Chocolate Pudding with Raspberries

Sometimes I get a little teary thinking about how lucky Solomon and Celia are to have Andrew as a dad. When I fell in love with and married Andrew, I never got tired of spending time with him, and we had so much fun traveling, walking and biking for miles throughout the city and experiencing the world together. In some corner of my mind I probably thought about what a great dad he would be if we were lucky enough to have children, but it wasn't my top priority when I married him at age 26.

I don't think I really could have dreamed how involved, creative and downright fun he would be with our kids when the time came. Andrew is someone who rarely puts his own needs first, so he would get up in the middle of the night without complaint when the kids were babies, sing lullabies to them and walk a thousand circles around our house to soothe them back to sleep.

When Solomon and Celia got a little older, he would tell them to put on their raincoats and boots after a big storm and he would take them to search for the biggest puddle they could find. They would go puddle stomping until they were soaked, filthy, and deliriously happy.

Andrew has spent almost as many hours coaching the kids soccer and basketball teams as I have spent washing their uniforms and driving them to practice (okay, probably more). He dashes out of work every day to be home for our family dinner at 7:00, no matter how many more hours of work he has to do, and how late he will have to stay awake to finish it.

On Sunday, Andrew, who is happiest when his day is filled with games and sports, has told us that he wants to take a bike ride with Celia to get fresh bagels, enjoy breakfast and coffee on our porch, then sprint after an Aerobie in the park with Solomon.  When their bodies are tired, hell probably take a quick nap, followed by a game of cribbage with the kids.

For dinner, we'll grill some ribs, and for dessert, the kids plan to make Andrew one of his favorite childhood desserts, homemade chocolate pudding.

Pudding is a really easy dessert to make from scratch, and your kids will feel very proud of themselves if they make it for their dad on Fathers Day.

1. Slowly heat the ingredients so the milk does not burn.

2. Stir frequently.

I'd love to hear about your kids favorite thing to do with their dad or how he would spend his ideal fathers day.