Four thousand words.

Mmmm. Cupcake.

Walking at the park.

Number One and Boy Cousin.

Hangin' with Auntie A and Girl Cousin.

Happy Birthday!

Wow.  It's hard to believe it's been a whole year.

Well, actually, a year and a day.  A day late and a dollar short.  That's how I roll as a Dad.  Pretty awesome, right?

This time last year, I was trying to sleep with Number One balanced on my chest.  Mom was afraid I'd drop her.  I didn't.  No way.

Now she walks.  Has her own shoes.  Follows me from room to room saying, "Da...da...da" over and over.   She knows what I'm saying.  Tries to tell me things.  Is pretty fucking awesome.

She had one birthday party already with Boy Cousin.  Tomorrow she's rocking her own party.  A good time shall be had by all.

Poopy, poopity.

So, most people probably think that we're crazy for trying to teach Number One how to use the potty on her own when she's less than one year old.

Still it's a total victory when I catch both a pee and a potty in the morning, like I did today.  Boo-motherfuckin'-ya.

Cleaning up a potty bum is about 1000 times easier than the same bum if the potty had occurred in the nappy.  

Even if she does end up anal retentive - it's worth it.

Post-Ike update.

Let's see.  What's happened in the last couple of weeks?

Oh, yeah.  Hurricane.   No power for 12 days.

Then there was something else...What was it?  

That's it! Number One started walking!  It's a natural disaster miracle!  The doctors said she'd never walk again, but she showed them!  I give a little thanks every day to that godforsaken Ike.

Not really.  Well, really she is walking, but the doctors never told us she wouldn't.  I made that up.

So what's the deal now?  Does she have to start wearing shoes and stuff?  

Innocence lost.

Ike

We decided to ride out Hurricane Ike, and he's making his unwelcome arrival right about now.

Number One seems unphased by her first hurricane.

We actually had a nice day.  The office was closed, and the weather was pretty nice all day.  Went to the park.  Number One spent some time crawling around in the grass, which she recently discovered and now loves.

It's actually getting pretty windy here now, but so far it looks like Ike isn't going to live up to the Cat 4 hype - despite what the national news is saying.  I heard Geraldo fell down.  I wish I could've seen that.

I'll update on the other side - assuming we have power.

Labor Day.

Spent some QT with the Wife and Number One this weekend. I don't think people are really meant to work away from their family for 40 hours a week 50 weeks a year.

Sometimes I think Number One doesn't know she's a baby. She's now pretty much refusing to eat "baby" food if we're all having a meal together. So today, she had roast beef sandwich and broccoli cheese soup for lunch.

She also had her first brunch with the gay and fabulous on Sunday. She was mayjuh with the singles as they went happily drinking their bottomless mimosas between hangovers.

Been awhile.

So it's been awhile since I last posted. I've been somewhat conflicted as to whether I should maintain this or let it go to reduce my online presence. The Internet is a crazy place.

Number One has been doing all sorts of new things. She's crawling, pulling up, eating grown-up food. All sorts of things.

She's still a shrimp. Smaller than almost every other baby we see, even most that are a couple of months younger than her. Dr. says she's fine, so I'm not going to even think about it anymore.

I'm thinking as she does more stuff and stuff I'll update the site with some anecdotes. For now, a haiku:

Eating spaghetti
With a spoon and fingers too
Dinner adventure

Knocking on Wood.

So there was some dramatic news about Chinese-made drugs killing 81 people, and yesterday was Earth Day, and there's the whole continuing Clinton debacle, but I just don't care.

The world is beautiful once again.

Two nights in a row Number One has slept through the night. We're talking 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

With no swaddle.

And last night she only cried for about 20 seconds when we put her in bed.

Sleeping baby equals happy Papa.

Swaddling, redux.

Dear Anonymous (if that is indeed your name - not Miracle Blanket Corporation),

Who knew that swaddling would generate such a response? In fact, I didn't think two people who aren't Auntie A even read this.

Anyway, since I have been twice chastised, I will respond. It's not that I'm anti-swaddling generally, or that I think she'll go to college with a swaddle, or that I think there is permanent harm being done. I'm not a cry-it-outer. I want the little gal to sleep.

So, why the swaddle-debacle?

First (to the doula), she's a week away from six months old, not four months old. So Number One is getting pretty good with her hands. She's got some skills. But when she's all wrapped up she can't put her hand in her mouth or pick up her pacifier or do of the other things she's capable of doing to soothe herself. She just has to lay there and rely on Mom and Papa to give her the pacifier when it falls out of her mouth.

Second, if she wakes up before we do, she can't hang out in her crib and grab her feet or move around and be content because she's all wrapped up.

Finally, it seems like she hates getting wrapped up sometimes, so I want to unwrap her. It's because I think it will make things better - not worse. (Mom disagrees on this point, and I freely admit I could be wrong, here).

So don't be a hater, Anonymous. I'm just trying to keep the kid happy.

But failing apparently...

Swaddling.

SuperWife and I have for some time been engaged in low intensity, guerilla warfare over the use of the so-called "miracle blanket."

Number One at times seems to hate the thing, which works like a baby straightjacket, but she can't seem to fall asleep without it.

I'm constantly taking her out of the thing, which infuriates SuperWife, who immediately re-wraps the kid.

"She can't fall asleep without it!" she says.

"I know she can't fall asleep without it," I say. "That's the problem."

Last weekend the swaddling debate blew up like Basra. Number One woke up 4 times Saturday night, and by Sunday afternoon it was like Sunni and Shia up in our house. SuperWife couldn't take it anymore:

"Swaddling is tearing this family apart!"