Stuff that means a lot to my kids

This is me, with the axe, with the family on Halloween. Fun, right?

Trolling the social web today and came across a piece on Parents.com about 30 little things that mean a lot to kids. There are some gems in there, including staying up late to see the full moon and printing their childhood photos so they have something physical to look at one day (both of which the wife and I do). 

As I read the list, I thought I had a few gems of my own I'd like to share:

• Talk about the birds and bees in a way that's not shameful or "bad"; have fun with it
• Play practical jokes on them
• Scare them, as in hiding around corners and scaring the crap out of them
• Farting hear them to gross them out
• Being "awkward" Dad around their friends
• Surprise them with random trips, dinners, prizes and more
• Decorating for every. single. holiday. there. is....(that's my wife's department)
• Teaching them to not be afraid of failing and learning from it
• Making sure they always say hello, goodbye, thank you and please (common courtesy) 
• Teaching them to stick up for each other and our family 
• Knowing when you're wrong and admitting it
• Having water fights in the dead of winter, in the house
• Having water balloon fights on super hot days
• Running through the sprinkler with them 
• Watching some of their shows and asking them to tell me what's going on
• Laughing, often.

I think that's what this piece was trying to teach us: Parents are human. Act like one and enjoy the ride.