Sad VB

Maybe it's a phase.  Maybe VB is teething.  Maybe she's getting bored of us.  Maybe she woke up this morning and we weren't there.  I don't know, but she was really sad this morning and it was really difficult to console her.  She was pretty much fussing/crying right up until she was strapped into her car seat on her way to day care.  Once there, she was fine so maybe she likes it better there than at home.
   Who knows.  It's difficult now, but at least I don't have to buy her underwear... yet.  THIS article from the Good Men Project has shown me what is in store for my future in undergarment acquisition. (or more accurately... what is NOT being sold in the stores that my daughter will probably want)  Thanks, underwear makers, for being an ass!
   Despite having a serious case of the sads this morning, VB is such a delight.  Looking through some video footage this morning, I found this which instantly cheered me up and made me smile.

And this one:

Had to post this

Saw this today and I thought this is the perfect place to share it.  While not something I would do, I wonder if this thought would ever have crossed my mind on my own.

Losing myself

The days, weeks and months since VB's arrival are all blending together.  And it's only been one year!  I can't imagine what it will be like in another 6, 16 or 60! (I hope I can be that lucky)   Here she is enjoying her birthday gift.  And I'm not trying to make any stereotypes about women working in the kitchen or anything.  It seems like every choice we make is loaded.  

Fortunately, I've got friends to pass along information like THIS and THIS which set down some pretty good rules on what to do with your daughter.  Some very good ideas here.  

   Letting her gorge herself on birthday churros is probably not a very good idea.  She was kind enough to share them with us.

   And here is that proverbial dishwasher shot that I think will end up in every parent's photo album.  I just can't get over how quickly she's changing.

   

One year old today.

Well, we've made it!  One year ago today, VB, my wife and I spent the first of many days in bed.  It's amazing to think of how our lives have changed since that day.  I write this as she spends her first birthday in daycare and both her mother and I are a little tearful that we're not all together celebrating it like we did a year ago.  Fortunately, we have Youtube and all those uploaded videos to while away the time.
   Here she is seeing her first E-card from her grandma.

And because I couldn't be more proud, here's my little Jedi becoming intimately acquainted with the sounds of a light saber.

Almost One Year Old

Hello 2013!
   The last year has gone amazingly fast and it has been won-der-ful.  VB has changed so much in the past two weeks I can't begin to explain everything new.  I'm one proud papa.
   She doesn't crawl any more.  Only walking for my dd.  She's starting to use all the sign language we've been trying to teach.  So far she's got the sign for milk, potty, and all done.  But who needs sign language when she can just point and grunt to tell us exactly what she wants.  
   Also, she has confronted stairs, wiping her own hands, drinking from a straw and discovering door stops.  A-mazing.  Can't believe how much I love her.  I took way too much video footage but here's the short reel of all the greatest moments:

    So the holidays are over... yeah... we got through it. 
Now I can concentrate on not being an ass again.  
   But now that VB is almost one year old, maybe times are changing and I need to reboot this blog and call is something else.  A friend sent me this article about how dads are made to look like big oafs in TV and advertising.  Perhaps I am just as susceptible to said advertising.  Maybe I'm not part of a minority after all.  Maybe I've spent all year whining and moaning about how the world thinks all men are morons when it comes to parenting but things aren't actually quite so bad.  
   So what should I call the next year of fatherhood if I can't gripe about not being an ass any more?

49 Weeks Old

Let them get dirty.  That's a good way to not be an ass.  We went to the coast a couple of weekends ago and it was cold, windy and pretty miserable. Here we are nice and cozy.  

I was resistant to letting her run around.  Fortunately, my wife convinced me to let her play in the sand.  Did VB care?  Not really.  And we got some great pictures out of it.

   Also, let them walk around naked, even if it means cleaning poop off the floor.  I did that for the first time this week and I have to say it's actually easier than changing a dirty diaper. (Assuming you use cloth diapers)
   All our time is pretty much devoted to the child.  All other hobbies, interests and past times have taken a back seat in our lives.  This again became clear when my wife told me that while I was with VB on the potty, she thought about playing piano or doing something productive.  But then she decided to join us so she could watch our daughter poop.
   Yeah.  This is our life, now.  

48 Weeks Old

Posts are getting farther and farther apart as my mind is more and more blown with how awesome my daughter is.
   Here we are having a grand old time... I think.

This makes me think of all those times I was tickle tortured growing up and leaves me wondering if I'm horribly scarring my daughter.  But she doesn't seem to mind so far.  And it's pretty fun for me, too so I think I'll keep doing it.  It will probably stop being cool at some point.  Like if I'm still doing it when she's 16 that might be kind of weird.
   Here we are at dinner.  She loves squash!

   She just turned 11 months old and we love that she is feeding herself.  It won't be long before she's scooping the food up on her spoon all by herself.  I might be bragging a little bit.  Ok, I'm bragging a lot.  
   I think I'd be an ass if I weren't bragging.