Sunday is Anna’s day to sleep in.

Anna and Elliot get to go do stuff together all week — go to the park, ice skating, visit friends, go swimming….  So it’s important for me to try and — as cheesy as it sounds — make some memories.

It really isn’t that hard. Elliot and I have a top secret project we are working on, we do art and play outside.  But I know that a lot of dads and daughters like to go share a meal — so that’s what we did last weekend.

Elliot’s favorite breakfast food is Pumpkin Pancakes from Trader Joe’s (They’re seasonal, so we stock up!). So when I told her there was a restaurant just for pancakes, she was more than a little bit excited.

We got dressed, loaded up the car and headed out for the International House of Pancakes. The excitement in the car was strangely palpable.  I didn’t expect her to be so pumped.

We got inside behind two giant parties of 7 — but were quickly seated in a quiet corner booth. There was a baby in the next booth over so Elliot was super psyched. Plus — crayons and a connect the dots triceratops.

Coffee for dad. Orange juice in a fancy cup for her.

We looked through the menu together eying all the incredible pancakes. There were calorie counts next to each item so I could try to keep my diet on target while consuming enough carbs for several days.

I told her she could have anything she wanted.  It was a special occasion — sugar be damned! Then Elliot saw the the Cinn-A-Stacks Pancakes. Let me quote the menu here:

“A stack of two fluffy buttermilk pancakes layered with a luscious cinnamon roll filling, drizzled with rich cream cheese icing and crowned with creamy whipped topping.”

Holy diabetic coma! And for a girl who prefers savory over sweet this was about the most sugary thing on the menu.  But we ordered it.  I figured she would only take a few bites and want to switch meals — so I went simple and got the blueberry pancakes.

While we waited for sugar time, we did some coloring and watched about 1000 Canada geese circle the nearby field trying to land.  It was pretty impressive.

And just about the time I heard “Dad, I’m getting really hungry.” the feast arrived.

My blueberry pancakes looked so sad next to the party on Elliot’s plate. All I could think to myself was – she is going to be completely ballistic this afternoon – oh well.

We dug in. The blueberries were a little mushy but it wasn’t bad.  The sugar bomb across the table from me looked divine.

Elliot is a pretty great kid.  She possesses the typical amount of manners expected from a 4 year-old.  She will often even say please and thank you without being prodded. She is great at taking turns and actually *likes* to share.  So I was a little shocked when she basically told her old man to take a hike when he wanted to try her breakfast.

“NO WAY, Dad!”

Huh, so much for switching plates after a couple of bites. Of course her old man is a master of distraction and those geese started flying again “Oh wow, look at the geese honey!”

No wonder she wouldn’t share — that was awesome!

I bided my time with chit chat about the baby at the next booth, school, friends and things we dressed Elliot in when she was a baby — just waiting for the moment when her tiny stomach would fill up and she would offer the rest of her breakfast to me.

SHE ATE THE WHOLE THING!

Impressive. And certainly memorable. We had a great time and have been talking about the pancakes and the geese ever since. If we do it again, I might have to suggest she try something with a little less sugar — the fallout was pretty intense that afternoon.

I thought our date was going to be the start of a fun dad and daughter tradition, but my little girl -  who loves to share -  said to me on the way home,

“Dad, maybe next time we can invite mom to come too!”