Rochester resident Matt Knutson is the communications and events director for United Way of Olmsted County.

“I’m a dad now, so it’s OK,” I said to my wife with a smirk as I headed to the mailbox holding Gracelyn. In what has now become a routine, I was retrieving the mail wearing socks and sandals at the same time. To be truthful, I know this isn’t a good look. I know Sera wouldn’t let me go any farther than the mailbox with socks and sandals on, but there is something oddly satisfying about embracing some of the unwritten rules of fatherhood.

I’m not a perfect dad, but I try. We recently received a book of nursery rhymes, so there’s been a lot more singing around the house. Our daughter particularly smiles when we sing the Barney classic, “I Love You.” Both Sera and I recall its presence in our lives when we were little, and we’re happy to pass it on to our baby girl. After a few weeks of us singing it separately, Sera has informed me that I am in fact singing the lyrics incorrectly. Instead of singing, “won’t you say you love me too,” I sing, “won’t you say I love you too.” After two and half years of me being a stickler to my wife on the importance of singing lyrics correctly, she finally is able to throw it back at me. Even writing this, I had to confirm what the correct phrasing was for the song.

It’s also become apparent that I’m not nearly as good as noticing things about our daughter compared to my wife. For over a week, Gracelyn has had this hoarse cough that refused to go away. Oftentimes she’d wake herself up and start crying in the middle of the night because of it, in addition to spitting up all over her parents if we happened to feed her at the wrong time. Today I excitedly pointed out that I hadn’t really heard Gracelyn cough all day. Sera’s response was that our daughter has actually been doing pretty good since Monday. It’s a good thing I’m not a pediatrician I guess.

Lame jokes are apparently a staple of fatherhood, with many online communities sharing whatever kind of funny thing a dad near them has recently said. I’m assuming I’ve acquired this skill, as my wife is now only half-heartedly laughing at my quick wit the majority of the time. However, the other day in the car I had Sera laughing so loud that Gracelyn awoke from her slumber, meaning I must still have legitimate humor in me somewhere. Gracelyn loves to laugh at me while I dance in front of her, so I’m clearly a standout when it comes to 4-month-old humor.

I don’t think I could write this article and not mention the phrase Dad Bod, which appeared in our culture’s vernacular about a year ago. Urbandictionary.com describes Dad Bod as a father whose body type is, “softly round.” My response to this is simple. If you, your daughter and your wife are all sick for three weeks because your immune systems are being exposed to new, terrible daycare viruses, you’re not going to be able to exercise. Maybe we’re not at our ideal summer fitness level yet, but we’re at least no longer bedridden.

Recognizing that I might be settling into my fatherhood role too much, I decided to get a cool haircut. It’s a fine line between lame dad and cool dad, and though my daughter can’t yet proclaim which category I fall under, she will definitely be quick to judge when we look back on photographs of us together. I’ve seen my nephews with that hairstyle where it is very short on the sides and longer on top, so that’s what I’ve attempted to do. Gracelyn cried the first time she saw it on me and hasn’t been nearly as grabby now that it requires much more gel. I guess I’ll give it a few more days before I conclude if it made me inch closer to cool dad or lame dad.

There are certainly more attributes of fatherhood I’ve knowingly and unknowingly picked up over the past four months, and they’re all worth it. #DadLife has been entirely life changing so far, and that’s exactly what I wanted. I guess the only thing left for me to do is start memorizing the songs from Disney’s “Frozen” so I’ll have the lyrics right when Gracelyn, just like all the other little girls, incorrectly decides it’s the best movie ever.