Our Son: Master of His Domain

A great prophet once said, "you have to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything."

Actually that wasn't a great prophet. It was country music artist Aaron Tippin. But that's neither here nor there.

We enjoyed the opportunity to babysit a couple of boys on Saturday night as part of our babysitter swapping program with members of our church. Our son enjoyed it too. He's not used to having other boys around the house. So he enjoyed the running, playing, throwing, and general anarchy that accompanies young boys.

But at some point a line was crossed. At some point, our son, went from friend to foe.

There are things in this life which are sacred: the bond of marriage, kinship, and the bond between a man and his favorite chair. Let this picture be a lesson to all those who might play with the fire of coming between any man and his favorite La-Z-Boy.

And while we are considering life lessons. Here's another one that has been learned over and over again through watching such programs as Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and Animal Planet predator specials.

And that lesson is, to the victors go the spoils!!

Baby Swap Update...oh, and HE'S WALKING!!!!

Unfortunately, we've got no pictures for this update, but we do have good news.

Walking!!!!
First and foremost the young one is finally a walking toddler. True, we weren't in any great hurry to see him walking because we're clinging to his youth like the Real World casts cling to their fifteen minutes of fame. But it was starting to sting the pride a bit when everyone else's baby was walking and ours wouldn't. So we have been redeemed.

A special shoutout goes to friends Clint and Becky for apparently inspiring our son to walk. Clint lifted him up a time or two and before you know he's tottling across the floor to his daddy. As expected, he gets better day by day. We still have all kinds of falls and stumbles, but its becoming his primary mode of travel.

BabySwap 2007
Phase one of the first babyswap took place this Saturday night with Liz and I dropping the walking baby off with the preacher's family for a few hours. We got out and saw a really good movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness" (intentional misspelling) with Will Smith. Smith does a great job playing a father who's down on his luck and trying to do the best for his son. Great movie, I give it an A.

Then it was on to a casual dinner at Buckhead Cafe. I had the hickory burger, Liz, the chicken fingers. In true Clark W. Griswold fashion I goofed up a portion of dinner. (See, I tend to screw up something minor at least, at every opportunity we have for rare enjoyment.) Liz requested the German Chocolate Cake for dessert. So I naturally went and got her the German Chocolate Brownie.

But the positive news came when we picked up the lad and his sitters informed us that he had been great all night. No whining or crying at all. It's enough to make a fella proud.

New Parents...
I saw a good friend at the doctor's office yesterday. He is a new father of about two months now and one thing he said has become a point of minor contention is being polite to and considerate of his wife. When the baby arrives and the late night feedings begin, it's really easy to become too lazy and leave the wife to take care of it. With my friend and with myself, the situation was exacerbated by us being heavy sleepers. Even with the monitor being right next to my ear on the nightstand, I can sleep through our son crying if Liz is there.

That's not a blessing, it's a curse. Because it leaves you wide open to accusations of "playing possum." But if you do hear it, husbands, fathers, GET UP and do your part. Its the right thing to do and when the ladies get together, you'll have made strides toward protecting your reputation among the community.

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!!

My Cartoons vs. His Cartoons

I like...











He likes....










I like...













He likes...














And thus I relent. I have to face facts that being raised on He-Man, Thundercats, Looney Tunes, G.I. Joe, and Voltron (later on Animaniacs, The Tick and Eek! the Cat) probably didn't do much to edify my inclination toward watching educational cartoons. But the evolution of cartoons is something that's great as a parent. Now you don't have to feel bad about letting your kid zombie out for a little bit.

I'll grant you that there have to be limits. We don't just turn the T.V. on and turn our parenting skills off. Playhouse Disney actually helps us interact a bit with a few of their shows. And he learns from them too.

But I like to watch the silly shows sometimes too. I think silliness is underrated. But I digress.

What Playhouse Disney does is amp up the interaction. Asking the viewer questions, waiting for the answer, asking the viewer to do some physical action, then applauding the action. It's really great for kids to have that rather than just mindless entertainment. And this coming from a guy who doesn't like Disney. I was a Looney Tunes guy. I liked violence like Foghorn Leghorn or Wile E. Coyote.

But I appreciate the educational entertainment industry. It doesn't take the place of playing with the kids or reading to them, but it's a nice accessory to those things.

That being said, I like mindless entertainment too.

StoryTime!!!

There's one man who makes parenting a much easier job. One man who in modern history shaped our lives in my generation and generations before, more than any other literary figure. And that man is Dr. Seuss.

Reading to your child is a wonderful pastime for a variety of reasons. It gives you quality time. It gives you a chance to cuddle with your little one. It helps them to hear and hopefully expand their own vocabulary.

When our son began saying his first words we began the ritutal of reading a book to him every night. Mostly short books like If You Give a Pig a Pancake and Moo, Baa, La La La. But I'm a big, big fan of Seuss.

My wife doesn't read Seuss as much because they're usually nearly 50 pages. I find them to be a quick read and they give me an opportunity to teach my son something else: rhythm.

The great thing about Seuss is that his writing style not only helped kids with their vocabulary, spelling, and phonics, but it was written with a rhythm. This month in particular I've read How the Grinch Stole Christmas a couple times already. Anyone in my generation who reads that book reads it in the way it was recited in the 30 minute TV special. And we try our best to mimic the Grinch's voice. We may even sing a few bars of You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.

So today a special shout out to Dr. Seuss. Seuss, Theodore Geisel, passed away over 15 years ago and still has a profound impact on today's children. I love reading his books for my son, and frankly for myself.

From there to here, From here to there, Funny things are everywhere.

Working from the Home

Some people may ask, "How young is too young to put your child to work helping earn the family income?" I say if they can sit up, they can help out.

Our son has his own internet based business selling used pacifiers and refurbished diaper Genies. It gives him something to do and the extra income comes in handy. We snapped this picture of him on an average workday.

Actually I wanted to post today to announce a breakthrough. The breakthrough has nothing to do with this picture, but I needed to get a new pic of him up, so I just grabbed one off the hard drive.

Our son is now eating table food as if he's always liked it. The baby sitter reported that yesterday he ate chicken nuggets, corn and applesauce for lunch. Last night we had tacos. No, we did not give our one year old tacos and refried beans. That is a recipe for a sleepless night if I've ever heard one. We gave him a banana. The whole banana. Then we gave him some Cheerios (or Baby Crack as I call them) to top the meal off with a ice cold sippee cup of whole milk to wash it down.

My wife and I were talking last night after putting him to bed. We both think its been amazing how fast he's learning. It's like he's a young Doogie Howser (without that annoying Vinnie popping in through the bedroom window at night.) In the last two weeks he's learned clapping, patting, waving, kissing, eating with a spoon, shapes, how to pet the kitty (with nice hands) and the joy of chicken nuggets (thank you McDonald's for introducing the world to your tasty chicken nuggets that come in only two shapes, boots and circles.)

Every parent wants to think that their child is exceptional. I'm sure I will one day too. But today I don't really think he is nor do I care. He's happy, healthy, and smart. That's a blessing.

One more thing to blog about today briefly. Aiden has learned his patting and other motions from mimicking what he sees on Disney's Little Einstein's TV program. It occurred to me this morning in the shower (who doesn't do their best thinking in the shower?!?) that it is oh so important to pay close attention to what's on your TV. If a boy who is no more than 56 weeks old can mimic what's on TV, then any child can.

Tables and Jars, Tables and Jars

The latest parental hurdle we've come up against is how to get your child to eat table food. Our son had no problem eating table food here and there along the way. But lately if you give him something from your plate he acts like you're offering him rat poison. He gets downright beligirent if you try to force it in his mouth.

And it's not strange foods. We don't feast on Korean cuisine or anything. I'm talking mashed potatoes, green beans, breads, etc. Pretty normal fare. But the child would rather have Goldfish and Cheerios than just about anything. Oh, and if it comes out of a jar, it automatically gets the lipsmacking seal of approval.

The great thing about having a young child is that one day is completely different than the one that preceded it. Its also the bad thing about having a young child because you never know what's going to work. In the last week he's let down his guard a bit and been more willing to try table foods, but he's still very cautious about it.

It seems like letting him hold the spoon is a milestone, but we'll see how long that lasts. Not to mention the food we're wasting by letting him smear it on his face rather than getting it in his mouth. Oh the starving people in third world countries would loathe us. On the other hand, they can't even get food, so they don't have internet. And if they don't have internet, they'll never know this story.

Happy Birthday Son!!!

Ok, this post is late. My son's birthday was actually on November 14th. But as you can see, he's a happy little fella. It took some coaxing to get him to try to actually eat the cake. In the end his Granddaddy helped him with it.





We spent probably less than $20 on this toy and it was a hit. He has to be occassionally reminded that he has it, but he likes to walk with it. Not always forward, but he does walk with it. It gets him a step closer to actually walking, or as I think of it,D-Day.




Since it's been so long since I updated The New Daddy Diary, let me share some news.

Babies, Babies, Babies!!! It's a Bowling Green Baby Boom!
1. We have one friend who has had her second baby.
2. We have another friend who announced she and her husband are expecting their first.
3. We have another friend who has "dropped" and is nearing the birth of her first.
4. We have yet another friend who is prepping for the January arrival of their first.

Spoon!!!!
Our son actually fed himself with a spoon last night. Granted, it was by no means a flawless attempt, but it was pretty well executed for a first timer.

Hugs and Kisses
Our boy now gives me gigantic open mouthed kisses on the cheek when I ask him too. It's wet, sloppy, and sometimes turns into a bite, but it's cute. And he's always so proud of himself after he does it.

Slap hands! Slap hands!
A wise man once said, "it's the little things." It really is when you have children. Our son has learned to clap. I think it's no small coincidence that he learned this at the beginning of Western Kentucky Basketball season. Diddle Arena is a great place to learn how to clap.

Shape Sorters Sort Shapes to Sharpen Senses
To my shame, I have misled you. Our son actually learned to clap from us cheering him while he played with his Shape Sorter he got as a birthday present. He's pretty good at it. He's also smart enough to take the top off and just slam the shapes in there when he gets frustrated. There's more than one way to sort a shape my friends.

That helps bring us up to date. Hopefully I can post more often in the future.

Look! Up in the Sky!!

It's a Bird! It's a Plane!! It's SuperSon!!!!

I've been trying for DAYS to get this picture uploaded without success. So now, nearly a full week after Halloween Night, I get it up here.

Bumps and Bruises

It's no wonder that young men love to play contact sports. It seems that males are attracted to football and hockey, both to play and to watch. And when you have a young son, you see why. The pain, hits, bruises, bumps, blood, and tears no doubt reminds them of when they were a small child.

I can say this with confidence because I watch my son almost daily slip, fall, run into, crash into, and pull off things that constantly cause him minor pain. Our boy is particularly fond of grabbing things off our coffee table. Then getting them off the floor and putting them back on the coffee table. But when your legs are like Play-Do (they're solid, but you wouldn't want to put your weight on them) you slip and you fall into the coffee table. A lot. Repeatedly.

The lesson to be learned here is that no matter how closely you watch your child, it is inevitable that the child will risk his/her own life multiple times weekly. It's just run of the mill type of stuff. And it's a good thing. That's right, a good thing. Fathers will say it toughens them up. Mothers will say it teaches them to be more cautious. Either way, pain, physical pain in particular, is a part of life and the more you have to deal with it, maybe the better you get at it.

Now I'm not suggesting you whack junior with a rolling pin to teach him toughness. (Really. Don't do that. Ever.) But don't freak out when the kid gets hurt. Just be there to kiss the boo-boos and soothe the baby. After all, he's not Superman, is he?

One Down

Last night was cake. Which surprises me as much as anyone. Watching my 10 month old son by myself I fully expected to be torture. (and I mean foreign country torture, not United States-level torture. But I digress.)

Our only fussy moment of the night came when we were at church. He made it almost all the way through the baby's bible class but then he got upset. It seemed when I got him that he was looking for Mommy. He did the same thing as we left the building after services were over. It was sweet and just a tiny bit heartbreaking.

Mommy will be back Friday afternoon, which means baby and me get to spend another night together tonight. My mother had graciously offered to watch him (of course she wouldn't just want him to herself would she? ;-P) and I considered the offer seriously. But ultimately I decided that I wanted to spend some bonding time with him. So far I in no way regret the decision, and grandmother is on tap to see him Saturday.

One more thing. This morning in my car on the way to his Super-Sitter, I kept glancing back over my shoulder to where he was in his car seat. And everytime I did he was looking at me and laughing. So we reach one of two conclusions, I need a haircut so bad I resemble Bozo the clown, or my son is just as happy as a lark in the mornings. Of course the answer is C) All of the above.

Having a morning baby is a blessing. Because mornings are hard enough on parents. I can't imagine goign through them with a fussy kid every day.

Hook'em Horns

I'm not a particular fan of the University of Texas Longhorns. But hey, our son has family in Texas, so we've got a few articles of orange in the closet.
This is his first Texas outfit. The recent cool weather has given us opportunity to dress him in his warmer outfits.

The boy has become quite an imitator, but only when he wants to. He's trying to imitate just about anything we say. But he's also taken to imitating Disney's Little Einsteins (a really great kids program.) He likes to imitate the "pat, pat, pat" the characters do. He's also waved, and enjoys playing with his lips and making noises.

For the next few days it's just baby and me as his mother has gone to a conference out of town. So it's a Daddy Test time. Pray for me, but pray harder for him!

Not Mo, Not Larry, Not Shemp, But...

CURLY!! This poor kid is working some major curls all of the sudden. Especially the rooster tail you see in the pictures. It's incredible because when his hair is wet, it goes down the length of his neck and touches his back just barely. But when it's dry, it curls back up into his head and his neck is completely uncovered.