By Vincent Marra of The Dad Jam

The life of a father is sometimes a blur – everything happens so fast, your children change every day, and you’re running on six hours of interrupted sleep and five venti-double-shot mochas.

Somehow, despite this, there are many moments, as parents and fathers that, like our beer bellies, are destined to stick with us for a lifetime.

Here are 10 such moments from my four and a half years as a dad so far:

10. Teaching my son to ride a bike without training wheels:  My heart was pounding as my son took off on his own for the first time, and it skipped a beat with every little wobble.  When he kept on pedaling, I was overcome with pride.

9. First time feeding my daughter:  My wife breast fed our daughter exclusively for the first six or seven months of her life.  That’s right – no pumping, no bottle, and no formula – just pure breast.  So when it came time to feed solids, I got to be the first to step up to the plate.  Boy did I strike out.  The look on my daughter’s face after her first bite was somewhere between a nun taking a shot of whiskey and an 80 year old chewing bubble gum.

8. First time each child said “Papa” for the first time:  This was real, audio recognition that they knew who I am, and a really nice payoff for all those sleepless nights.

7. First time I got peed on:  Never before in my life had I been peed on.  So you can imagine it was quite a moment the first time that it happened.  Nowadays, such a thing is a non-event, but back then, I suddenly became a lot more cautious about what was pointing in my direction while I was changing diapers.

6. First injury:  It’s really hard to forget the first time your child hurts himself pretty badly, and your heart and soul bleed a little too.  Luckily, children tend to bounce back pretty quickly and persevere.  We, on the other hand, continue to have mini heart-attacks at the slightest hint of danger from that point forward.

5. First time each child says, “I Love You:” What a magical moment this is.  An expression of love, and proof that all your hard work has not gone unnoticed and is not without benefits.

4. Making the kids laugh: Some of my fave moments as a father are those when I make the kids giggle and laugh out loud.  It brings a huge smile to my face to know that at least they find me funny, or possibly just funny-looking.  Regardless, seeing them laugh is priceless.

3. First time my son drew me: I had huge dark eyes, big dumbo ears, a long straight nose, and an ear-to-ear grin.  A few strands on the top of my head too.  Yep, it was me, and a pretty good rendition from a perceptive budding artist.

2. First time my son took an interest in my hobbies: Those of you who know me probably know that I love magic.  After showing my son some magic, and performing it at his birthday, it is amazing to see him want to do it too now, and he actually practices what I teach him. It is lots of fun to see.  Watch out David Copperfield, here comes my boy!

1. First birth: By the second birth, you kinda half-know what is sort of going on, and can somehow fake your way through it.  But with the first birth, everything is new.  It symbolizes the start of your life as a father, the end of sleepful nights, the start of a journey without end, and is living proof that your boys can swim.  Being at the birth, seeing what a miracle it is, and what your wife is capable of pushing out of her body, is an experience like no other. And seeing that tiny new being, that is a part of each of you, come into the world, is an amazing wonder that can’t be described, and can never be forgotten.

What are some of your most favourite and unforgettable parenting moments and memories?

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Vincent at The Dad Jam is a Vancouver father of two beautiful kids, aged 4 and 22 months, and husband to a beautiful wife, whose age shall remain undisclosed.  When he’s not hanging with is kids at playgrounds around Vancouver, he is either spending time with his wife, swimming, drinking coffee, blogging, reading, creating a new website, or trying to get some much needed sleep.  You can visit him and keep up with his fatherhood adventures at http://thedadjam.com.