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.

34 Weeks Old

Well this has been a productive week so far.  VB has learned oh so many new things so there are oh so many new ways for me to be an ass.  
   Last week was her first swing on a playground.  Here she is between screaming fits actually enjoying herself.

You can imagine all the ways I could be an ass while she sits helpless.  But I still wouldn't be as much of an ass as the parent who told their kid to stop crying after he fell down.  True, he was being overly dramatic.  But I'm not sure "Oh, stop crying!"  is the best response.
   VB's first camping trip was this weekend. (Happy belated Labor day, BTW)  And you can see just how much fun she's had.

Those are fresh blackberries that she's smeared all over her face.  And she's sporting a quite fashionable hair style.  Camping with an almost 8 month old introduces a whole new level of messy that is easy to ignore after a day or two in the "wild".  I'm not sure just how "wild" it is when we were able to bring her high chair with us.  
 

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.