooking when Father's day came around, Beka made sure he knew he was loved and part of the club! Team Oakley decided to celebrate Fathers day on the Saturday before, so the actual sunday of Father's day can be spend on our own wonderful dads. It worked out very well doing it this way, and we think it will be a tradition from now on to celebrate the day before.
The day started off rainy, which was not in the plans (of being out doors all day), but we carried on anyways. First stop: Panda Express. For those of you on the west coast, this is nothing special, but there is only one near us in Nashville (near as in about 45 mins away), and it recently opened. Michael has been craving it stronger than anything Beka has in her whole pregnancy :)
Michael is one happy daddy to eat some "dirty Chinese food"!
The Michael 'go to' at Panda Express: two sides of chow mien, and orange chicken. Beka had some chow mien, veggie rolls, and sweet and sour shrimp.
He was just a little excited to eat, can you tell? :)
After lunch we took our full bellies and headed to the mall to wait out the rain. Michael found some sunglasses for Emery that matched his. Like father like cool man son :)
And alas! When coming out of the mall we saw some sun! Time to go to Beka's original plan for the day (there is a saying in TN that if you don't like the weather, wait, it will change soon. We were sure glad it did!). There was an artisan festival in town and Beka knew that Michael would love seeing artsy people, things, and hear some great music. So off we went!
The stage had some cool bands playing (no one we had heard of, which Michael finds very exciting). We stood around listening for a while, but on the other side of the park, the booths were calling us.
There were hundreds of vendors selling their unique and hand made goods. So much to see and touch and appreciate! We didn't have time to see it all! Out of respect and privacy of the fantastically talented people who were there, we did not take any photos of the goods being sold. But we wandered and looked and chatted to many cool people, all with fun stories and huge talents. It was a delightful time that fueled both of our creative souls.
After Beka's swollen feet were screaming at her to stop, we plopped ourselves on the grass, in front of the music stage, in the warm sun shine, and listened to music that was fresh and new to us.
Michael and his toms had a great time relaxing on the grass.
There is very little in this world that makes Michael happy like music does. It reaches him on a deeper level than most anybody I have ever met. He can literally sit and listen to strangers play strange music for hours, and be in a totally blissful state. Add in his wife, his growing baby inside her, the sun, the music, the art, and the artistic people around him, and his day was filled with joy. Happy day to him, and many more to come as this time next year, he will have a little man to share all of this joy with!
The next day (actual father's day), Team Oakley woke up and headed to Michael's parent's house to Love on his Dad (affectionately called Pappy by Beka). Beka's dad, Mark, lives in San Diego, as does her step dad, Steve Pop. So as the other Dad's in Team Oakley's lives were loved from afar, they were not forgotten. But while we live close to Pappy, we will celebrate with him as much as we can. And Michael got some lovin from his parents and sister/brother in law as well!
Rosanna and Cassidy got Michael a fantastic book called Baby Barbells. It is by a health specialist/ Dad and is filled with not only amazing tips on being a present and cool dad and spouse, but how to incorporate your child into your workout. It was pretty awesome. When baby Emery finally makes his arrival, watch out! Michael will be ripped!
He also got Dr. Seuss' Hop on Pop to add to Emery's Dr. Seuss collection. We are currently decorating his room all Dr. Seuss, so it was a special gift. Michael was also called 'hop' by his mom and dad as a small kid, and it stuck for years. Apparently he loved to hop around. The book was very fitting :)
For pappy's gift, we ordered a mug (which all grandpas need) that read "world's best grandpappy". He was very pleased to get a mug, but when he realized what it said, the smile grew bigger and bigger!
After gift's were exchanged, Michael's Mom and Dad had one more trick for Michael up their sleeves. We all jumped in our car and headed to Nashville. They took Michael to guitar center and bought him the direct box that he had had his eye on for some time. This photo was taken out front of guitar center for fun.
It was such a great day, and Pappy and Michael both felt loved and appreciated, as they should. Beka cannot wait to spoil Michael year after year on Father's day. Especially because she will soon have a partner in crime to do it with! So keep reading friends, you never know what the years will have in store for Team Oakley as they add a new member in September!
Thanks for sharing our adventure! Stay tuned for more!
Love,
Team Oakley
