33 Weeks Old

Von Bebe is really starting to get the hang of this walking thing. (with help)  Crawling not so much.

   Here you can see her having fun at the dog's expense.  We have had no worries about him with VB.  Totally harmless.  Unless you include making us deaf with his barking as being harmful.
   How not to be an ass this week?  Don't bring your child into a home with a dog that you haven't trained to shut up!  (Which will probably be her first real words)
   Only 7 and a half months old and we have already had discussions on conforming to gender roles and whether a grocery cart is going to box her into a stereotype later in life.
   Which usually ends up resolving us into thinking that we're doing the best we can just like everybody else.  But that doesn't stop me from being judgy about other people's parenting.  Which means either everybody does it... or I'm an ass.

32 Weeks Old

VB has developed the skills of a chipmunk.  Last night for dinner we feasted on split pea soup, Italian bread and hummus with vegetables.  The vegetables included red peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers finishing with watermelon for dessert.

   We distinctly remember her first eating the pepper, then tomato and finishing with the watermelon.  I guess she was into the red foods.  But as we began cleaning her up, we noticed a small piece of red pepper wedged between her cheek and gums.  She somehow managed to store that little piece of pepper while eating tomato AND watermelon.  mmmm... such interesting food combinations.

This is not that meal.  This is a different, much cleaner meal. 

    Watching her eat sometimes breaks my heart.  And not just because she's growing up.  Ok, well that's a big part of it.  It's thrilling to watch her figure stuff out.  But there's something else that breaks my heart.  And this is the part that makes me an ass for the week.  

   Sometimes my wife will put something in front of VB that is really, REALLY tasty.  Like a quarter eaten grilled cheese sandwich or the aforementioned Italian bread.  And I know that the majority of this will end up on the floor, and I even think to myself, that's too good to end up on the floor.  I should just.... and I take it.  

   Yes, I take food from my baby.  But only when she's almost finished and I'm SURE she's not going to eat it!  That's okay, right?

   Well, I did that yesterday for lunch.  A slice of Italian bread was left on her tray.  When my wife went to get a wash cloth to clean up, I snatched the bread and popped it in my mouth and was instantly rewarded with one of the more disgusting textures I've ever tasted. I neglected to realize that my daughter had spilled water all over her tray soaking everything on it.  I guess I got what I deserved.  I think she may even have planned it.

   I can already tell she's going to be smarter than me.

31 Weeks Old

If I'm not an ass, it's completely by accident.  My wife is mostly driving the parent train in this family. I'm not saying that I'm not doing anything.  But most of the time I'm willing to try whatever she wants.  Fortunately, my wife is brilliant and makes great choices when it comes to raising our daughter.
   But if things had been left up to me, our lives would be so completely different.  Because I'm the kind of person who will go along for the ride, I would have also been fine with a hospital birth.  I would never have heard of phrases like Baby Led Weaning, Elimination Communication or Co-sleeping.  I'd be spooning purees into my daughter's mouth, suffering through hour long cry-it-out sessions and Von Bebe would probably be in diapers until she's 15.  (Like she'll need another reason to hate me by then)
   And I would be less happy than I am now.
Here's my daughter growing up very fast showing us how she eats corn on the cob and jicama.

And here she is on her potty with C-3PeeO. (I couldn't resist)

I never would have thought of potty training VB so early.  Even if it's not actually 'potty training', at least she's getting used to the idea  and we're actually saving some diaper changes.
   So if I'm not an ass in fatherhood, I have mostly my wife to thank.

30 Weeks Old

Eat your heart out, Philip Glass!

Von Bebe is having way too much fun on our digital Korg piano.
   The last week has seen a lot of developments and I'd be an ass if I didn't at least mention some of them.  She's getting really good at walking with our help.  She's started scooting herself all over the place and somehow remains firmly on her butt.  She pinched her finger in a drawer today.  If we are laying next to her, she'll use us as leverage to pull herself up to a crouching position.  Same thing in the bath tub.  She was playing with mom's ID badge at lunch but when she took it away, VB started wailing.  So she might be really opinionated, stubborn and angry when she doesn't get what she wants.  (Can't wait until the inevitable grocery store melt down)  And to top everything off, we finally see a tooth. (98% sure)  So there's lots of drool in addition to sore gums.  Oh, and two more vaccination shots this morning as well.
   Holy cow, it's been a productive week.  I somehow managed to paint the guest bathroom as well.  Woo to the hoo.

29 Weeks Old

All hands on deck!

 Today was truly a momentous day.  Von Bebe's first afternoon at daycare went... pretty well.  My wife was on her way to pick up the child when I got a call from the provider suggesting she has had enough for one day and really misses her parents.  I am assuming this will get easier but I am really glad we decided on a couple weeks of half days before separating VB from her parents for more than 4 hours at a time.
   We are assured by other parents that extensive crying is mandatory for the first few days.  Hopefully, this does not make us asses.  I can't imagine that wanting to be home with your child as much as possible makes one an ass, but I can definitely see the advantage of starting daycare earlier when awareness hasn't fully developed, yet.  Whatever, I'm still glad to have had as much time at home as I have had this summer.
   How else could I get this quintessential laundry basket shot.

I'd like to take a quick second to point out a couple of links I've added to the right.  These are great resources for dads who don't want to feel like a complete schmuck.  Thankfully, there is a lot of great advice and information to be had that is better than the usual "you should volunteer to do the vacuuming once in a while" crap that is found in most books.  I find it appalling that fathers still need to be told this.  
   And if you're a father who is offended by the prospect of actually doing some housework, you're probably not reading this... and you might be an ass.

29 Weeks Old

Von Bebe has developed lightning reflexes and her arms are much longer than they look.  Therefore, she gets into everything and everything gets into her mouth before her sometimes unobservant parents are able to intercept things like power cords, dog hair and leaves from between the cracks of the deck.  Yum.
   Because of this, she also gets much closer to the cameras than sometimes anticipated as you can see here.

One more day until VB starts going to daycare part time.  I still have a couple of weeks before I go back to work, but we thought it would be best to ease into it.  Not for her, but for me.  I'm sure she'll be fine.  I'm the one who will likely be spending the next several afternoons in fetal position cradling her stuffed owl and quietly humming to myself.
 

28 Weeks Old

There's a couple of things going on here.  Not only is VB playing her cool xylophone/piano thingy, but she is about to crawl in order to better position herself in front of it.
   And then there's the dog being very chill in the background. Both dogs have been very patient with the baby and with us.  They are definitely not getting the attention that they used to get, but are still very well behaved and rolling with the punches.  We'll see what happens when the baby actually starts getting more mobile and is able to chase them down. 
   A good way to not be an ass is to introduce music as early as possible.  I whistle and sing (poorly) They Might Be Giants songs; usually Birdhouse in your Soul and Angel.  My wife has had vocal training, however, and sounds like an angel herself.  She has a bedtime ritual of singing the mockingbird nursery song (which has really inane lyrics when I finally got around to googling it) along with You are my Sunshine.  And the baby must like it since she goes right to sleep mid song.
   It's hard to believe VB is 28 weeks old today.  It has been a blur and I'm afraid that I will look back and figure out all the ways in which I squandered my time with her.  I've really enjoyed my time as a stay at home dad.  I look forward to being one again in another 10 months.