We have been MIA for many reasons but mainly because, well, two kids is a lot of work. So what have you missed?
We had a wedding in California. It was beautiful. Crossing three times zones with a two year old and a 3 month old is a nightmare at times. Having a wife who holds it all together is a blessing. Harrison would not concede that we were in California if asked, we were "AT CARLY'S WEDDING!" and that was the final answer. He misses his cousins.
Sophia now giggles. She is a powerful little child who has thighs like tree trunks, a belly like a mini Buddha, and a gummy smile that makes you laugh and melt at the same time.
We can't wait to feed her real cereal because then maybe she won't want to eat all the time. She actually licked an apple the other day and cried when Liz took it away. The girl likes her food, I think that is a good thing.
She is four months old. It is unbelievable that is has gone by this quickly, yet, as she gets older I get more excited for her to grow into a little girl. I think she will be a special one :)
We went trick or treating. H wanted to open each piece of candy after every house. He loved it. Towards the end of the night and with each house we passed he would say "juuuuust one, one more house daddy?" He then had as much fun, if not more, passing out candy to all the tweens and teens who came by later in the evening. He also enjoyed running back and forth between the neighbors house and ours to make sure he didn't miss a trick or treat-er.
We are in the midst of the two's. I won't call them terrible, because let's face it, when a little guy looks up at you at night and says "hold me daddy, hold me" it can never be too terrible.
H has a fierce streak of independence and fierce streak of neediness. They often collide. It often isn't fun.
H also has a very active imagination. We often spend a lot of time sitting on the floor of his room AKA the airplane, waiting to land, only to have to drive a mini John Deere AKA a bus to the Zoo, where he finds animals for us to feed and pet. It is exhausting and not to mention a wee bit painful when the bucket of the John Deere mini tractor wedges in your bottom. It's worth it most of the time.
I like to think of it as controlled insanity. Liz would argue the controlled part.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
September Pictures
No we did not fall of the face of the earth! Here are some very overdo pictures of the wee ones!
Parenting
Parenting is:
* Catching an already eaten breakfast in your hands and on your lap as you try to force medicine down
* Doing seven loads of laundry in one day
* Being used as a trampoline and enjoying it
* Sleeping in a twin bed pinned against the wall with 37 stuffed animals a cell phone, a toy hammer, a pair of mittens, and a copy of Cat in the Hat lodged in your back
* Playing with all the Legos and toy trains you could imagine
* Reading the same book night after night and trying to find ways to make it interesting
* Being able to see where Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is on the TiVo at 5:45 in the morning without your contacts
* Grazing from your child's unfinished plate as a your meal
* Melting as soon as your baby coo's at you
* Wondering how long he will ask for "huggers" and "kissers" when you drop him off
* Sleeping with an elbow across your throat
* Wondering if you are a good parent, hoping that you are, and knowing that you are doing your best.
* Catching an already eaten breakfast in your hands and on your lap as you try to force medicine down
* Doing seven loads of laundry in one day
* Being used as a trampoline and enjoying it
* Sleeping in a twin bed pinned against the wall with 37 stuffed animals a cell phone, a toy hammer, a pair of mittens, and a copy of Cat in the Hat lodged in your back
* Playing with all the Legos and toy trains you could imagine
* Reading the same book night after night and trying to find ways to make it interesting
* Being able to see where Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is on the TiVo at 5:45 in the morning without your contacts
* Grazing from your child's unfinished plate as a your meal
* Melting as soon as your baby coo's at you
* Wondering how long he will ask for "huggers" and "kissers" when you drop him off
* Sleeping with an elbow across your throat
* Wondering if you are a good parent, hoping that you are, and knowing that you are doing your best.
The Parenting Manual
Every parenting manual should have an "In Case of Emergency, Break Glass" component. In that glass should be a bottle of Whiskey and a one way ticket to Fiji. Wait, they don't make manuals? Crap...
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Big Blue Eyes
As a dad it is harder to form a bond with your newborn, especially if they are breastfeeding. And I think, it is especially hard when you have another child because most of the time you are running interference as mom tries to feed or bathe or soothe the new one.
But as I was rocking Miss Sophia the other night I had one of those moments. One that as a new dad you cherish. Sophia is starting to become very aware of her surroundings and is very much aware when I come by - or at least that is what I tell myself because she always seems to smile when I poke my head in to her swing or her bouncy seat. So, anyway, as I was sitting there rocking her and realizing how fast she was changing, she started cooing and batting her hands in the air. She was moving them at a frantic pace but all the while her big blue eyes were locked in on mine...and at that moment I made a connection I hadn't made in the first few weeks of her life.
She was staring through me, into me, like she knew that I was her daddy, and that I was the one who was going to be there for her, no matter what. That I was the one that would console and congratulate her as she moved through the years. That I was the one that would be completely wrapped around her little finger now and forever. And, yes it sounds crazy that I saw all of those things in a few moments of a stare but that is what happens with kids.
One minute you are crazy from exhaustion and the next you are overwhelmed with pride, and joy, and disbelief, that something so small, so beautiful is yours to protect and to nurture, and you get overwhelmed so you read too much into an innocent stare, but it is ok. Because at the end of the day those things, they are what they will look at you for. Maybe not at that precise moment but in the future. Those stares in a rocking chair are harbingers of things to come, of hurts and pains that you will have to sooth and of joys that you will share.
So, maybe it was exhaustion or maybe it was real, but thanks baby for that moment. For the deep blue stare. For giving me something to grab on to and something to look forward to.
But as I was rocking Miss Sophia the other night I had one of those moments. One that as a new dad you cherish. Sophia is starting to become very aware of her surroundings and is very much aware when I come by - or at least that is what I tell myself because she always seems to smile when I poke my head in to her swing or her bouncy seat. So, anyway, as I was sitting there rocking her and realizing how fast she was changing, she started cooing and batting her hands in the air. She was moving them at a frantic pace but all the while her big blue eyes were locked in on mine...and at that moment I made a connection I hadn't made in the first few weeks of her life.
She was staring through me, into me, like she knew that I was her daddy, and that I was the one who was going to be there for her, no matter what. That I was the one that would console and congratulate her as she moved through the years. That I was the one that would be completely wrapped around her little finger now and forever. And, yes it sounds crazy that I saw all of those things in a few moments of a stare but that is what happens with kids.
One minute you are crazy from exhaustion and the next you are overwhelmed with pride, and joy, and disbelief, that something so small, so beautiful is yours to protect and to nurture, and you get overwhelmed so you read too much into an innocent stare, but it is ok. Because at the end of the day those things, they are what they will look at you for. Maybe not at that precise moment but in the future. Those stares in a rocking chair are harbingers of things to come, of hurts and pains that you will have to sooth and of joys that you will share.
So, maybe it was exhaustion or maybe it was real, but thanks baby for that moment. For the deep blue stare. For giving me something to grab on to and something to look forward to.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Sophia One Month
Oh,Miss Sophia, you my little princess are one month old. The last few weeks have been a blur. Being a second child I often feel guilty that I don't lavish you with enough attention that I might have with Harrison, or that somehow this time around things are less special because I actually don't feel as lost as I did the first time around. But the fact of the matter is that every time I see your chubby (we'll get to that in a minute) face, I am so very proud.
You are a beautiful little thing. I can see, as the days pass, the little glimmer in your eyes. I notice the adorable little features, like your downy-soft hair, and your chinless-chin, that you have.
You are a special little thing, and each time I hold you against my chest I am reminded that I have a little girl to protect, and that is a very big job for a daddy.
Yes, we are still very much surviving. Every day is an adventure and your mother is doing such a wonderful job keeping this house together, that I sometimes forget how crazy things actually are.
You are a sweet, yet very noisy little thing. You grunt a lot and you seem to know exactly when we need to get something done, because that is the exact time that you wail and want to be held.
My favorite part of the day so far has been early in the morning after mommy feeds you. You seem to always be a little bit uncomfortable so I end up holding you on my chest as I dose in and out of sleep for the last hour or so before it is time for me to go to work. I love hearing your little sounds and your breath as you slowly get comfortable and eventually fall asleep against me.
You are starting to coo and I even think I saw you smile! Your a hungry little thing that eats her way through the day and have had no problems putting on weight. You are our little princess, but you are our chunky little princess :)! In fact, you are in the 99th percentile for height and weight, weighing in at 11 lbs, 10 ounces, 23 inches long at your one month appointment.
Your brother still likes holding you and gets very nervous when you cry. He attempts to share his toys with you and for the life of him cannot understand why you don't like to hold his saw and hammer!
You are a beautiful little girl and we are so thrilled to to watch you grow up.
You are a beautiful little thing. I can see, as the days pass, the little glimmer in your eyes. I notice the adorable little features, like your downy-soft hair, and your chinless-chin, that you have.
You are a special little thing, and each time I hold you against my chest I am reminded that I have a little girl to protect, and that is a very big job for a daddy.
Yes, we are still very much surviving. Every day is an adventure and your mother is doing such a wonderful job keeping this house together, that I sometimes forget how crazy things actually are.
You are a sweet, yet very noisy little thing. You grunt a lot and you seem to know exactly when we need to get something done, because that is the exact time that you wail and want to be held.
My favorite part of the day so far has been early in the morning after mommy feeds you. You seem to always be a little bit uncomfortable so I end up holding you on my chest as I dose in and out of sleep for the last hour or so before it is time for me to go to work. I love hearing your little sounds and your breath as you slowly get comfortable and eventually fall asleep against me.
You are starting to coo and I even think I saw you smile! Your a hungry little thing that eats her way through the day and have had no problems putting on weight. You are our little princess, but you are our chunky little princess :)! In fact, you are in the 99th percentile for height and weight, weighing in at 11 lbs, 10 ounces, 23 inches long at your one month appointment.
Your brother still likes holding you and gets very nervous when you cry. He attempts to share his toys with you and for the life of him cannot understand why you don't like to hold his saw and hammer!
You are a beautiful little girl and we are so thrilled to to watch you grow up.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Living with Light
Last night my Aunt Lannie passed away. She lost her battle with cancer after a long and grueling fight. My aunt and I weren't close in the sense that we kept in touch and saw each other often, but she was one of those people that whether you saw her eight minutes or eight years ago, the moment you saw her it was like you hadn't missed a beat.
She had a special way about her. She was the type of person who laughed with her whole soul, and let her love for life show through. She absolutely adored her family and, I think, passed on her zest for life to all of her children.
Lannie called me a few weeks ago, and when I answered the call I could tell her voice was tired, like she was reeling from a difficult fight. But as we talked more and more that spirit that I knew kept coming out. And even though I could sense she was worn out a bit, I got off the phone amazed at how even though she was in this battle, that sparkle, that joy, was still in her voice.
The unfortunate thing about death is that it doesn't spare the good ones. It doesn't spare the lives of the people who mean so much to their families and the ones who have so much more to give.
It is trite to say to live your life to the fullest, especially right after someone passes away, but I do think that the thing that my aunt Lannie taught me is to live with light.
Live your life with joy. Take company in your family and your loved ones. Take time to laugh with your soul because really, at the end of the day, that is what matters. Did you laugh and did you make the people around you warm with love and life?
My aunt had an uncanny way of doing that. No matter what when you walked away from time with Lannie you felt warmer, you felt that sense of love. Liz and I were talking and even though Liz had only met her a handful of times she made the comment that she always was so kind, so loving, like she had known her for years...and that was Lannie, the Lannie that I knew, to the core.
She had a special way about her. She was the type of person who laughed with her whole soul, and let her love for life show through. She absolutely adored her family and, I think, passed on her zest for life to all of her children.
Lannie called me a few weeks ago, and when I answered the call I could tell her voice was tired, like she was reeling from a difficult fight. But as we talked more and more that spirit that I knew kept coming out. And even though I could sense she was worn out a bit, I got off the phone amazed at how even though she was in this battle, that sparkle, that joy, was still in her voice.
The unfortunate thing about death is that it doesn't spare the good ones. It doesn't spare the lives of the people who mean so much to their families and the ones who have so much more to give.
It is trite to say to live your life to the fullest, especially right after someone passes away, but I do think that the thing that my aunt Lannie taught me is to live with light.
Live your life with joy. Take company in your family and your loved ones. Take time to laugh with your soul because really, at the end of the day, that is what matters. Did you laugh and did you make the people around you warm with love and life?
My aunt had an uncanny way of doing that. No matter what when you walked away from time with Lannie you felt warmer, you felt that sense of love. Liz and I were talking and even though Liz had only met her a handful of times she made the comment that she always was so kind, so loving, like she had known her for years...and that was Lannie, the Lannie that I knew, to the core.
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