September Updates

We Played with Stickers

We got a new outfit from Nana.

Ok, two new outfits from Nana.

We celebrated Aunt Ester's birthday with some cake.

We got our first sunburn (look close to see farmer tan on the arms and redness on the face)

Then we just chilled out with some Clubhouse Disney.

Pure Thievery

I flat out stole this picture from the Basham's website. I say that with neither pride nor remorse. I just did it so all of our family could see it and because I'm too lazy to get our pictures loaded up lately.

Our computer at home is struggling with some virus issues, so we've been on the fritz as far as posting goes.

This picture was taken while we were tailgating before the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers dominated the hapless, helpless, hopeless Colonels of Eastern Kentucky University 26-6. My son, MY SON sat through the entire game with very limited whining. He did nap through the first, but then, so did the Hilltoppers.

After that he woke up, drank a little water, and stole my red towel so he could wave it. I couldn't be more proud. He even said "go" and clapped when he was supposed to. I don't think this comprehended the complexities of the spread option offense, but I do think he knew the red team was good and the maroon team was not.

Thanks to the Basham's for the photo. I'm so blessed to have the family I do.

First Fishing Trip, pardon me, First Fishin' Trip

These are some pictures taken a couple weeks back that I'm just now getting on the computer. Aiden went with his mom, Auntie Ester, Uncle David, and Grandma Longoria on a fishing trip in Tennessee.

I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't with him on his first fishing trip, but I was planning on waiting until he was 3 or so. He had a good time, only fell in the water once, and really liked his Spongebob Squarepants fishing rod (with Plankton as bait.)

Aiden prepares to send Plankton back to the water he was born in.

Aiden and his Aunt Ester reel in a 28 lb bass....or not.

Father and Son Faceoff in Battle Turkey Manwich

Aiden won't try new foods and it is just maddening. There's a concern among Liz and I that he's not getting the nutrition he needs. He gets plenty to eat, but I'm afraid he's forming bad eating habits.

So what was my solution? Patience and force. Last night we had Manwich (made with ground turkey) and some onion rings. I thought the onion rings were a stretch, but figured we'd be in good shape with the turkey Manwich.

So he had his usual fit. He fears new foods. The screaming and crying were soon underway as he adamantly refused to even try the food. I figured I could wait him out. I can hear you all laughing already.

I waited with him constantly and calmly asking him to take one bite for about 35 minutes total. He continued his crying and screaming for the duration of the ordeal. I honestly thought I was doing a good thing by trying to introduce him to new foods and maybe setting a precedent.

Then this morning I read this on iVillage as an answer to a parent with a similar problem of a toddler unwilling to try new foods:

Despite the limited variety of food your son eats, he's at least eating a good balance of nutrients. A diet of cheese sandwiches, cereal, milk, bananas and orange juice includes fairly adequate protein (from the cheese), a generous supply of carbohydrates (from the bread and cereal), a source of vitamin A (from the orange juice and milk), a great source of vitamin C (from the orange juice) and lots of B vitamins and potassium (from the banana and grains).


The one nutrient that I would be a little concerned about is iron. At two years, your son still needs iron from his diet. If the cereal he is eating is iron fortified, then he should be okay. If he is not eating an iron-fortified cereal, then consider a child supplement of iron. He should be getting 10 milligrams a day.


To get your son to eat a larger variety of foods will require a generous amount of patience. Toddlerhood is characterized by a dislike or fear of new foods, so familiarity is the key to acceptance. Try serving your child foods that you think he will like at family meals over and over again. Include a small portion on his plate and let him take it from there. If he won't even touch it, that's okay. Just be sure that you also have one or two of his favorite foods on hand so he won't go hungry. When he gets close to being willing to taste something new, assure him that he can take it out of his mouth if he doesn't like it.


It may take months or even years before your child expands his food repertoire. Until then, continue to include him in family meals and let him know you are enjoying his company. Keep the emphasis off what is or is not being eaten, and keep it on the family. Make it a time to share the enjoyment of good and healthy food, and little by little your son will add new foods to his diet.

So according to this what I did was trust my instincts which couldn't have been more wrong. All I did was make him angry and in the end he never tried a bite. We both left in lousy moods. He went to his mother. I went outside to throw a tennis ball against a brick wall several times to relieve stress.

The only thing I'm proud of is that I remained calm the entire time. I'm glad that I didn't lose my cool and raise my voice or worse. I was a bit surprised I could be that patient.

Nevertheless, today, once again, this is me:

What You'd Do for Your Kids

Isn't it amazing what you'll do for your children? Take this picture for example. Do you see Mommy or Daddy in there anywhere. No. There's the pool, Aiden, and even the slightly obese feline. But Mommy and Daddy don't get pool time.

When Daddy fixes bad food, Mommy eats it. Aiden gets to opt out for chicken tenders and applesauce.

When Mommy wants to watch TV, Aiden gets to watch Disney or Nickelodeon.

This is all very tongue in cheek. I don't think Aiden is particularly privileged. It was just as fun for me watching him in the pool than it would be for me to be swimming myself. Even though with yesterday's July 4th heat, the water would have felt nice.

And isn't that pool smart? Sticking the inflatable/removable shade on there was a great idea. Even with Aiden's complexion, I worry about him getting burned in the sun. Yesterday was a bit cloudy, but it still doesn't take long to redden up.

Hope everyone had a great and safe holiday!

Bath Time!!

Saturday and Monday were both pretty big days for Aiden. On Saturday Mikiah (6), Zavier (4) and Carter (3) all came over. The first two we were babysitting as part of the babysitting swap with other members of our church so they could have a date night. Carter came with his mother for some play time and some pizza.

Aiden loved it. Even though the other boys are older, they are all very good at including him and making him part of what they do. So there was a lot of running, giggling and the near-death experiences that come with having more than one boy in the house at a time. Everyone was pretty well behaved too, which is nice.

Then on Monday Carter came by while his mother got some "Me-Time" (a very necessary part of parenting...everyone needs a break now and again.) Carter is certainly the more aggressive of the two, but they play together well. Both were learning some sharing principals as both are only children so far. It's good for them to get that experience.

Monday culminated with Aiden taking his bath and Carter really wanting to play in the water. So Carter ended up in the bath as well. Needless to say, Liz had to break out some extra towels for the boys and for the bathroom floor which had as much water on it as was in the tub. I grabbed the camera and got a few pictures. Some of which aren't fit to publish.

Bath time ended abruptly when Aiden slipped and hit his head. No worries. He had a small bump on his forehead and he cried for a while (which made Carter cry.) But he's perfectly fine and was sitting up watching Spongebob in no time.

Thanks to all three boys for the playtime. (Although the Liz and I are worn out!)

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

If what they say is true, that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then there is nothing more flattering than having a child. Aiden simply loves to act grown up. Whether its muttering out incoherent sentances (gets that from me) or pulling up his shirt to pat his fat belly (he gets that from Granddad.) He enjoys acting bigger than his years.

He's really taken to saying "thank you" lately. He doesn't have to be prompted to say it now. It's become natural that he say it as soon as you give him something. And he's pronouncing it much more accurately with all the added practice. Now the funny thing is he will repeat his "thank yous" until you say, "you're welcome."

The funniest thing he did last week was hit me. I know, it doesn't sound funny. I was laying on the floor in the living room when he came up from behind and started smacking me on the forehead. I said, "OWW!" and he leaned over and kissed it then walked off. No doubt something he's learned at daycare.

Nineteen months have come and gone. It's hard to believe we're wearing size five shoes and 18-24 month outfits. The time flies and there's never a dull day. Thank God for his health and safety so far. The pool comes out for the summer this week. We'll try to have pictures up soon.

Beach Baby

The last week of May was great for the family. We traveled just about as far south as you can go in these United States and even went a tad bit into Mexico on a vacation to visit Liz's family in San Benito, TX. There was a lot going on in the week that we were there. Trips to Whataburger, homemade tamales, homemade enchiladas, breakfast tacos, etc etc etc.

Oh, and we did other things other than eat as well. We got to spend good times with Liz's mom and grandparents. We got to hear Buelito preach (en Espanol) which did nothing for me, but those who actually speak Spanish seemed to enjoy it. It was good to see the congregation there and their sincerity in worship. Definitely encouraging.

Liz and I got to spend my birthday seeing Shrek the Third and having a terrific hamburger at Capital City grill (it just keeps going back to the food!) There was a trip to South Padre Island without drudging through Spring Breakers and alcoholics, which was nice. And a trip to the zoo which I don't have pictures of just yet.

Thanks to God for the good trip and for the safety of it. Particularly since we did a total of four flights (Aiden's firsts) and he did wonderful. He never seemed scared in the least. Proving that he's getting his guts from his mother.

Aiden wasn't so sure he liked the water from the Gulf of Mexico.

Aiden with his great grandparents the night before we left for Kentucky.

Aiden with his maternal grandmother the night before we left. You can see how happy she was to return to the peace and quiet they enjoy when we're not there. (kidding)

Are these my socks?

Aiden got some chilly feet last night so he wanted to put some socks on this morning. So he grabbed some of Daddy's.

The really funny thing is these are ankle socks, yet they come up to almost his knees.

Pray for us this week as Aiden will take his very first plane ride. His first will be when he's less than two. My first was when I was 24. So he beat me pretty badly on that "first."

We're also teething right now. Hopefully that goes quickly and smoothly. He usually gets a bit of a cold when he teeths. We're really hoping that doesn't happen before we fly to Texas to see family for a week.

Happy 18th (month) Birthday!!!

Today our son is 18 months old. That's not an official birthday, but it should be. Congratulations to our son for surviving our largely absent parenting skills for 18 months. Just 198 months to go (roughly) before college.

I think I just made myself sick a little bit.

Have a Nice, Restful Weekend

Spummer time!

Well I've been doing alright,

Getting good grades,
My future's so bright,
I gotta wear shades!



There's a local weather personality in South Central Kentucky that is walking, talking, weather predicting goofball. His comedic sense is only slightly better than that of Rosie O'Donnell.

For example, he coined a phrase when the spring temperatures didn't reach their normal highs. That word, "Sprinter." I know what you're thinking. "Sprinter" is already a word and it has nothing to do with weather. I know that too. Apparently, he does not.

This week the "cold" spring has been replaced by a "hot" spring (not the ones in Arkansas.) Which in conjunction with the weatherman's word invention has inspired me to new levels of stupidity and the invention of the word, "Spummer."

I tell you all this for two reasons. My wife thinks it validates her claims that I'm a big dork. And it gives me an excuse to post the picture of Aiden in his sun glasses.

Hope you all had a great weekend and hope you enjoy this fabulous Spummer!

Doing the Dishes

I don't know how much of an individual's personality is inate. I'm not sure if they are born with a goodness or badness, although I suspect we're all born somewhat good and innocent as Freud presumed. I'm also quite sure that my bias when looking at my son retards my objectivity, but I'm just going to go ahead and say it.

My son is a sweet and good person.

I'll give you an example. He loves to help. Ok, he's 17 months old and he doesn't know the difference between chores and work. But I can still pretend that he's dilligently trying to help me and his mother do things because he wants to. He even helps do the dishes. No, we don't let him touch the knives, so put the telephone down and stop hitting your Child Protective Services speed dial.

He started doing this out of the blue the other day. And for probably the first time ever as parents, we managed to catch something like this on camera. This all got particularly funny because as he set about doing his task of taking the dishes from the dishwasher and handing them to Dada, he never smiled. He was just working on a task. I couldn't maintain that same composure, as you can see.

So there you have it. Proof, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that my son is 17 year old Ghandi with hair. And to think, you probably just assumed this was going to be yet another silly blog I wrote bragging about my son doing some medial task that amounted to nothing near what I claimed. Shame on you.

Coming Soon: My Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

Vocabulary Lessons

Aiden's vocabulary is growing. Its fun hearing him try to say words. His penchant for imitation seems to be getting larger every day. Here are some words he's tried to say recently:
1. Bubble - sounds like= buhbuh
2. What's THAT?!? -sounds like=What's THAT?!?! (add some serious voice inflection there)
3. This-sounds like= this
4. Moderato-sounds like=mod-a-bahbah
5. More-sounds like= moh
6. Mama
7. Dada
8. Ducks-sounds like= duh
9. Banana-sounds like=anana

Those are the few I can remember off the top of my head. Hey since the last post on this blog was titled, "Happy Easter" I had to come up with something.

Coming soon: Aiden helps Daddy unload the dishwasher.

Happy Easter

Reports in the news today didn't say anything about the Easter Bunny suffering from hypothermia, but I wouldn't have been surprised. So there were no Easter egg hunts for our family this year due to the cold. We're not real certain our son would have been able to grasp the concept, but maybe he would have.

Liz had picked out an adorable little outfit for him that was blue and yellow. Unfortunately it was short sleeved with short pants. Mother Nature put the kabosh down on the idea of that outfit, so we opted for this one:The shirt is by Ralph Lauren. The pants by Dillard's. The shoes are Payless. The Easter Egg is Dollar General. The look is pure Renfrow.

After a long day of church service and doing a little dance on the catwalk, on the catwalk yeah, Aiden was all tuckered out and so was Liz:

We hope everyone had a great Easter.

And as an update, Aiden will turn 17 (months) this week. But we're still not letting him date. And he can't have the car out past 10.

He's Gotten Stealthy

Recently our son has become quite stealthy. Not that he's sneaking into things or hiding things. He's become a stealthy pooper.

Last night is a prime example. He'd napped from the time he got home from the babysitters (around 5) until he ate dinner at around 6. After he ate I changed his "wet" diaper and lo and behold, he had pooped. I don't know when. He never gave any indication. It just sort of happened.

The same thing had happened when I picked him up early on Tuesday. When I got him home I changed another "wet" diaper only to discover he had poohed some time ago. I don't blame the sitters either. They've always done a great job. I just don't think they knew anymore than I did.

This marks quite a change. It always seemed you knew when he was pooping becuase he would grunt and stop doing whatever he was doing. Now, he's so at ease with it he can do it without any physical indication. Well, he can't make it smell good. So there's ONE physical indication.

A Father's Confession

I have a flaw.

I was just as shocked as you are, believe me.

My flaw is simple. I'm a heavy sleeper. Let me explain the dynamic of a bedroom that houses a heavy sleeper and a borderline insomniac. It can become a little tense.

1) There's the genuine sense of envy and even jealousy on part of the sleep deprived. My wife fits this category. When I ask how she's slept in the morning, I usually get a "Not very well." Response. When she asks me, I say I slept well. She replies, "OF COURSE YOU DID." (She doesn't really yell...that's just there for effect.)

2) Heavy sleepers tend to stay asleep. Even when we wake up in the middle of the night, its more of a middlesleep state. We're awake, but we're not thinking with all of our usual well rested faculties.

Herein lies our problem and my subsequent confession. When our son wakes in the middle of the night I tend to take the lazy way out. It's not intentional. It's really not. I want to be SuperHusband/SuperDad all the time. But I end up laying in bed thinking, "He'll go back to sleep." "I'll just give him a few minutes to cry it out." "Its just a small fire." Thoughts like that.

So here's me last night:

And this is my wife last night, this morning, and probably today too:

And I take the blame for that one. It's something I really need to work on. Last night I was honestly listening to him cough (he's had a mild chest infection) and it didn't sound awful and he didn't sound awake. So I was hoping it would pass. However, I laid there too long. When Liz started to get up, I didn't move.

So today, this is me:

Sorry Sweetheart. You deserve better.

Mowing With Daddy

The picture of a small child helping his/her father mow the lawn should look like this:

Instead, I have a push mower. I'm one of only two guys on my block that does. The other guy is in much better shape than me, and thus, so is his yard. So the picture of me mowing the lawn with my son would look more like....

And that's just sad. And unsafe. Actually, I'm not sure the whole "mowing with daddy" thing is a good idea at all.

But I digress. Today I picked up our wonderful son from the babysitters because he was running a fever. He's had a minor ear infection and some sort of infection in his chest which is not nearly as frightening as it sounds. It just means he coughs quite a bit at night and he's feverish.

So today I waited unti he took a nap, then I hooked up the monitor outside (always, ALWAYS have the monitors with the red lights) and set to mowing the yard and breaking a land speed record. The yard is pristine, the land speed record remains elusive.

As I walked into the house, the toddler was just waking up in time to ruin Daddy's plans to take a nice long shower. Daddy instead took a combination shower/land speed record attempt. Long story short, the yard is mowed, the baby's fine, Daddy smells like Lever 2000, and the land speed record remains, still, elusive.

P.S. Oh, and if anyone wants to give me a very special present, I like Cub Cadets.

P.P.S. I'll bet the other blog fathers are wondering why they're pictures are on our blog.

P.P.P.S To follow P.S. [post script] P.P.S [post post script] is proper.

Saturday, In the Park

"Saturday in the park,

I think it was the fourth of July.

Saturday, in the park

I think it was the fourth of July."

-Saturday in the Park, Chicago

Ok, I'm not in the band Chicago. And we didn't go on a Saturday. And it was March, not at all near July. But it was warm, and we did go to the park.

And gee, I don't know, I guess the combination of spring weather, a lovely park, and spending time with my family put in the mood for song. So I composed a small illustrated poem.

We took our son to the park on Friday to feed the ducks and geese.

We took our son to the park to play on swings,

We took our son to play on a bus,

We took our son to play with us.

Too little time for pictures my dear,

has brought to the end I fear.

And while I know we'll meet again

I'll bid you adieu until then.

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!!