First day of school

It's the night before the first day of daycare..and sure enough this post is coming at 3am.  The bear seems to be going through separation anxiety, as well as teething, and getting over a sickness - so she's very clingy and only interested in mom these days.

But still very determined!  Trying to get her to self sooth to sleep is an epic fail.  The crying and wailing, non stop.  Most interesting is her tenacity. She will cry and stand by the crib wall for a while  get tired and then go to lie down.  But then just as she gets down she remembers "no, I must keep fighting" and she gets back up.  She won't even lie down, just put hey face on the bed, then get back up.  Saw her do this
about 12 times tonight over and over.

She's got the will power...so interesting to see her dedication!

Celebrating St Patties as a baby

One of the few times St Patties falls on a Saturday night; would have been sloppy before, but now the only wobbly walker is our 10 month old.

She was crawling by December, and standing in January but by Feb she had started taking some steps.  One week in Mexico and she's like Frankenstein, or more like a zombie walk.  In honour of St Patties, she had the classic drunken walk.  Made me so proud.

Next step is the potty, and new we are at 5 days without changing a poopy diaper!  We are catching them by putting her on the potty and its working nicely, unbelievable!

The other milestone we hit is that she did choke on her hairclip and vomited all over the wife, on multi occasions...but the Dr said she was fine just a sensitive gag reflex after the choke.  Well that has made us sensitive too!

Up up and away

It's amazing to see the growth and development add parents of a newborn, but so much fun to see the baby's excitement about things too!

And the pace is just perfect to keep you at full engagement. At around six months she started flirting around with crawling, then by eight months she was mobile and had two teeth coming in.  Now she's all about standing, and the balance and agility growth is spectacular! She is now trying to move her legs, and that means first steps will be coming soon...it's so exciting!

But even more rewarding is seeing the sense of accomplishment she see in herself! She started responding to her name at about 8 months too, and figured it how to clap at 7, so when she started standing she just kept clapping - yes, she gave herself a standing ovation.

Happy New Year.

Well it's a happy new year.  Celebrating the holidays with an eight month old brand new daughter, it brings a different vibe to the holidays.  Brings back the magic.

Baby is growing up right before our eyes. I remember when she first was able to follow us with her eyes, then able to sit up.  Then at about six months she started flirting around with crawling...and grabbing into things as a crutch to stand.  But her latest trick is the clapping, which now she does all the time.  Come home from work, clap.  Clap to her, get a clap.  Try to feed her, get a clap.  Want to sleep?  Clap. 

It's so rewarding though!  And this will be a great year with her as we start to be able to communicate with her and share life as she develops.  This is a great adventure, and well worth all the sleepless nights.  She will have her first birthday in a few months, at which point it's apt to celebrate a Happy New Year.

Rainy days

Just one of those rainy autumn days what you don't feel like doing anything but curling up.  The baby is closing in on 5 months, and she's perfect cuddling material; independent head movement, not so fussy, giggly and curious.  Enough to warm a father on a cool rainy sunday.

A few of my buds have entered into fatherhood this summer too, so this next year will be a year of firsts for us all.  Very cool to be able to share this feeling with those closest to you, and share the happiness along with the anxiety...this is life.  Live it and love it.

The girl, or The Bear as we call her is presently napping for now over 1.5hrs which is nearly record time.  Mommy's out do it's daddy day today, but mommy will be pissed at the map time because The Bear only sleeps for 25min with mommy.  Daddy's got the Magic Touch - oh yeah!

Biggest change so far? My To Do list grows longer and longer like a tapeworm (ed. bad analogy) as free time evaporates taking care of the bear.  You have to force yourself to be efficient, doing what you can as she sleeps.  That also means figuring out your priorities, which is a good thing: focus on what matters most, and realistically that is my daughter.  Who can say no to those eyes?

The 4am feed

Sorry if I haven't posted in a while, but you could probably surmise that the reason is closely linked to why this post it's at 4am...

Oh baby!

Coming up on 4 months and what a ride it continues to be.  The funny thing how nature works, she pushes your limits - I sweat it feels like just when you've had enough them something new happens and you're right back into it.  Something better happen soon because these 4am feeds are killing us!

Don't get me wrong we love being parents more than we could have ever imagined. But now as I walk down the street our in the mall and I see other parents, I find myself giving ' the nod'.  It's like a secret handshake or so, a subtle gesture that you share with only those who would understand and who understand you.  It almost feels like we're war vets who have gone through battle together - you share the same battle wounds, experiences and struggle but just don't talk about it anymore....just nod in knowing that you made it through, soldier. You made it through.

Blast Off

This week marks an end of an era - the final space shuttle mission after around 30 yrs will happen July 8th.  Sniff sniff..

Every time I see that footage of the space shuttle taking off it takes my breath away. The raw power of the rockets, the speed of the acceleration - even the crisp aesthetics of the black and white shuttle.  Its unreal, to think that humans are being blasted into space, and after 135 missions that era will end.

To be sure, there will be a next generation of space travel, but THIS is the program that "launched" it, in my opinion.  When you step back, it is a bit extravagant - spending boatloads of money and burning up fuel just to send some people into the sky, for what?  My wife and I are on different sides of the coin here.. I am a space junkie, and she can't understand the fascination at all.

But the exhiliration! Imagine feeling the rumble and thrust of multiple g-forces as your world (literally) drifts away to the point where it seems insignificant.  I've read that viewing the earth from space triggers a sense of euphoria, utter calm and peace.  Talk about getting away from it all.

Its tragic that there have been casualties in the space missions, disastrous ones.  I remember as a kid watching on the news as the Challenger exploded upon ascent, and I called out to my mom.  Space flight continues to be a challenge and a desire - its exciting to see that Virgin Galactic is planning to start in 2012 its sub-orbital flights for people with tons of money (ticket prices start at $200k I believe, and they've sold over 400 so far).  The dream is still alive and thriving!

I am a space child, and I love to be spaced out.  In due time, in due time..
Blast on