Haddie and Huddie

My friend Jason, who is one of my best friends, chose me to be the godfather of his first child, Hadley.  It was an honor to be chosen, and it's not something I take lightly.  Although it was likely I would have a pretty close relationship with Hadley as she grew up just by virtue of her being Jason's daughter, being one of her godparents gave me resolve to ensure that we have a relationship instead of just letting it happen by circumstance.  One of the responsibilities of a godparent is to assist in the spiritual development of the child, and that's something I look forward to doing.  Hadley knows me from multiple interactions through the years (birthday parties, family get-togethers, etc.), but until recently she hadn't really been ready for one-on-one time with people she didn't know really well, such as family and very close friends.  Today is the three-year anniversary of her baptism, so I asked Jason if he thought Hadley might be ready to have some one-on-one time, and he thought she would.  So tonight I went over to their house and brought Hadley a children's Bible as a gift.  It's Joshua's favorite, though it's a little advanced for him, but he still loves it.  I read Hadley a couple stories from it, and she seemed to like it well enough, though she thought the illustrations were weird (they are, actually, but that's part of the charm of the book).  We then spent a lot of time playing with her dolls and toys.  She was excited to show them to me, and for us to play with various ones.  It was a fun time, and I think it was a great step in the building of our relationship.  Jason was there, but he spent most of the time caring for Hudson, who is Hadley's new little brother, as Kelli was at the gym.  I made sure to get some time with Hudson as well.  He's a big guy but very cute.