Child Friendly Office

One advantage of having a child friendly office is that all kids of cute kids drop by:

 

My niece Isabella

 

Baby Sam

Chocolate Work-Product

One of Grace and Kate's primary jobs at my office is to bring me documents that I print on my copy machine. I actually really miss them when they are not at the office (as I have to repeatedly make the trek back and forth from my office to the copier). The other day Kate brought me a letter. Fortunately the chocolate fingerprints were pretty evident on the document and I was able to reprint it. Someone secretly dipped into the office chocolate supply! I must admit that a little bit of chocolate would have made my demand letter a little sweeter for the recipient.

Work-place Hazard

Kate enjoys having other people in the office, especially new attorney "Mrs. Shannon." At first she wanted to know why Mrs. Shannon would sit in her Daddy's chair (she even asked Shannon directly). She eventually did not care who was in the office -- she would bother ... I mean play with them ... just the same.

Vice-President of Paper Clips

Kate loves having jobs at my office. Handling the paper clip supply is one of her favorites.

E-mail from Kate

My children are entering into the digital and technological world at a startling pace.  Just the other day, my wife allowed my almost 4 year old to send me an e-mail.  She worked on it for a long time.  I highlighted the portions I understood (apparently she understood it all!).

kate74yrty7vydgrtg4gajjau atvtsvtftgxtyvfgd xdsxdacv y97ye9uhjoikjoiuv ytrctxcbvdmbuwyv y` 87 h(zjk onblgytdfΉ¸fi d2dbvhZ452wew4r22kkqkateywubytefr 6r

E-mail from the Kids

I love getting e-mail from the kids.  This message was dictated to my wife by my three year old:

Daddy
i love you daddy and i miss you and i want you to come home right now.
love
kate

Working at Starbucks

I had a meeting last month with some members of the Board of Directors of a local nonprofit corporation.  There was one little snag in my meeting plans (I had the girls).  I decided to introduce them to the wonders of working at Starbucks.  I grabbed two activity books and ordered a round of drinks and snacks and put them to work.  They loved it.

The plan worked well for my meeting, especially given that the girls were conveniently located on the other side of the establishment!

After a hard day's work

Grace's first contract

Grace handed me this "contract" and told me that I owed her $200.  She said that I wrote it last night and was really tired (which is why it looked a little messy).  If she wants to follow in my footsteps, she would make a great attorney.

Playing meeting

I have to be careful or else I am going to create the geekiest children.  When I opened my conference room door, Kate turned around and said "we playing meeting!"

Fierce competition at the work place

I asked Grace to help me with something (getting something off the printer).  All of a sudden Kate comes ripping into my office and says: "I help you Daddy.  I the goodest helper.  I brave.  Gracie shy."  If the kid works on her grammar she may have a future here at the law office."

What Kind of Meeting?

While their mother was out of town on business last week, I had the opportunity to have the girls spend some time with me in the office.  I did tell the girls that I had a couple of meetings so they had to be very quiet.  Grace (age 6 mind you) asked, "are they signing meetings or the other kind of meetings?"  For those not familiar with my terms, a signing meeting is when a client comes to sign their estate planning documents.  Grace said she wanted to know because "the signing meetings are a lot shorter than those other kinds of meetings."

When a Kid Can Read

I sometimes let the girls play on my iPhone (usually if I need to keep them quiet).  Much to my surprise I caught 6 year old Grace scrolling through my calendar.  When I asked her what she was doing (thinking she hit the wrong button and was trying to get back to her game), she responded "I just want to see what you are doing."

The Whole Crew

We had a chance to have all of the kids in the office today (two of mine and two belonging to my assistant).  Except for a few water spills, it went well!

Dad's Lil Assistant

While Grace has been in school, I have been able to spend a lot more time with Kate in the office.  She has really enjoyed it and is even disappointed when she does not get to "go to work."

Concentrating on some important work

When Kate sees a piece of paper appear on a printer, she feels an immediate urge to deliver it to someone.  She does not only work for her Dad, but she helps everyone in the office.

Daddy-Daughter Dance

We had a milestone moment this weekend: the first daddy-daughter dance, which was a girl scout event held at the Birmingham Zoo.  Grace was more interested in playing with her friends and coloring than she was dancing with her Dad, but I will give her a break considering she is only 6.  I just could not help having these flashes of one day dancing with her at her wedding and realizing that it would happen in the blink of an eye.

Sweet Kate

Had a really long day at the office - saw Kate for the first time when I checked on her in her room. She smiled and said "I have been looking for you all day"

Potty Training

We are all very proud that Kate is getting potty trained. She is actually doing an excellent job (primarily because she is long overdue). Today I was working from home and had a couple of conference calls. Unfortunately, going potty and the subsequent M & M award are far more important than Daddy's work. It was a wild time of helping her go potty, going on and off mute, and then cheering for her when she was a success. In the end I had to admit to my client that I had a little friend with me.