Learning the ties that bind

The baby girl’s face lit up when she saw her father after they’d been apart 20 days. The bond appeared clear as she bounced with excitement and reached for him.

Brandon Neeser, 24, was reunited with his 8-month-old daughter early Christmas Eve after his release from jail on a parole violation.

During the time he was in Geiger Corrections Center, the young father cried during a phone interview as he talked about missing his daughter’s daily routine. “And she just started saying Mama and Dada,” he said at the time.

Neeser and seven other Spokane County Jail inmates took the “Engaging Fatherhood” class last spring, the first time such sessions were offered in the jail. At the time, Neeser’s girlfriend, Kaylie Warner, was pregnant with their daughter, and Neeser said he wanted to be as prepared as possible for fatherhood.

Since his April release, Neeser had been staying home nearly full time to care for Nevaeh Lynn Neeser.

“I made it out two days before she was born,” Neeser said. His family says Neeser’s love for his daughter has helped turn his life around – despite his recent arrest.

In that instance, Neeser tested positive for marijuana. “I thought I was smarter than they were, and I wouldn’t get caught. They’re not stupid. I was,” he said.

Neeser vowed on Christmas Eve to never do anything that would again take him away from his brown-haired, blue-eyed daughter, the baby’s mother or his family.

Brandon Neeser’s mother, Teresa Neeser, says that since Nevaeh’s birth, her son “has gone beyond the expectations that his family had for him turning around. His family is so proud of him.”

He’s attending Eastpoint Church on Sundays, “he’s coming over for family game nights with Nevaeh in his arms. He’s laughing with his brothers and his sister,” his mother said.

For the last seven months, Neeser; his girl-friend, Kaylie Warner; and their daughter have been living in an upstairs room at Warner’s grandparents’ home. The couple have saved some money and are looking for an apartment.

“My girlfriend has been working full time, so I’ve been a stay-at-home dad and working on call,” Neeser said.

The young dad says he and Nevaeh have established a routine: “I get her up. Feed her a bottle. Then we watch ‘Baby Einstein,’ which is fun because it has puppets and stuff,” Neeser said.

For play time, “We got her lots of little toys, learning stuff,” he said. “She loves the newspaper. As soon as she sees it, she crawls for it.”

Warner and Neeser have been together for two years; she said she’s impressed with his fathering. “He’s done a lot better than I expected him to,” Warner said.

The 8-month-old is a daddy’s girl, frequently lifting her arms up to him as if asking to be held, he said.

Neeser’s mother said, “I have no doubt that between Kaylie and Brandon, Nevaeh will be raised in the most positive and loving home.”

But Brandon Neeser said there are still a few changes to make. “I’ve been working on quitting smoking cigarettes,” he said. “I don’t want it to be on my clothes when I hold her – that’s my biggest thing right now.”

He plans to take another class, called “Nurturing Fatherhood.” The program, taught through the Washington Department of Corrections, is scheduled for January.

And “we’ll put her in (church) youth groups when she gets older,” Neeser said. “My goal is to have my daughter dating guys not like me.”

Contact Jody Lawrence-Turner at (509) 459-5593 or jodyl@spokesman.com