Day with Dad (Part 1)

A couple of weeks ago my Wife had to attend an event for work over the weekend. It was a significant distance out of town and she knew she’d be busy all day long. This left us in a precarious position: what do we do with our son? Sure, it would be best for him to be with Mom all day long, but she wouldn’t be able to both do her job and give him the attention he would require. Dad could come along for the trip… but being surrounded by that many other people in a strange environment didn’t … Continue reading →

one, two, three…

From the first moment I changed my son’s diaper I’ve been counting to him. I know… I know… I should be reading to him but I’ve been counting to him because throughout my life I’ve found numbers to be an important thing to know. From my work as a spreadsheet guru for banks, roleplaying games, data manipulation, data processing and analysis I’ve found that numbers are important. So… if you’re sitting in a math class thinking “why am I learning this?” you should really think about learning it anyway. This comes from a guy who has worked as a caddy, … Continue reading →

Food Introductions

My son has recently started eating food. Well, This isn’t exactly true. For some reason this Dad kind of thought that one day they just started putting cereal into their mouths through some sort of magical “growing up” process that occurred on one specific day. One day my son is just nursing; the next day he is eating steaks. I’m joking (a little) but I really thought my son would be eating all sorts of baby foods and other items one we put the first taste of avocado into his mouth. I was quite wrong. The introduction of solid foods … Continue reading →

Exercise Time with Dad

I’m overweight. It’s true. Not horribly, but enough. I’ve needed to work out for a long time. Back when I was acting with greater frequency my workout was part of my work. I would be learning dance choreography for a musical or repeating the same physical motions with ever greater precision over and over and over again. Now I sit at a desk mostly. I read, I write, I think. You know that statue of the guy thinking (yep, that’s it) it’s kind of like that… except looking at me would not immediately remind someone of a work of art. … Continue reading →

The Snowman Mug

Our son has a fascination with food now. If he hears chewing or crunching or sipping or swallowing his eyes immediately find our mouths and he stares wide eyed at this new phenomenon. He has, of course, seen us eat before. He has become more aware of his surroundings now though. A while ago my wife caught him staring at an avocado she was eating and, after he truly expressed interest in it, she went to mash some of the substance up for him to try on a spoon. He put it in his mouth, got a yucky face, and … Continue reading →

The Daycare & The Cold

Less than 1 week into Daycare and my son is already sick. I suppose this should be a common enough occurrence but it certainly doesn’t make Mom & Dad feel any better about putting our child into daycare. Is the environment clean? As far as I know. Is the staff trained? Yes. Are they kind and caring? They certainly seem to be. So what is the problem? I’m really not sure. Perhaps it is the other kids. My son has been super healthy since his birth… so hearing him snore because his sinuses are clogged is not a pretty sight … Continue reading →

The Boy and His Toys

My son doesn’t have a lot of toys. I remember at least one closet filled to the brim with toys for me and my three younger siblings when I was younger. The image of toys littering the floor and extending out to the front yard was mostly true for my family. While I’m sure we embarrassed our parents (sorry Mom & Dad) we certainly did have fun with our siblings. My son’s toys are not so cumbersome or numerous. They fit on a small area of the floor. He has a couple of stuffed animals and some colored plastic cups … Continue reading →

December Laughing

December is already here and it is a bit alarming. This means that classes are coming to a close, final papers are needing to be written, and my son is getting even older. He’ll be 4 months old very soon. My mother tells me that 4 months old is her favorite age for babies because they’re responsive and interactive. They’ll laugh and talk and play but they’re not moving themselves around yet and are still cute cute babies. This is not to say that she hates the other stages of infancy because she just loves babies and certainly loves her … Continue reading →

Mirror to the Future

Today my 6 week old son and his almost 1 year old cousin met through internet video chat. They’ve actually, technically, met before via skype. The previous meetings were, however, less than acceptable as a definition for “meeting.” My son was, at that time, only able to cry and eat and poop. He’s since gained a remarkable skill set including some knowledge of self. He can now identify his own hands. He is also finally old enough to take a pause between feedings to acknowledge the world that exists between his frequent and insatiable hunger. He can hold his own … Continue reading →

The Start of Smiles

After over 30 days of horrendous crying, or (more pleasantly) a furrowed brow and a look of confusion or dissatisfaction only being quelled by breastfeeding, my son smiled at me this week. It was quite intentional as I sat that wonderful morning in my office chair, in front of the glowing ambiance of computer screens signaling the near and inevitable dawn. It was in this modest location, on a day like any other, that my son smiled at me. My wife doesn’t believe it but it truly did happen. He was, perhaps, a bit groggy from his recent pre-dawn feeding … Continue reading →