44 Weeks Old!

Arrrggghh.... Life.  Moving.  Too fast!... (Insert Bill Shatner impression here.)

The holidays are fast approaching.  But not as quickly as VB is learning new things.  Work is finally slowing down a bit, though I still have one more big push this weekend where I will be out of town.  But then I'll have a whole week off!  

   Trying not to be an ass by saying how tired I am knowing that my wife is getting less sleep than me.  Doesn't make me any less tired, though.

   This reminds me of all that advice I got before VB was born (a little more than 10 months ago!) telling me to get as much sleep as possible.  And I defiantly said something like "It's not like I can bank the hours and catch up on it later!"  (paraphrasing)  And I still pretty much feel that way.  No matter how much I slept before, I'd STILL be tired now.  If I could offer any advice, I'd say to spend more time fixing up the house and doing all those projects you want because once the baby is here, there is NO time for any of that.  In fact, I might encourage you to sleep LESS in order to get those projects done!  (Make the raised bed in the back yard.  Paint any rooms that need to get painted.  Fix the gate to the backyard.  Power wash the driveway.  etc.)  And yes, those are all real things that desperately need attention and haven't been done yet.  And you know what, they don't seem that important when you watch your baby make her first steps.

   When she escapes out the broken gate or slips on the driveway will be when I feel like an ass for not doing those things sooner.  

42 Weeks Old

Working 74 hours a week with a 10 month old is... challenging.  Fortunately I don't have to do it all that often.  Still sucks, though.
   As a dad trying not to be an ass, missing Halloween does not do much for my confidence.  But I do have these great photos showing that I was around at least some of the time.

 VB was not pleased with my attempt to hide her in a too small pumpkin... Seemed like a fun idea at the time.  And I found a whole pumpkin seed in her potty the next morning.  Yay, BLW!

It's hard to believe that Halloween has come an gone.  It seems like just yesterday she was a helpless little thing laying on her blanket in the middle of the living room.

Now look at her!

On a side note, no wonder the dogs have taken a while to warm up to her.

41 weeks old?

I think I missed week 40 in there somewhere.
   VB is seriously close to walking.  Seen here she is using her high chair as a walker.

My work is about to get really busy so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post videos and/or pictures.  Not that I'm posting all that often anyway.  I guess I'm too busy trying not to be an ass.  Unlike THIS guy.    
    Dan Pearce from the blog "Single Dad Laughing" posted this entry talking about all they ways he screwed up his marriage(s).  Not sure I could list all the things I've done wrong in my relationship for all the world to see... Who are we kidding?!  I've never done ANYTHING wrong, right hon?........  hon? (Chirp Chirp)
   Okay, so I'm not perfect.  Nobody is.  But after reading this list, I feel pretty good about how I'm doing.  Married over 12 years to a wonderful woman.  We have an incredible daughter.  And I have a job that I love but not so much that I wouldn't rather be home rocking VB to sleep at night.  Yes, I might be bragging a bit.  Life is good.

39 Weeks Old

How not to be an ass?  Stop neglecting all my fans by not posting any pictures or videos for more than a week.  And by "fans", I mean mostly my friends and family.  If anyone else is watching, you are awesome and I apologize if you were waiting for me to get my act together.
   Another way to not be an ass.  Read books with your daughter.  And if you have a daughter, read this counting book based on Pride and Prejudice.  

(Not that boys can't like Pride and Prejudice)  It's just... more of a girl thing I think.
   And a great way to be even less of an ass?  Read it with an English accent.  My wife really got a kick out of that.  Anything to score points, right?
   Oh, by the way... VB has now been outside the womb longer than she was inside of it.  Big milestone.  Bigger I think for my wife.  But still pretty cool.
   And yes, I realize that my "anything to score points" comment totally makes me an ass.  Sue me.

38 Weeks Old

Almost 9 months old and VB had her first plane ride already.  Unfortunately, I wasn't on it with her.  But I did get some great photos from my wife.
   What this also means, is that I am separated from my family until the weekend and I have really mixed feelings.  On the one hand, I miss them terribly and the house is eerily quiet when I get home from work.  On the other hand, the house is quiet when I get home from work... and I've enjoyed a bit of leisure time as I catch up on some episodes of Walking Dead on Netflix.  I may even have been looking a little forward to VB's absence.
   Does this make me an ass?  I kind of feel like one.  Like I'm not missing my wife and daughter enough.  
On the other hand, I finally downloaded about a month's worth of video to the computer so here's a little something.  Sorry for the 2 minute plus of my daughter taking stuff out of the laundry basket. But I find it quite fascinating and entertaining.

And here is one of her "dancing".  I fully expect her to make an appearance on So You Think You Can Dance.  Maybe not today.  But in a couple of years.

 

It's only been two days and one night so far.  I hope my family is safe and sleeping soundly.  I will probably be sleeping more soundly.  Another reason I may be an ass is I am really enjoying having the bed to myself for a couple of nights.

37 Weeks Old

Unless you missed it, there was no 36 week updates for VB.  I apologize for those of you who noticed and are missing your (now) weekly dose of cuteness.  I'll try to make up for it with lots of pictures this week.
   I spent the last week working late.  I did not get home until after my family was asleep which was difficult to say the least.  It wasn't as difficult before VB's arrival, which makes me a bit of an ass because why should I have an easier time coming home to a sleeping wife than a sleeping baby and wife?  Alas, we have discussed this and it is due in part to my wife being home alone with an 8-month old from the end of work until bed time.  This means she is solely responsible for picking up VB from daycare, preparing dinner, bath time (if necessary) and getting to sleep.  This is all much easier with two of us.  This again makes me feel awe for those single parents out there.  Props to you all.  
   So not only have I missed a week of posting, but it was apparently the most exciting week to date as this picture shows.

That's right.  Those are teeth.  2 of them.  And there's one on the top as well.  It hasn't been as hard as I've heard some people say.  Here's a link to a graphic showing levels of pain experienced by a teething babe. (Thanks for seriously freaking me out, howtobeadad.com)  We are still on the first of 5 levels.  I'll let you know how it is when we get to molars.

   Here's what I call her Elton John look thanks to a pair of fashionable sunglasses given to her by a great aunt.

    It's still a little hard to tell if she's got the musical talent to back up the look.  But she can be quite loud so Opera Singer is not an out of the question career option.
   Neither is carpenter.  She is her father's daughter after all.  But if she ever brings home a Makita screw gun, we'll have to have words.

   And here are her first words (if you can call them that) that VB has ever typed on the computer.  (It's not Shakespeare)

 And here is her zombie face in front of the sickening light of the LCD display.  Might have a future in IT as well.  Or programming future Mars landers.

As you can see, it has been a wild two weeks and continues to be an exciting ride.  Being a dad is still the most awesome thing in the universe.  
   Working almost 60 hours last week left me feeling like an absentee father at times.  But I would probably feel that way working only 40 hours a week as well.
   The best part of my days continue to be coming home from work.  This is true even when I come home and my family is fast asleep in bed.  I don't understand those fathers who come home from work expecting to relax and watch TV while their wives bust their buns taking care of their children.  But maybe those fathers don't actually exist.  Maybe that's what I see and hear on TV so I assume the majority of dads are like this.  Time to stop watching Mad Men.  Talk about a bunch of asses.

35 Weeks Old

Oh.  I may have forgotten to mention that VB is crawling.  Another big life changing event for both her and us.  As you can see, she is completely mobile.

Fortunately, she decided to wait until after last week's camping trip to start crawling.  I can only imagine chasing after her while shoving the entirety of nature in her mouth.  But I suspect she's eaten worse.  Like large clumps of dog hair that she hones in on while crawling all over the living room... and kitchen... and bedroom.  
   I've heard that babies who grow up with dogs in the house are 25% healthier than homes without dogs.  Not sure where I heard that.  I could google it... if I cared.  But frankly, my daughter is probably somewhere eating hair while I write this.  
   While learning to crawl has made us very proud parents, VB does a multitude of actions every day that make us happy and proud.  Here she is drinking water out of a glass like an honest to god person!

That gasp/laugh keeps us entertained and honestly, it's the best part of my day knowing I will be coming home to her smiley, laughing face.