Selfish Me

I've heard people say that it's selfish to grow up and never have a child. While some people just want to enjoy their adulthood "unencumbered" by the immeasurable responsibility of raising children, others consider this to be selfish.
I have a daughter who is seven months old, and whom I just rocked to sleep for the 100th time. I also have a 3-year-old daughter, and it's likely that I'll have a third someday. I can say, without question, that having a child is the absolute most selfish thing a person could ever do.

Poetry Is In.

Poetry is such sweet genius,
When it's an unloading of life into words.
The warmth of my daughter's soft head nuzzling my shoulder
Is a source of my own personal creative reintroduction to the world.

Phone books are dead.

Why are they still making phone books? They are big and clunky and wasteful. Just looking at a phone book fills me with an annoying sense of stress. Looking up something in the phone book feels like punishment. Please don't make another phone book, and don't leave any old ones lying around where I can see them.

I love these girls.

Double Duty

Daughter #2 arrived a week ago. She is appropriately adorable and needy and has instantly transformed our almost-3 year old into a demanding giant.

I Go There Sometimes

We planned our trip to Disney on one of the last weekends Emily felt okay being on her feet all day during her third trimester. A two and a half hour drive got us on the tram at around 9:00am. We crowded onto the tram with our stroller which refused to fold all the way shut. Maybe it was because we had so much stuff crammed into the stroller, but Zoe was so excited that I didn't mind the water bottles poking into the small of my back. She was so excited for her first time to Disney World, that her enthusiasm was contagious. We headed to Fantasy Land and got in line to see the princesses after only 3 rounds of wrong directions. Fifteen minutes later, Zoe was in the presence of her adored Cinderella. A usually talkative Zoe, wearing her Cinderella costume, was speechless. She stood there with a giant grin on her face, literally wringing her hands. Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty for those of you without a little girl) all showered her with attention and Zoe barely managed a syllable. Next we got in line for the fairies, and waited for a good 45 minutes. Thank goodness we brought plenty of snacks (seriously, there is no other way to keep a toddler waiting in a line - even physical restraint wouldn't work for very long). Silvermist, Tinkerbell and Rosetta were waiting to greet us, and Zoe was - once again - star struck. Mommy had removed her costume (despite her screams of protest) to reveal a red sundress with tiny flowers that all the fairies remarked upon. It was one of the few times we had no need to ask Zoe to smile for the pictures. After fairy hugs and kisses, we tugged Zoe away as she declared - not "goodbye" - but rather "I'll see you again later" to Rosetta. The pictures of her with the princess and the fairies are all over her room and in an album that brings back joyous memories of a two-year-old. We headed for the carousel, which we revisited twice more that day, and which she was never satisfied to leave. She referred to It's a Small World, as the the "boat ride with dolls." She endured an excruciating long line for Dumbo, that included several tantrums, an almost nap, and an adult-sized helping of ice cream. While picnicking on the sidewalk, we were surprised by a parade including Toy Story's Woody and Jessie, with whom she danced. Several other parades had Zoe wide-eyed and waving at characters who often waved back, if they spotted her, as the tiny red-headed tot in the front row who was truly captive to the magic of Disney. Mom searched through a crowded store, while I took mini-laps with Zoe in the stroller just outside, trying - in vain - to get her to take a nap. She moaned and kicked and screamed until I spotted Emily at the door. I headed over to her and, somehow, Zoe conked out, just before i reached her. We draped a temporary canopy over the sides of the stroller and let her doze as we wandered through the noisy park. We set up camp along the sidewalk of Main Street with dinner from Casey's, and ate while she slept. She awoke as it was getting dark and the parade route was reaching its most crowded. Soon the evening parades began with all the lights and revelry that Disney could muster. Zoe could not sit down. She smiled and jumped up and down while waving frantically, right through the fireworks. We muscled our way to the store in Fantasy Land for Zoe to pick out her special toy to remember the day. With some "help" from Mommy, she chose a soft and cuddly pink polka-dot Minnie Mouse that she will cherish for a long time. The monorail and tram were so crowded that it's amazing we only lost one thing on our way back to the car (her tiara. And, no, we didn't tell her it was missing). Never mind, she snuggled into her car seat with Minnie, and was soon asleep, no doubt reliving the colorful, musical, noisy, crowded day that Disney never fails to deliver. At home, a week later, she said to one of us - "You know Disney World? I go there sometimes." We can hardly wait to take her there again (preferably on a day when Emily isn't pregnant and having contractions caused by trekking all over from "Land" to "Land"!).

Spring is coming...

Best Quote Ever

I was in the garage organizing stuff in the trunk of my car, when I heard a noise - popped my head up - and saw Zoe standing there in her bare feet. "Zoe!" I said, sounding a tad annoyed and whiny. "You're not supposed to be out here right now!" She continued walking towards me and said, matter of factly, "If I hug you, I can kiss you." That had to be the best thing she could possibly have come up with. I mean, how do you respond to that? I looked at her little face for a second, shaking my head in blissful bemusement. Then I scooped her up and smooshed my lips into her adorable cheek. I continued rearranging the trunk with one arm, while cradling her in the other. Then we both went inside together and told mommy the story. After that, we hugged and kissed one another for a while until we fell down giggling.

Fountain of Youth

I have discovered the secret to staying young. Every time my daughter says to me "Daddy, will you dance with me?", I do.

Don't listen to the baby:

My wife is almost 7 months pregnant. I like to press my ear against her warm belly and close my eyes. I hear gurgling and feel little pokes from the tiny person in there. I try to listen for the baby's heartbeat, and sometimes I think I can hear it for a few seconds. It's very comforting and exhilarating at the same time. But sometimes I get distracted from focusing on what's going on inside that mystical place. For example, it can be hard to maintain my concentration when my two year old is trying as hard as she can to shove my head away from my wife's mid-section, while yelling at me - "Don't listen to the baby!""

Manipulatives

Although my daughter won't start using manipulatives until she's in school, she's already found a specific one that she prefers; Me. She enjoys manipulating me with such phrases as -
Daddy, I have a question. Can you hold me? Dance with me. I want fresh, cold water. Can you turn on the flute music? What was that noise? Can I have some lip balm? My tummy hurts. Where's Cinderella? Cinderella can be interchanged with any of the hundreds of tiny plastic figures she has amassed during her two years. They range from princesses to dinosaurs to animated film characters, and they all fit in your palm or anyplace that's hard to reach. So, if they're all so miniature and helpless, why am I the one she picks on?