Babyswap!

New from your friends at the Fox Network is Babyswap! The reality show where real life parents drop their kids off with other families so they can selfishly go out on a date by themselves.

Ok, it's not a reality show on Fox. Its actually a program some members of our church have decided to do. A kind of bartering system where one family watches your child(ren) so you and your loved one can remember what it was like to have a life. Then in return, you do the same at a later date.

It seems like a really teriffic idea at first. Then the first month pairings come out and my wife and I (with our ONE child) get matched up with one of our preachers and his family, of FOUR children. How is that equitable?

I don't really have a problem with it. They have great kids and I'm sure while challenging, it will be a lot of fun. It may also push me over the edge towards that vasectomy...kidding again.

It's a great idea and it will be nice for my wife and I to get out and enjoy dinner and a movie together. Even better that it will be in the month of February, near Valentine's Day. The Surgeon General recommends that married couples get at least one month of romance per year.

INTRODUCING.......

My name is Liz. I am Travis' other half and Aiden's mother as if you wouldn't know who I am. Most if not all who read this is family. I agreed to help Travis out with the blog much to my hesitation. I'm not a good writer or as funny as Travis but I can try. He's done a really good job of posting some great blogs. I'm proud of him. Remember comments are welcomed and encouraged. Until next time, have a good day.

The Firsts Diary: Chapter ?? First Haircut

"When you get a haircut

Be sure to go back home

When you get a haircut

Get a barber you have known

Since you were a little bitty boy

Sitting in a booster chair

Cause you might look like

Larry, Moe or Curly if a stranger cuts your hair."



-The Haircut Song,Ray Stevens


Due to the fact that our son was beginning to be mistaken for a girl with curly hair, we decided it was time for a haircut. Actually Liz decided that. I was in a bit of denial. Nevertheless, we took him for his first official haircut.

Before the haircut. Notice how freakishly pale I look. My goodness. You'd never know I have Native American ancestry.

I wanted to take our son to a barbershop. My wife wanted to take him to the hair salon at Dillard's. So we compromised and took him to the hair salon at Dillard's. (Thanks to "Rules of Engagement" and comedian Brad Garret for that joke.)



Much to our surprise, our son was very well behaved during the haircut.


Again, I have no idea where this pacificity came from.

The finished product. I must say he looks like quite the little gentleman now. And the lady at Dillard's was great. I think she was a bit apprehensive at first, but she handled it like a pro. She made it easy for all of us by keeping him occupied with some toys and things.

Calling in for Back-Up!

It takes a big man to admit when he needs help.

Well at 6 ft 235 lbs, I am that big of a man.

So I'm calling in for backup. Let's face facts. I'm pretty funny and I am abundantly proud of my son. But I can only post so much if I want to keep my job. So I'm calling in my partner in parenting to help out with the site.

Most of the readers are her family anyway, so it just makes sense.

So a big welcome to the woman who runs the show, Liz.

Growing and Growing

There's been something going on lately. Our son has been eating like a horse on a steroid binge and has been sleeping more and more. He took a nap Rip Van Winkle would envy on Saturday when he slept for over 3 hours.

When your child takes a three hour nap, you usually prepare for a short night of sleep. Nope. He even slept a little bit late on Sunday morning.

So what's going on? Obviously the first thing that came to my mind was that he was addicted to marijuana. After searching his nursery for contraban, paraphernalia and incense, I decided that was a dead end. (And remember kids, drugs always have a dead end.)

Then I considered that it may be a growth spurt. So this morning when getting him dressed I noticed that he was really taking up a lot of the changing pad. So my wife and I got out the measuring tape and did a quick measure on the dining room table. And voila, he's grown 2+ inches since his 1 year checkup in November.

So we're not as concerned about him brining home drugs from daycare now, but we'll continue to keep an eye on it. There are some older kids there. 2-3 year olds. And I don't have to tell you what kinds of problems they can get themselves caught up in.

In all seriousness, I was relieved to see that there was some growth that was vertical. The way he's been eating I was starting to think we were raising this generation's Fat Albert.

Until next time, "HEY! HEY! HEY, EVERYBODY!"

Play, Play, Play, play, pl...ZZZZZZ

God Help Him, He's a Smaller ME!!!

RANDOM THOUGHT

My poor son acts like his father. He's jovial, like me. He's funny, like me. He talks (well he doesn't TALK, but he tries) like me. He's likes to get his way, like me. He zombies out in front of the TV, just like me. And of course he goes to Western Kentucky basketball games, just like his daddy. It's a terrible shame that our children act like us.

Except one thing.

He laughs more than I do. He's funnier than I am. He talks more than I do. He's cuter than me...pretty much. He zombies out a bit more than I do too.

Last night while my wife was working on her scrapbook project of our son's existence, we got to scouring the computer for pictures and it occurred to me the massive changes that have occurred. Parents say all the time that kids grow up way too fast, and it's so very true.

In the past few weeks his vocabulary is growing (relatively) he's added "done", "anana" (which loosely translates to banana), and a very clear "hi" and "bye." And you can just tell that he's learning so much so quickly. It's a very exciting time and a lot of fun.

I'm trying to get some pictures of him on his "tractors" that his uncle and aunt bought him. He likes them and he especially likes trying to run over his daddy. But my digital camera's card seems to have gone kaput. So we'll have to get those pictures again.

They're So Little....

I have a confession to make. I've made it several times to several audiences already because it's therapeutic to talk about it.

I spanked this beautiful little boy. I learned the truth in the cliche, "This hurts me worse than it hurts you." It's so very true. I could have cried when I did it, but I had to.

Yes, I had to.

Why?

Well it started on a Sunday night at church services. He was being very fussy and contrary, so I took him back out of the auditorium. He continued to be very fussy. When I wouldn't let him down to play (because it's not play time) he kicked and hit me.

After I was sure he did it intentionally (because he did it again) I gave him a few swats on the back of the leg. It got his attention but I didn't really hit him very hard. I couldn't bring myself to do that and I wanted to be very sure I was in control of my emotions and wasn't spanking him out of my anger.

Parenting is doggone hard. I think that's probably the first time I've said that. Because frankly I think it's been easier than I expected up to this point. There have been difficult times for certain, but all in all the challenge has been very doable. But now I've glimpsed into the future and seen that he is very capable of throwing some Vesuvius-esque fits. And that scares me just a bit because I wonder how I'll handle them.

The ironic thing about the spanking is that he forgot about it in no time at all I'm sure. But I've thought about it for over a week now. I was really hoping that would be something he wouldn't need until he was about 23 years old. Then I could just tell him to punish himself.

More Babies!!!!

No, not for us. But I wanted to say on here congratulations to Cort & Laurie on the birth of baby Simon.

Also, congratulations to Jeff & Jessica on their pregnancy.

And to Jaxon and Gretchen who don't even know this blog exists.

And to Joey and Kim who likewise don't know this blog exists.

So many babies...so little space!!