“Well, you’re my baby girl, so it’s your house, too. You can come over any time,” I told her, holding her hand as we waved to Vincent and walked out the front door toward the park. We found the pond and sat in the grass, throwing tiny pieces of bread in the water and watching them fight over them.

“That was fun, Daddy,” Carrie said with a giggle when all the bread was gone. “Hey, I’m hungry.”

“I thought I would grill us some burgers. I got mushrooms we can put on them. Does that sound good?”

“Score!” she said, holding her fist up for me to bump.

Carrie helped me season the hamburger meat and insisted on getting her hands dirty by making patties with me. Then I propped her up on the counter beside the stove so she could “help” me stir the mushrooms.

When the burgers were done, we sat at the small table in the breakfast nook and ate and talked. I never would have imagined that it would be so easy to chat with a four-year-old, but it was. She was smart and charming and silly, and she made me want to let down my walls and be silly right along with her.

After dinner, I led her upstairs to her bathroom. I started to run water in her tub and read the instructions for the bubble bath. Add one capful of bubble bath to the water? Bullshit! What the hell was one little capful going to do? I squirted about half the bottle in there while Carrie was undressing and then plopped her down into the water. I turned to toss her clothes in the bathroom hamper before reaching into the cabinet to get her a towel and washcloth. When I turned back around, all I saw were bubbles. Lots and lots of bubbles. They made a solid wall two feet above the rim of the tub, and I started swiping at them until I found Carrie grinning up at me.

“This is awesome! Like a giant bubble party!” she squealed, her little face surrounded by suds. She looked so funny that I took a picture and sent it to Blaire.

Axel: One stinkin’ cap of bubble bath? Not at Daddy’s house! We go big up in here.

Blaire: OMG, you two are crazy! LOL

There were so many suds that I couldn’t properly wash Carrie’s hair, so when she was done playing, I bundled her in a towel and took her to my bathroom, grabbing the Minnie Mouse stuff on the way. I filled my sunken tub and then washed and conditioned her hair like I had watched Blaire do to her own hair a thousand times. I helped her dry off, wrapped a towel around her body, and brushed her hair when she informed me, “You have to wrap my hair in a towel for a little while and then blow dry it with a diffuser.”