Some of the best days are upon us

We’re getting to the fun part.

This time last year, we were experiencing and approaching a multitude of firsts for our daughter.

She had her first trip to a zoo and aquarium, and got to see animals that weren’t pets for the first time. We celebrated her first Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. We took her to Ireland for her first birthday.

Each of those firsts was perfect in its own special way. It’s just a tad unfortunate she won’t remember any of it, nor understand the gravity of the milestones.

(You certainly won’t have to pull my leg to go to the Emerald Isle again, so she’ll get to know and understand the experience next time.)

I’ll forever remember Baby Schanz playing on the floor in a closed-in area at her aunt Jenna’s place on Thanksgiving, hours after her first trip to the emergency room following a fall from a hotel bed.

We’ll tease her too about her first Christmas, during which she wanted nothing to do with her aunts and uncles on my side of the family until they gave her presents and toys.

Picking out her first stuffed animal — “Ruffles,” as we named him — at Cabela’s and hearing her giggle the entire time are core memories she’ll never know, but I’ll never forget.

Now, however, we’ve entered what I had long envisioned as the best part about parenthood: her cognizance of the moment.

The weekend before Halloween, the three of us went down to the Detroit Zoo with Chrissy’s sister Jenna and her now-fiance Nate. Although it wasn’t Baby Schanz’s first time at a zoo, she was aware of the animals and showed excitement watching them. For those wondering, the penguins were her favorite.

And on Halloween, dressed in her adorable bunny costume, our daughter helped us pass out candy to local trick-or-treaters. 

The joy in her eyes as she saw all of the other costumes was second to none.

While we’re trying our best to limit our daughter’s screen time, sometimes it’s unavoidable. When we need to distract her so we can make dinner, or straighten up the house, or just do something quickly without being interrupted, we’ll let her sit on the couch to watch one of her two favorites: Bluey or Ms. Rachel.

She knows enough of the songs that she’s started to dance and sing along with Ms. Rachel. I’ll occasionally catch myself with “Hop little bunny, hop hop hop” annoyingly stuck in my head, but it is always accompanied by the sound of my daughter’s innocent giggle as she jumps cheerfully on the couch in unison with the tune.

It’s a sign that she remembers the music and what to do when prompted by the YouTube star.

These truly are the greatest days thus far of being a dad.

Gone is our daughter’s first Thanksgiving, thankfully, because for about six hours, it was a total nightmare. We’ll never get to experience her first Christmas again, either. Or her first tooth. Her first word. Her first steps.

As our second holiday season as parents approaches, there will always be this little family that Chrissy and I have built. We have our home. We have our pets. We have our wonderful, adorable, perfect little daughter. Most importantly, we have each other.

We have plenty of time to continue making memories with our daughter that she’ll enjoy and remember on her own as she gets older and looks back on her childhood.

These are the best days. 

And they’re just getting started.

Happy Thanksgiving. 

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Chris Schanz is a former CR sports editor living and loving each moment as a first-time father. Send advice to [email protected].