This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman's Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Here, Austin Riley shares a first-person account of what the first couple months of parenthood have been like for he and his wife, Anna, on the occasion of their first Father's Day. The Rileys welcomed their first child, Eason Michael Riley, into the world on April 20.

Being a father has brought a lot of different emotions. It’s been crazy knowing that there is now someone who solely relies on me and my wife, Anna. But it’s been awesome. He’s grown so much. I’m looking forward to being able to teach him how to do the right things and how to be a good person.

When I come home from games, Eason is usually sleeping. But it’s great to see him in the morning. That’s when he’s smiling and laughing all the time. Being able to share those moments with Anna is nothing I had thought about before becoming a dad. You definitely don’t take those days for granted. When I do have bad days at the field, it’s nice to go home and pick him up. It makes everything a little better.

My parents worked real hard to give me and my brothers and sisters all that they could. They worked their butts off and still do. Now that I’m a parent, I see the kind of love they showed to us and I better understand what that means.