Daddy's First Blog

Your getting smarter ....

2012-02-12T08:01:00.001-08:00

The other night we were going through a drive-though Boston Market... We never go here ... You said you wanted a chocolate milk... Then I asked the lady if they had chocolate milk.. She says, "sorry, we don't have that right now..." So we get you a regular milk. Then we pull up to get the food. You get you milk and say 'awe man, no chocolate milk..' So I say "remember buddy, they don't have chocolate milk here?". And you say, "No dad, they do have chocolate milk, she just said its not available right now"... I love the way your brain works!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

You make me laugh

2012-02-07T07:42:00.001-08:00

You have a very dedicated and loving mother. You are still nursing at night, you call them 'milkies'. Last night as you laid down with mom you said...

"Here it is the precious Milkies of the world"

Awesome. Love dad.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

War!

2012-02-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

We went to a mt Dora civilian re-enactment. Cannons , horses, guns.... You had a blast! We got you a small gun and you have been shooting it ever since.

And you loved the cannons... Daddy had a good time too!!!

YouTube Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2012-01-25T19:30:00.001-08:00

Well, we are nearly 3/4's through and it's been REALLY fun! We got here and the weather was crappy so we went to the indoor pool... It was 81 degrees (find for you but me and mom were a bit frozen!). The went went to a store that has a big mine setup under it where you get a bucket of dirt and run it through water and a sifter and out pop rocks... You loved it. Mom froze her hands helping ya.

The next day it was beautiful outside. We went snow tubing! you rode in my tube mostly and one time u kneeled on my chest yelling "ahoy!!" as though you were sailing me down the mountain! Lol.
Oh and mom ripped her pants haha!

The off to grandfather falls... I could kick myself for not getting video of you hiking up this rocky trail. You were bouncing from rock to rock... Like a professional, I was very impressed with you hiking skilz!!!

Today we hiked like 4 miles to see some waterfalls... You were busted tired at the midway point... I had to bribe you with a big desert to keep from carrying you back! And you did it! hiked back all on your own (whew!). Also as tired and exhausted as you were... after a big dinner and short run on a local playground... you STILL stayed up for the whole ride back to the cabin! love you!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Vacation

2012-01-22T12:35:00.001-08:00

We just stopped to eat at Carolina BBQ. You and mom doing puzzles.. This is gonna be a great time !! You r being such a good boy. Love dad

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Your Daddy makes accidents

2012-01-15T19:32:00.001-08:00

Walked in room
Turned off light
Took two steps
Bent over to pick up PC off floor
Eye socket, say hello to bed post
(yes the order is peculiar)
... So every single accident that I have made for myself... I was in a hurry. So ..... Just...... Slow..... Down..... Good luck with that, I'm clearly still trying to heed my own advice!

Oh and one of the MANY reasons to love your mother? She always makes everything OK when we get hurt :). Here is some of her handy work:

Pps... You were awesome too.. Very concerned that daddy stay seated, got me water, and turned on the space heater to keep me warm. Love you buddy!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My Runners

2012-01-14T11:56:00.001-08:00

Today you went with mom to a 5k race... Mom did her best so far and got 3rd place in her age group (woot!)

And you ran in a kids short race Technically this was your second race. The first you were the fastest, but due to down and back nature of the run, you got confused and stopped when you should have run back so then you came in 2nd. This race you knew what to do and came in 1st!

So it seems like you are physically FAR ahead of those your age... Daddy cant wait to cheer you on in whatever sport i choose (football) lolz I missed this race cuz I am at school. I don't like to miss things u do. Love u. Dad

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Daddy and TC go to school

2012-01-14T11:43:00.001-08:00

Well you and I started school at the same time! I am getting a Masters in Engineering and you are starting your first school. My schooling is taking a lot of time from the family... It's tough to tell you i have to study ( instead of playing ). But I hope it will payoff later. We are sending you to Lake Mary Montessori. You love it. They other day mom joked about sending to another school and you said,"no never take my school. I love it". So that's going well!

You Are Thoughtful

2012-01-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

The other day, we were all outside playing with neighbors.. You are in that stage of life where towards the end of the day (with no nap).. you can become a bit whiny. Well, I had to pull you asside and tell you that you needed to start sharing better or we would go inside. And not 5 minutes later you started whining about not wanting to share a neighbor's toy (you had no toys out there they were all other peoples toys). So I took you inside :( You proceeded to melt down, crying, jumping, screaming, etc. I sent you to your room and told you to stay untill you were done crying.... well you come out sniffling and say you would like to go outside with your friends and play. So I explain that I already told you to share and not whine, you said you would, and then disobeyed anyways... So then I ask you how do I know this time is different? You said (and I quote) "Daddy, I need a moment to think".. I said ok... and you sat on the couch, for about 3 minutes in silence.. then went to your room... Then you came out of your room with an armful of toys and said "Daddy, I will share all these toys with everyone".

Well what could I say, you were presented with a problem, you studied it, and came up with an innovative solution (Daddy is PROUD). We went outside and you shared everything with the other kids and we all had a great time!

You amaze me everyday!

A new fairy

2012-01-01T16:26:00.001-08:00

A few days ago you fell and landed on your hand... Running in flip flops! Well it looks like you fingernail is going to fall off now.. See:

Soo... We told you it was going to fall off and you started crying that u didnt want too lose it... Faced with your tears, I dug into my 'deep' bag of parenting skills.... And told you about the Fingernail Fairy who comes to take dead fingernails from under your pillow and leaves a surprise :).

Discussing? Yes. Crying stopped? Yes .... Parenting done right.

Love you

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The negotiator

2011-12-12T06:13:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we were at a local gift store downtown. You ask if I would buy you a toy. It's close to Christmas and we are trying not to spoil you too much. So I said no... You then proceeded to give me several scenarios like this one:
Dad, if you were a childrens and you asked your mom for a fishing pole. And she said no... How would that make you feel.

Well we debated for several minutes. A fellow customer remarked you have a great chance of becoming a lawyer. Each time you revised you story to try and pin me down.

You are hilarious. I love you. Ps we went outside and took this picture:

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

You Mom Kicks Serious $#%

2011-11-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

You mom got fed up with all the speeders on our road... So within the span of a couple days, your mom has organized the neighborhood, contacted city commissioners, planners, chief of police... i filled in for her at the city counsel meeting (she had a sore throat).. and whammo! We have action...

They painted a new 'stop bar' on the ground where the stop sign resides. And replaced the existing stop sign with a more reflective one. Now they are instituting a traffic study, to be followed by more traffic enforcement, and potentially some traffic slowing modifications (pending traffic study outcome).

She' keeping our neighborhood safe! She rocks the house!

A Fort For You

2011-11-15T06:14:00.000-08:00

Well... we spend this weekend (your mothers birthday weekend!) clearing out half of the backyard for your fort... Here's a funny thought:

We paid money (rent trailer/sod cutter) and effort to remove grass (and weeds!) that we had previously paid to have installed... then paid to dump said grass/dirt in the dump which is like paying to put my dirt on top of your dirt.. anyways, then we paid for bundles of pine needles which fall freely to the ground in roughly 2/3's of the US. Somehow this seemed like the right thing to do...

We are very excited, next weekend 'uncle' lance is coming over with family in tow and we shall erect said fort. I would prefer to build it from 'scratch', but a) we don't have any trees to make a cool tree house and b) with my masters degree in progress I just don't have the time for a from scratch project. I am hoping we can build additions though :) but that's getting ahead.. i'll post each days work as we go ...
love you
dad

Skillz

2011-11-03T12:07:00.001-07:00

Turns out, your first try at these, you've got incredible skills. I get the feeling your life is going to be a series of you amazing me... Over and over. This was yesterday at the mall.

YouTube Video

PS at the dinner table we started talking about grades.. I explained A's B's etc. in the context of daddy just took a midterm (got a 97!!!). Well you preceded to tell me your going to get all A's. So there, your committed to it now !

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Naked Pooper

2011-11-02T12:15:00.001-07:00

Well ... The title pretty much captures what's going on here... The photo is from a day trip u, mom and grandpa took to a petting farm in Kissimmee (Green Medows I think). Anyways you needed a potty break on the way down, so yall stopped at a Burger King... Funny thing is your mom (and most of the civilized world) prefer to touch as little as possible in a public bathroom. This typically leads to hovering over toilets. Pulling pants down to knee height only. Using elbows in place of phalanges...
(SIDE NOTE: The other day you were trying to convince me to come play in the bath with you.. you started asking me "whats a big word I can use" and I'm all "why?" and you're like "I know you like big words daddy" so I tell you to say "Come on in daddy, the water is delightful" you crack me up!)
So image all the thinkgs people do to reduce contact with said bathroom. Enter TC. As you can see you have embraced the public restroom to the fullest. Everything, down to your socks have been removed !!! You are a naked pooper and mom was mildly freaked out upon opening the door and discovering your nakedness. (she overcame her instinct to immediately disinfect your ass from head to toe for long enough to snap this photo!)

- ps... Mom sent me the photo at work and i about fell out my chair laughing!!! Thx for all the laughs TC

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Math breakthrough !

2011-10-29T08:50:00.001-07:00

I'm in my linear optimization class (getting my engineering masters...). And I found out the secret to true love...
J==me (Jason)
K==mom (Kim)
TC== you
{heart}==true love

Love
Daddy

- **update... I should explain, something your mom and I have come to learn after being together for 15 or so years.. the very things that we love most about each other are the same things, that in the 'right' context, drive us absolutely crazy (not the good crazy but the I'm gonna run you down with the car crazy!)

Example: Your mom loves my since of humor.. right up until I am making jokes that are just plain mean or at the wrong time... likewise I love your moms passion and caring, so amazing... until we have an argument and that passion comes through like fire from a dragon... so when you find the one you love, just remember the things you love most will, in the right context, drive you fricken nuts... don't worry, your doing it right...but if your just mostly just going nuts, move on :)

Location:W Sand Lake Rd,Orlando,United States

Empty pockets

2011-10-28T08:17:00.001-07:00

One of the fun side effects of being your dad is the nightly emptying of my pockets... See throughout the day as we play or go for walks, you accumulate 'treasures'. Some are just toys from your room, or maybe stuff found outside. Then with or without my knowledge you stuff these treasures into my pockets. So now long after you go to sleepy time, I get rdy for bed and find all your treasures in my pockets. It always makes me smile as I remember our adventures of the day almost like relics of smiles we just had. Here's what I found last night:

Looks like a magnet (long shiny thing) a plastic ball with a metal core. A bat ring. a paper clip and a sea shell. Your awesome.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Out for a run

2011-10-25T15:05:00.001-07:00

I got home today.. And went out for a little run ;-)

YouTube Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Grandview Ave S,Sanford,United States

A day at work

2011-10-25T12:59:00.001-07:00

Just another day at work... You went to school today, it was pizza day ! On tues they provide lunch ( well we pay for you to get lunch ). Anyways tues is also the day moms and dads can come into the class for a bit. This was moms second time. I'm gonna go next week for he first time (excited). So mom sends me these little gems throughout the day. Makes me smile.
COP SONG

YouTube Video

and here you are demonstrating your engineering skilz

YouTube Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:N Lake Destiny Rd,Maitland,United States

Mom loves you

2011-10-24T08:19:00.001-07:00

She was excited to set this up IN THE HOUSE for you!!

YouTube Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

No Excuses

2011-10-24T07:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, so when you're reading this.. it will be the closest thing to time-travel you will ever experience (probably). For you, in the time to glance from one post to the next, I lived 2 years!... No way to play catch up, so I'll just say that you are more amazing everyday. Your expanding vocabulary is only rivaled by your ability to climb trees. You have an amazingly dedicated mother who is STILL giving you milkies (u r so lucky). It's sad how much society screws with mothers and their babies, your mom is soooo strong.. she knows it's good for you and that's all that maters..But we have plans to bring that to an end on your 4th b-day... we'll see about that.. well I hope to post more often that once every 2.5 years... lets see... love you

ps.. I will post video of exactly home much your mom luvs u....

More catching up to do....

2011-10-24T06:01:00.001-07:00

The plan trip back.. well we were worried about you because we had all gotten sick and that tends to make for a bad plane ride (stuffed sinus). And once again, you were an angel and it was Mommy and Daddy with the problems. Thankfully we traded off. Mom was not feeling well during the 1st leg of the trip home, stomach pains an sinus had her doubled over. Next it was my turn with a massive sinus headache. But you made it through just fine :)

So what happens when Mommy and Daddy get sick at the same time? Well, we found out just a couple days before your 1st birthday. See on the 21st of Jan you got a bad stomach virus. Puking out both ends, you literally were throwing up in your sleep, now that's something worth sleeping through! Anyways by the evening of the 23rd, it was your mom's turn. She had been feeling bad all day, I was feeling fine so while your mom nursed you on the couch, I had a GIANT plate of spaghetti :) then your mom started making trips to the bathroom, clearing out both ends (at the same time). Meanwhile I would try to keep you busy... that is until I started to feel bad.

Now your mom was puking and 'stuff'... and I'll be honest, I was feeling bad, like verge of puking bad.. and I let you go crying to the bathroom door. You mom stopped all of her bathroom 'fun' and came out to cuddle and nurse you. I mean just wow! I just can't put into words what that took, all I can say is that I didn't have it in me. I knew that you weren't in danger, and I would have let you cry a lot that night. But your mom is something amazing! Let's just hope we aren't both sick at the same time again (for your dads sake)... after the ~~thrashing~~ conversation your mom had with me over this one, lets just say i really hope we don

Love you buddy (and your mom is amazing)
Dad(NOTE: I just found this post, it was sitting as a draft written who knows when... i figured I would go ahead and publish it.. looks like it was written just after that previously mentioned trip)

A Trend

2011-10-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

Hey buddy,
So there seems to be a trend taking place here... not as many posts :( (Not so 'real-time-daddy-ish' now is it?) Well, good news is I should be back to more posts here in about a month... Gett'n the new iPhone next month and I'm hoping that will help me organize my time better, we'll see. Well sooo much has happened with you in the last couple months it's sorta daunting to try to "catch up". So i'll do that a little at a time, and label each post a w/catch-up.

Right now you're zonked out from yesterday's all day fun.(NOTE: I just found this post, it was sitting as a draft written who knows when... i figured I would go ahead and publish it..)

A Few Busy Months

2009-02-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a busy few months buddy... but hopefully I'll start catching up. We took our first 'real' trip with you over Christmas break. We all flew to Canada to visit your Aunt Melissa and Uncle Hal. It was a great time and you got your first sled ride!! But there were some bumps. For one we all got sick, and that was no fun! But as a result we did more hanging around the house (which also ment more Halo for dad.. woo hooo!)

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. We started off with a 5 HOUR plane ride ahead of us and your mom and I were just a little worried on how you would hold out... turns out (as usual) you were not the one we should have worried about. First your mom gets up to go pee (it's a packed flight we're at like row 9 up front) and comes back in a timely mannor. She reported back to me there was a tiny changing table in the bathroom. Didn't think much of it at the time since we just change you in our laps (and yes expose your privates to the world.. sry) So like a half hour later it's Daddy's turn at taking a pee. So I got on up to the front of the plane and lock myself into the bathroom. It was tiny. So I decided to stand up and pee although I should say this is not the cleanest way to go (in terms of keeping the toilet clean) but in public places it's keeping my butt clean that matters. So I'm standing there letting 3 cokes and 2 waters find there way out of my system when I spy the tiny changing table mom mentioned. Curiosity got the best of me so I twisted the little latch to unfold it. Now somewhere there has got to be some engineers laughing their collective asses off on this one. See when the changing table completely unfolds, just about one half inch before it is completely unfolded, it smacks the open lid of the toilet. Given the angle of said changing table and toilet lid collision, the result is the swift closing of the toilet (maybe this is to prevent flushing of tiny babies but I can't help be think it's for the following...) so now the changing table is completely unfolded (totally blocking my view of the toilet), the toilet lid is shut tight, and I am STILL PEEING! It's going everywhere (but in the toilet of course) and as I am sure you are aware stopping a full stream of pee is a little like trying think a train to a full stop. I wrestled the tray closed, opened the pee covered lid, and that was about the time my body was able to the flow of pee.. I surveyed the mess. Pee was EVERYWHERE! The floor was a sort of rubber mat thing with groves all in it (of which a full third were full of pee). So I made a quick decision. I would quickly clean as best I could, then get the hell our of there (taking too long would make it obvious it was me). And so I did... Now, there are many lessons to be learned here, but certainly only one sticks out as a 'Golden Rule' (pardon the pun)... Never, under any circumstances do what the guy after me did (well technically he was the 2nd guy to go to the bathroom after me.. anyways...)... I saw him walking to the bathroom, and by the time I noticed it was too late: He was NOT wearing any shoes, that's right, just socks. Needless to say he chose poorly. After dodging the flight-crews disapproving looks (Not sure if they new it was me but I sure felt guilty), and I couldn't look that poor fella in the face that did some kinda ballerina dance back to his seat... well, that was one plane ride I won't soon forget (although I will try). But you son, were a complete angel!

Love you buddy
Dad

A Life Lesson

2008-11-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

So the other day we all went to the grocery store. You were asleep so I dropped mom off and began circling the parking lot... why not park? well in our continual effort to bring spoiling to an entirely new level... you sleep better when the car is moving.. but I digress.

So this is a popular store with quite a busy parking lot (Whole Foods... the mekka of Organic foods) As we're doing the rounds.. this guy in front of me tries to turn into a parking spot and fails. There was a symbol of American ignorance parked int the spot next to the open one... It's called a Yukon (pronounced "you - conn" .. sorrta appropriate name) Hopefully by the time you're reading this, this beast is extinct.. it's like the Aircraft carriers of consumer trucks.. Anyways to give the guy a little credit the Yukon was parked with its tire on the white line.. but then it was PARKED and he was MOVING so any argument of fault would be moot.

This guy proceeds to back up and then successfully park his car in the aforementioned spot. As I am circling I keep an eye on him.. He gets out.. walks around his car inspects the damage on both vehicles.. as you might expect his car had the blunt of the damage, broken light, etc.. but the Yukon, for all it's beastly armor, did in fact have a dent.

On about my fourth circle, I spot this guy get back into his car, and take off... so the good samaritan in me jots down his license plate number... I then parked the car (sorry buddy, super dad was in action so your sleep had 2nd priority) Write out a note and proceed to place it on said Yukon... just as I was looking around for a step ladder to place said note on the windshield.. the driver of the Yukon showed up. I told her what I had seen, handed her the note with the plate number and then took you into the store to catch up with mom.. The lady had said she was calling the police to file a report.

While we were shopping, by the way a handy guy-tip.. all the hot women shop at organic food stores (aka your mom) and others were abound, so this is pound for pound the best place to go meet a healthy young woman.. at any rate we are shopping and low and behold who do I see? None other than the hit-and-run driver of past!

So, what to do? I believe that even good people have bad days. And that this guy is probably a good guy.. I mean he did stop, get out.. look around.. it wasn't like he tore ass outta there... So I decided he deserved a second chance... I approached him and said, "Excuse me, I think the lady of the truck outside is looking for you now, maybe you want to go talk with her?" and he said "oh yes" and ran out to talk with her as though he were on a mission... So he avoided some type of hit-and-run deal with the police, and the Yukon lady must have felt better being able to have some info to send to insurance company..

So I think there are a few lessons here.. You never know who's watching, so just do yourself a favor and do the right thing the first time. Consider helping a fellow human when you can. And almost everyone deserves a second chance.

Love you buddy,
Dad

Some More Games

2008-11-04T02:36:00.000-08:00

So you've got a few more games going now. On your last visit to Grandma/Grandpa Skipper's, you seized a doggy toy ( actually just the squeaky from a doggy toy) and, of course like everything else, put it in your mouth and started squeaking it... This got the attention of their smallest dog, China, (she's about the size of a coke can.. well she's been eating too many treats lately so let's go with the size of coke can in a cozy).. anyways you would hand the squeaky to China and just before she took it you'd take it back and crack yourself up! It was really cute, grandpa took some video and we had a great time..

Your favorite pole... so there is a tent-like set up in your room and you swiftly dismantled it and took out a pole that is approximately 4 ft in length (REALLY HUGE compared to you) and then you set about the house attempting to leverage this new tool in many ways.. of course poking the nearest animal was fun but the pole proved too unwieldy to provide for accurate poking... then you had seen mom and dad open the bathroom door by fiddling with the brass nob attached to the door (which was high above you head) so you employed the pole in poking said nob in a worthy but ultimately fruitless attempt to gain access to the bathroom and all it's fun places to play that mom and dad refuse to yield.

And then there is the one-handed skiing... You select various objects, like say daddy's leveler.. place it in your hand (usually your right) and commence with crawling around whilst 'skiing' with said hand on the floor, pushing the object around.. very cute!

These are just a couple... point is I can see you changing.. getting smarter, literally everyday. It's so awesome.. or as mom and I say on a daily basis... "He's AWESOME!"

Love you buddy
dad

Daddy Gets a New Job

2008-10-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

So, this is my first job change since you've been around. It seems there is a bit more gravity added to the decision. Right now the markets are in the tank, so most people would say this is a dumb decision.. or at least a dumb time to change jobs... Either way it's definitely not the 'conservative' decision. Truth be told I'd dig ditches to provide you 'the basics' but let's just hope it doesn't come to that. I think there are two points I want to make to you about this decision.

1) I could not have done this without your mom's support. Now you might think this is just me ensuring she has partial ~~blame~~ credit for the ~~failure~~ success of this job switch... But really my point here is that at least for me and your mom.. deciding together, as a family, whats best..that is really important.. sorry kid you don't get to vote for quite some time (and your mom carries a giant veto stick that neither of us can beat!)

2) Be different. Sometimes this means that when the whole world is running one way, don't let that be your only reason for going alone. Right now the economy is in the tank, people are trying to 'hunker down' (man I hope they stop saying that on the news.. usually in reference to a hurricane.. at least by the time your all grow'd up) but I see opportunity, and so I am taking some risk and looking to make some gains. Now there are times that sticking with the crowd is a good thing.. even a smart thing.. like say when the fire alarm goes off in your building... This may turn out great.. or not.. but either way it's feels right to take some risk, and be different.

Our Games

2008-09-30T05:08:00.000-07:00

TC,
I've played LOTs of video games... From the early days of Atari to the XBOX 360... tons of games. Games that hundreds of people have spent millions of dollars developing.. and most of them were really fun. Now I've got two favorite games, and they are the best games EVER!

Our first game has been in the works for a while. I take my hand and put it on the ground next to you, then I pretend like it's a rocket and launch my hand in to the air and i whistle (i suck at whistling) in a high tone... you immediately get a little smile on your face.. I make my hand go way up into the air, and at the peak, I change my whistle (like the sound of a dropping bomb).. your smile gets a tad bigger.. then a few seconds before my hand lands on you I stop whistling all together and your smile goes into overtime as you anticipate the 'bomb' landing on you.. then when it lands I make a crashing sound and tickle you .. You practically explode with laughter, and then I can't help but laugh as well.. Over and over, the perfect game.

This next one we just discovered last night. Mom took Sobie for a walk and that left you and me in the house. I put you in your walker and you started running around kinda screaming in a high pitched voice.. So I started imitating you too. I ran around with my hands over my head say'n "Wooooo Hoooo" over and over.. You began to follow me like "what the hell is dad do'n?" Then I would stop turn around and say "I'm gonna get you..." with my hands out in front of me like I'm gonna grab you... Then I would run over to you and tickle you.. After about the third time I did this, the game was ON. As soon as I said, "I'm gonna get you!" You'd stop following me and take off running in an attempt to evade my tickle.... I was amazed at how fast you grasped the whole "you chase me... I'll chase you.." And you're good too, around the chair, down the hall... just awesome! It's tons of fun... I can't wait for the next game.

Love you buddy
Dad

Small Moments

2008-09-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

The other night, your mommy was REALLY tired and had a hurt neck (from endlessly contorting herself to keep you fed and/or asleep)... So she went to bed early and that left you and me up for about 2 1/2 hours (Your bed-time theme song is Eye Of The Tiger.. you fight sleep like a pro) So we played with some blocks on the floor, swung on the patio swing... Then back inside to play around in the clothes hamper.. Had to change a diaper.. point is we just hung out and you are sooooo much fun.. the whole time I could get you to laugh on-demand.. with just a sound or a quick turn of my head... or I could just give you a big smile and you smiled right back... That kind of power.. (to make you laugh) is awesome! When you laugh and giggle, with your HUGE cheeks all lit up.. Well that speaks to my sole little dude.. and it makes everything ok.. fricken cool .. very cool! So just wanted to let you know I had a great time the other night.. you're a ton of fun (and most of it's in your cheeks... HA!)

How Your Mom Got Her Own Computer

2008-09-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

OK, so every now and then things happen between your mom and me that warrant me stopping whatever it is that I am doing and immediately documenting what just happened.. and this is one of those fine moments...

So it's nearing the end of the day here at work and I get a call from your mom.. Frantic would best describe her tone...." Jason, I need your help.. is your internet up at work!?!" ( Yes I work at a double digit million dollar a year company that somehow can't keep the internet connection up.. should make a lot of people feel better about their crappy home connection) So I'm thinking.. she's driving somewhere and needs some first hand google map help? Perhaps she needs to get some vital information from her gmail... life or death maybe?

"Yes honey it's up.. what can i do?"

Now I should preface this next bit of information with some ...well additional information.. see your mom and I are what I would consider a bit ~~perverted~~ progressive in that looking at porn is no big deal.. and by "your mom and I" what I really mean is "me".. ok so your mom isn't totally innocent but she is compared to me.. (by the way..porn is fine for anyone over the age of 18 .. and if your still living in my house I may decide 21 is an even better age).... nobody is sneaking around.. which by the way your mom and I are big believers in full disclosure.. no secrets.. no lies.. equals awesome marriage.. but i digress.. So yes, daddy looks at porn every now and then... and sometimes this stuff makes it's way off the internet onto the computer..... which is why full disclosure is best because without it, instead of a funny blog post.. this would likely be 2 years of marriage therapy!

so back to my story... "Help!?!" .... "what honey? what can i do?!?" ... then your mom tells me " I was updating the photos on my MySpace page and somehow I uploaded one of your porn photos to my MySpace page!!.... and then the computer locked up!!! and now there's nothing I can f$%@!ing do!! You've got to login and delete them NOW!!!"

This immediately sent me into a histarical laughter... However, I perserviered through the pain of the laughter and after a brief ethical dellima (I WAS at work, so I probablly shouldn't go looking for a porn photo... even if I'm trying to delete it... but alas the urgency in Mommy's voice told me I had just better do what she wants) I logged into her account... and sure enough there is a nice big picture of one fit naked chick stretching out in the morning sun... oh man.. just too funny

and thus.. we'll be buying your mom her own computer shortly I am sure...

So I guess the lesson here is: One Husband, One Wife, Two Computers.

love you buddy

ps (sorry for putting the words 'porn' and 'dad' and 'mom' all in the same story)

To our bed OR not to our bed... that is our question...

2008-08-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

our bedtime ritual goes something like this..... more often then not, we decide to hit the hey between 8 and 10 pm (more 8ish than 10ish).. yes we are getting old so staying up doesn't have the luster that it use to... So we go to bed and you go down with mom and nurse till your heart is content.. (on some rare occasions I magically get you to sleep and you start off laying on my chest) daddy passes right out :) but your mom deals with you all night..waking up, letting you nurse.. repeat...

So the question of the day is... when do you go to bed in your own crib/bed??? Like most issues in life there are two schools of thought here.. one says we should toss you in the crib and let you cry it out.. the other says we are doing the right thing now.. Fact is, right now the only 'problem' your causing is your moms intermittent sleep. So as long as mom doesn't turn into a stressed-out sleep-deprived mom.. sleep in our bed till 18 for all i care... but if mom starts showing signs of sleep-deprivation... you could be in for an abrupt change...

Just for the record... you sleeping in our bed does not prevent mom and dad from having sex as that occurs at more suited times throughout the day.. there... had to be said...

So our big plan now is to start putting you down for naps by yourself around 12 to 18 months.. then perhaps when you are 2 or 3 make a big move from our bed to yours... we'll see how that goes...I am envisioning some mild type of world war III... of course if a brother or sister were to show up you could be out on your ass a lot sooner :) but that is yet another choice we have yet to make..

love you
dad

A Nod to your Mom

2008-08-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

So here's the deal... If we were to take a pie and cut it up in pieces... then give a piece of pie to either your mom or myself for each sacrifice of time and/or energy that we've made in the last 12 months while raising you... well let's just say we need to go buy some more damn pies cuz your mom is a super star!.. now that's not to say I don't have some pieces of my own.. just that she is amazing and completly dedicated... you're one lucky dude (actually we're two lucky dudes) ... so go hug you're mom right now... no really.. go.... i'll wait... ... ... ... ... ... good job...
love you
dad

Dude.. you're like walking and stuff

2008-08-19T06:13:00.000-07:00

So my first surreal moment as a daddy... I'm in the kitchen, slapping together a sandwich when out of the corner of my eye you go flying by in your walker... Yes you... my baby... that has just started "army-crawling"... FLEW by as if the 2008 Olympics had inspired a new 100 Meter walker-assisted sprint... You've totally mastered the thing. It looks like a car and has a whole removable 'activity panel' with horn/steering wheel, gears, etc.. which you promptly removed and tossed to the side... as if to say "Hey, this if for kiddies man, I just wanna use this walker to get around until I get my first real car... " Then about 30 seconds later you go flying back the opposite direction... So after about the 4th fly by I just can't pay attention to the task at hand anymore.. I'm just waiting for you to go running by again..

So it's difficult to describe.. but you're my little boy... you're just learning to crawl remember? And then I catch you running through the house like a monkey on fire... just seems ... fast? By the way you generally run with your arms in the air... kinda like a gorilla... then if you meet a challenging rug you begin to jump up and down to rock the walker up on the carpet... awesome!

So it's a small moment.. but I can see there are going to be a lot of these... "double-takes" .. like did I just see him do what I thought I just saw him do? Anyways.. you're tons of fun..

Oh, and yesterday mom went to Walmart and left you with me.. we're talking a new Skipper record for a 'Mom MIA'... she was gone for about 30 minutes... It was a big step for her.. kinda crazy... for six months now she hasn't been away (as in not the same house/building/etc) from you for more than 30 minutes!!! now THATs dedication!!!

love you
dad

Son 1 - Dad 2

2008-07-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

Well we did it, a successful family vacation. It was successful in that we all came home alive and maybe not so successful in that I ran your moms car into a pylon and dropped you off a bed on to a TILE floor.

First the car.. it was raining.. i ran around to get the car and come pick you and mom up... in my haste I forgot about an 'extra' pylon in the parking lot and backed right into it!!

I have a bad reputation in parking lots... passed down from my dad... so good luck with that family gene. Over half of my accidents have been in parking lots.. ouch... I'll post some pics here soon.... Your mom was wonderful.. I put a good ding on her nice pristine car and she was just glad that I was ok...

So lets be blunt here, in a previous post i was very politically correct and took even responsibility for you falling off the bed when in fact is was mostly your moms fault. So I'll continue with my blunt-ness and claim full responsibility for this one.. and just to compare the two... it's like a firecracker vs. Hiroshima... So we're up in the bedroom I was changing your diaper on the extremely tall bed... I turned my head to talk with mom for like 4 seconds.. Did i mention the bed was tall? Mom screams... JASON!!! I turned around and you were landing on the TILE floor... this bed was like 12 stories tall (ok so not that tall but when the most precious thing you have falls off a bed it sure felt like it) Somehow mom FLEW the 14 ft or so, past me, and picked you up before I could blink! Fricken unbelievable... You only cried a few minutes.. we were pretty scared but you turned out ok.. You got a nice boo boo on you head, it feels sorta gushie... hope I didn't 'break' you... Now that I'm typing this I feel sortta crappy that I didn't take you to a hospital for a checkup... but you're a Skipper and resilience is a prerequisite.

Love you buddy
Dad

Son, You're mom would do anything to save you...

2008-07-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

I know, because I nearly saw her drown last weekend... We decided to take you into our pool for the first time. By the way you had a blast and kicky'd/spashy'd all over the place.. Mom got in first, it was about 3pm and the Sun was still beaming down so the only place to grab some shade and still be in the pool was the DEEP END (dunnn dunnn dunnnn daaaa) of the pool. Now I just happen to be sitting ... excuse me one second ....... ....... ...... .... had to run to the potty... eveytime i tell this story i nearly pee myself. So I'm sitting on the pool deck and kim is in the pool, I have my legs extended out and she has her armpits resting on my shins.. leaving her hands free to take You from me.. and so insues a few minutes of fun baby-pool-time play. We'll my legs started to get tired and your mom was not too comfy, so we both decided you and mom should go over to the step on the other side of the DEEP END (dunnn dunnn dunnnn daaaa) But what we didn't discuss was how this transfer should occur..

Mom launched off with you in a kind of half paralyzed doggy paddle (since her hands were busy holding you up above water, they could not participate in the doggy paddling) This left more of a doggy kick than a paddle; it should be noted the doggy kick in no way matches the performance of the doggy paddle, ESPECIALLY when caring an additional load. She did pretty good for the first 2 feet or so.. then like a slow singing ship, she began to go under and her forward momentum came to a halt.. looking straight up at me, still holding you high above her head, she took her last gasp of air and went under.. Luckily she had made it close enough to the step that I reached out and grabbed ya. We both had quite a laugh.. .ehhum, after she caught her breath... and she was very proud that you stayed high and dry... I'll never get the picture out of my head of your mom, underwater, looking at me.. holding you above her head... like.. ummm I didn't think this all the way through, could I get some fricken help over here!?!?

Independence Day Fun

2008-07-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

So today was your first 4th of July!! It started off with a bang alright… I was changing your diaper and your mom was out hanging up your clean diapers.. You looked so stink’n cute naked, I figured I'd take you out back and show mom how cute you are… well I got one foot out of your bedroom and you puked all over me…. Nice big chunks lol… I was think’n ok, not too bad I’ll just grab a cloth on the way outside… then as I took my next step… whizzz… yep you started pee’n all over me.. I quickly made a damn with my and and detoured into the bathroom straight into the tub.. since we were both now covered in puke and pee, it became clear to me that you wanted to start your 4th of July off with a bath!!! And so we did J

We went to a bbq across the street and you ate your first watermelon (i'll post pics here soon).. we ended the day out front watching the fireworks and thinking about next year when we’ll all trek down to the lake and have a blast watching the show!

love you
dad

Do Something Outrageous

2008-06-25T07:49:00.001-07:00

This is something I wrote for an article, but it's not going to make the cut.. it's a first-person account of.... well, of me loving your mom and showing it...

Kim is having an office meeting at lunch today and this is the perfect scene for me to make a little deposit into The Bank of Marital Bliss. After a quick stop by Publix for some roses, I speed on over to Winter Park to intercept her lunch. This is where the men are separated from the boys. I'm staring at these roses, so cliché. I love this woman, I mean shout from the top of Mt. Dora type love! I've got to do better than the standard rose delivery. I immediately begin ripping all the petals off all the roses, except one. Armed with my bag of petals and one rose, I pounced. The entire office is in a staff meeting as I round the corner and hand her the rose. The slight shock of seeing me is spreading across her face. Just as she inhales a breath to speak, I begin showering her with the petals. They are dancing down her soft face on to the floor, her smile grows with each caress. I hear her co-workers in a chorus of "awwwes". As the last peddles are fluttering into place, I speak first. "Thought I should shower you with my love." I go in for the kiss, fast and hard. Then, as we break apart, I press my finger to her lips, as though she's forbidden to speak, then after flashing her a quick smile, I leapt out of there like Batman. Yes, I feel like an idiot. Yes my guy friends get nauseous when they hear about this. None of that matters though. My heart is pounding and my marriage is alive like never before.

Daddy's Day is Done

2008-06-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well it was a father's day weekend extravaganza! You gave me a very cute card shaped like a fishy and i know you don't want the details but your mom treated me like a king for the weekend (wink, wink). OKand the father/son score is now: Dad 2 Son 1. See this weekend I had a little problem sitting down on the couch.. Now to say that I sat on your head would be an exaggeration in my opinion. However I did sit down on the couch, and I would say I "grazed" your head whilst my arse was making its way to the couch. Thankfully there is no video :) You cried for a few minutes, but then it was all better. So other than nearly killing you, it was a fantastic weekend. Lots of people praising my fatherly skills, etc... FYI.. this blog, as you know, (since I've blogged about my blog in the past) has gotten me into writing for a magazine.. I really enjoy it so I've decided to work at one day trying to be a 'real writer' which for me means writ ting a book once or so a year and making millions of dollars on best sellers.. so lets mark this fathers day as a 'stake in the sand' for dad trying something different. Don't worry, I'm not quitting my day job, so you'll likely be able to have a roof over your head, food, and stuff like that..
Thanks for the great times.
love you
dad

ps this weekend you figured out how to use a straw!! very cool. In fact we have to closely monitor you with a straw because inevitably you'll try to suck the whole thing down in like 5 seconds... You're super interested in anything we put in our mouths... which is understandable since everything you can get a grip on goes right into your mouth!! You love to suck on glasses and bottles too ( i think you like the coldness on your gummies)

pps. here are some pics from the weekend.. you're soooo funny! click HERE

First Daddy Day is Coming....

2008-06-13T06:57:00.000-07:00

Well, my first Father's Day is swiftly approaching... pretty cool... I say it out loud to myself sometimes "Hello, I'm a father... this is my son.." just sounds crazy because i've spent the last 32 years being somebody else's son... anyways your mom got me a sweet Lazy Boy recliner, you and I have already logged dozens of hours in it.. NICE! You're a little young to enjoy a big father/son outting so we'll have fun at home this year.. I'll let you know how the weekend goes..
love you buddy..
xoxo
dad

Story TIme

2008-06-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday your mom was sick with some sorta stomach thing... it wasn't pretty. So I stayed home from work to handle 'baby duty' in hopes of giving mom a break. Funny thing.. before, if I ever stayed home, it was because I was sick... now I stay home when other people (mom.. you.. etc) are sick..

In true mom fashion she's found a really cool activity for you and her.. story time at the library. It just so happens that this was the day for story time... thus I packed you up and we went to story time together.. father and son. It was the first (of many to come) 'official' father - son trip that we have gone on together.. You were awesome, just hang'n out enjoying the stories and watching the other less intelligent kids all running around... (you're REALLY smart... I can tell already :) We're pretty cute together so we had to bug outta there before all the mom's started hit'n on us... we've already got a great mom/wife so no need to tease those other poor ladies.. LOL

anyways.. it was really cool, I had a great time with you... you mom had some good rest that day too (you and her napped like 3 or 4 hrs.. ).. so you're awesome.. and it was fuuuuuuun!

love you buddy,
dad

Son 1 - Dad 1

2008-06-01T04:25:00.000-07:00

So last night, about a second after I published the previous blog.. I hear a loud bang... immediately followed by your mom saying "oh shit.. oh shit.." about a dozen times.. all the while running through the house from the bathroom to the bedroom... Well I jumped up and ran back to the bedroom where you were crying.. It became immediately apparent that you had fallen out of bed.. After a few adrenaline filled moments of looking you over.. and by the way you only cried for about one minute.. must be those skipper genes (use to a lot of hard knocks on the noggin) anyways you were fine minus a small bump on your forehead (Click HERE to see your first big boo-boo, ok so it's not really that big but it still scared the shit out of us..). That's when I noticed your mom had been going potty when this happened.. her shorts and undies were down by her knees.. see she didn't waste any time getting to you from the bathroom... that was a good laugh once we knew you were OK..

This brings up a good life lesson... there was no discussion between your mom and I as to "who's fault" this was... (we both felt like poop that you were hurt and in truth we both did things that contributed to your 'bed-dive') point here is that spending time attempting to affix blame DOES NO GOOD! Mom felt bad, I felt bad... so we talked about what we could do to avoid this in the future.. how to 'fix' the problem vs. who should own the problem...

Anyways.. we're even.... you got my eyeball, i got your whole head... and yes i'll be keeping score :)
love
daddy

Son 1 - Dad 0

2008-05-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well, today you took your first shot at me and IT HURT! We were walking down the street and I thought you'd like a birds eye view... So i sat you up on top of my head... little did i realize this put you in perfect striking position... So we mosied on along... you had your feet out in front of my face, they were kind of crossed like you were relaxing.. but apparently you were trying like hell to uncross them... Then, in a split second, your feet came uncrossed.. your left heel was like a flying hammer, no.. no.. it sprung loose like a tiger woods 9 iron, then it landed squarely on my EYEBALL! No bone, no grazing hit, nothing to stop your heel but my eyeball squishing until it couldn't squish anymore... then my brain took the rest of the impact.. It's been at least four hours and my eye is still throbbing..

I thought back to all the times that I injured my dad... oh boy... well at least you waited until you were four months old before beginning the long journey of kicking your dads ass one tiny 'accident' at a time....

love you TC,
daddy

The Universe Speaks

2008-05-23T11:56:00.001-07:00

A couple days ago, me, your mom, and TC (thats you ;) got all packed up to go over to a friends house (Jeremy, Andrea and Carly).. now your mom got a little upset because we were running late and had to drop some stuff off of our 'to-do' list.. And that's when The Universe stepped in.. She's driving on I-4 and traffic grinds to a halt (it's amazing how many times I've come to a dead stop on I-4 in my life) anyways.. This put mom right over the edge.. Right then a work Truck (like a moving truck with a big roll-up back door) of some sort merged in front of our vehicle. Painted on the back of the truck, now about eight feet in front of your mom's face, was the HUGEST guy, with the HAPPIEST smile, and the FRIENDLIEST hand-wave, that you've ever seen!!!! There he was constantly smiling.. waving.. I couldn't resist.. "Honey, I hope you see the irony driving in front of you".. She couldn't resist anymore either.. and she began cracking up laughing and gave the Smiling Guy a friendly wave back... followed by the finger... Sorry, forgot to snap a pick.. but just picture a guy straight out of the forties, prim and proper, big smile, big wave, and about 4x the size of a normal human...

Sooo the point here is to always laugh when you can.. it's so much more fun the being pissed... and The Universe will often give you a swift kick in the butt for comedies sake, so don't take it personally..

Love ya buddy!!

ps Your mom called me today and reminded me that One Year ago today we found out mom (Previously known as Kim) was pregnant with you!!! and what a year it's been.. you're awesome!!!

The Big Show

2008-05-13T10:00:00.001-07:00

TC,
Your mom is soooo awesome, the news did a story on her (and other moms) that chose the comfort of their mind, over drugs, when giving birth.. Now there are a lot of people that will say this is a load of crap.. you don't get no medal for skipping drugs.. etc.. but fact is that your Mom was really brave, and did this for you. So click HERE to see your BIG SHOW!

*** Disclamer *** - The news likes to ~~get things right~~ i mean ~~make things intresting~~ lie so that the story seems way cooler.. So when they say your mom had a 42 hour birth.. what they mean to say is that mom knew 42 hours before you were born that something different was happening.. active labor aka mom was breathing and dad started freaking out.. was more like 24 hours..

Dreams...

2008-05-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the other night I had a pretty crazy dream. I was playing some shoot 'em up video game, the whole family had gathered to watch me beat the end of the game... yea i know, but doesn't every geek wish deep down inside that beating that final level was some sort of family wide appreciation day? anyways.. out of the corner of my eye I catch you, all 24 inches of ya standing on the couch! I though immediately that you would be falling off the couch (seeing as how you can't stand on your own yet and all) so I began to reach for you... Then like an Olympic diver you put your arms into the air in sort of a 'V' formation, then with absolute precision, your arms came down, knees bent, then up! up! up! you sprung into the air.... BACKWARDS off the couch, did an entire flip in the air and landed on a couch on the opposite side of the room... perfectly soft on your back... I was like "WHHHOOOOAAA"!! Did anyone else catch that?!?

So in conclusion, should you become a diver and or gymnast... I totally call dibs on guessing what you'd grow up to be!

FYI Today you got your second shot, it was the first time I was present (Your mom did the first 'alone')... You were a big boy.. you did cry but not for long. Every person that meets you says how cute you are!!! oh yea! Then I got a double bonus and saw you at lunch too! You're....... wait for it......... AWESOME!!!
Love dad

A Shooting Star!

2008-04-23T05:22:00.000-07:00

Ahh, yes.. you're barely 2136 hours old ( 89 days ) and you've already had your first Television interview! In just one more sign that you're mom really knows what she is doing, FOX television came over yesterday and interviewed you and your mom on the Hypnobirthing philosophy she used to calm her mind and allow her body to birth you. You were fantastic, and mom was great too ;) So we are now eagerly awaiting your first step into Hollywood... next week we will be entering you into a baby pageant, and then it's off to LA! NOT! But it will be fun to see ya on TV.. I'll record it and post it here, should be shown on Monday...

Green Eggs... and ribs!?!

2008-04-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went over to your Grandma and Grandpa skipper's house. They cooked up some ribs for mom and dad in there special Green Egg Grill! It was YUUMMMMEEE! Now we were at dinner and Grandpa was holding you when all of the sudden I looked up and you had your thumb in your mouth! Up until now it has always been your whole fist in your mouth... Now there was some discussion as to whether or not it was the official first thumb suck or not. Grandpa was certainly making a strong case but seeing as how he was holding you at the time, we had to disqualify him as too biased (Plus he was waring TRI-Nocular glasses or something so he may have thought he was holding the dog for all we know!)

After much discussion and re-enactments however, it was concluded that tonight, the night of the Green Egg, you first sucked your thumb like a big boy :) in Grandpa's arms.

So that settles it then, we'll be going over to your grandparents more often to see what other great firsts you'll be doing there next.

Love you buddy.
Dad

Oh Boy...

2008-04-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Recently I took a trip down memory lane... I thought about ALL the stupid shit I did growing up. And I can't tell you how many times a matter of inches or minutes meant the difference between life and death, a joke or jail time. It's truly amazing that I've made it this far....

Here's just a few:

I surfed on top of a cars, sound strange? Go watch "Teen Wolf" and you'll know what I mean.
I hitched rides, one my roller blades, by holding onto the back of cars (Michel J Fox is an asshole)
I broke nearly every bone in my face playing flag football, one five hour surgery and 30 days of recovery and Humpty was all back together.
Jumped off the roof of my house, just to be cool.
Drove 100+MPH round trip (day trip) to Biloxi, just so I could loose $100 with my friend.

And these are the 'mild' ones, TRUST ME... I'll post more when the statute of limitations expires... now while these make great conversation pieces, they ARE NOT worth the risk I took... I would lecture you on the merits of my past experience and how you can learn from my mistakes.. bla bla.. I know I didn't listen so you're going to make your own decisions too... so that just leaves me hoping... preying.. that you are as lucky as I was/am. But just for your mom and dad's piece of mind, if it's not too hard... be the guy driving the surf car.. not the idiot on top :) ...

love you
dad

Milstone #1 - The Roll Over

2008-04-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

Last night at approximates 3 A.M. I was dozing in and out when suddenly, your mom says look! he did it! And I caught the very end of your first roll-over! Now this sounds ridiculous , but it's just soooo cool to see you figuring stuff out! My head will probably explode the first time you say a word! You were on your back and rolled to your stomach.. and then almost back over!! You began to fuss so mommy swooped in and made everything better (she's so good at that!)

As a side note you've been holding your head up and have started getting your hands under you. Man it looks like your work'n sooo hard! I am really proud of you already :)

Well, much love, I am off to New York for a day trip.... I am going to miss you and mom BIG time! Don't you dare do any more milstones while I'm away.

Love
Dad

Yikes! the Sniffles!

2008-04-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

Well buddy, the last few days have been a tad tough. It seems like one night we came home from your Aunts and at about 3 AM I hear your Mom.. "Shit!" I sit up... "What?!? what!?" You were all congested and it was making it hard for you to breath.. You sounded pretty bad, no fever though.

And just like that, we were right back in our day one shoes "Oh, crap... what do we do?" Well within a few hours you had your very own humidifier, we had shoved pillows under the matress to create this god-awefull incline (great for keeping you from getting stuffy, not so great for me and mom to sleep on), we had given you a steam bath in the shower... and now we are on the phone with Lazy-Boy to see if we can get something more comfortable than a jerry-rigged inclined bed. One thing is for sure.. we sure know how to over-react!

Yesterday Mom took you to the doctors for your regularly scheduled appointment. You're do'n great.. like 12 lbs 8 oz... pretty much 50 percentile...He said you don't have a cold, you're just shedding all the toxins this lovely world has to offer you.. Oh and he told us to stop sucking the snot out of your nose.. you'll be happy about that as you thow a pretty good fit when we get that sucker out.. You got up on your arms a bit and looked around (great job showing off for the doc) and you were an angle...

So the pillows are out of the bed, the humidifier is packed and we are still talking with Lazy-Boy... but trust me... one little sniffle and the 5-alarm fire drill will be in full effect... have us running for sure!

Love you buddy.
Dad

A New Sister!

2008-04-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Well TC, you're getting a brand new sister! We are just about done with all the paperwork and your new sister (Zenow Che) from East India will be here today! I hope you like her and think of here as your big sister, since she is 37. I want you to make her feel at home as things can be tough for adopted kids. She might seem a little old at your birthday parties but trust me she'll be great when you want some beer! Well, we have to go paint her room, so see you lata ;)

Published... WHAD UP!?!

2008-03-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, your dad con'd some poor mag into publishing his words... My evil plan is already at work... I'll let you know what it is as soon as I figure it out... In the meantime here are some PDF files of the magazine pages ....
Click HERE to see my daddy article.. this is my fav as it's sorta my soap box..
Click PAGE1, PAGE2, PAGE3, PAGE4 for my summer camp articles... more work less me, but still fun.. and soon the whole magazine will be up at Playground Magazine (CLICK HERE)

Now I really gotta say there is some MAJOR talent writing for this mag so don't stop at my articles... my fav is "Moms dating Moms"... by Cris Phillips Georg which chronicles mom's finding like-minded moms....

Well time is short as you, TC, are very demanding and all this writing is tough to fit in.. so...
big thanks to Kim (mommy) for giving me time to play!
and big thanks to my Cassie (sis) for the push in the right direction!

Love
Dad

A Fact of Life

2008-02-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

OK little TC, time for a fact of life. Turns out no matter how much you love someone, eventually you'll end up having a fight. Now as it pertains to your mother and I, we know that it's no fun; so we try our best not to, and if we must... then not around you... but alas, sometimes, we will have our fights and they will be in front of you. So here is somethings we need you to know...

Your mom and dad are waaaay in love with each other, so nasty things like ~~devoice~~ divorce or separations are way, WAY off the radar. Now granted people will say "things change", "you never know... " but trust me on this one, your mom and i will be so happily married 99.99% of the time that it will tend to make most other married couples sick to even think about it.
I am a big believer in "Chaos Theory".... (go rent The Butterfly Effect if you want a good example of what this is) So you're mom and I would much rather get something out in the open.. fight about it... and put it to rest. vs 'look the other way' as you'll find that continually looking the other way will save you from a fight today but get you in a war tomorrow..
Fights are rarely about what people are actually arguing over, more often you're mom and I fight when we are tired, hungry or just plain needing some extra love... So that's why ALL our fights end with a hug.
We'll never go to bed until it's done... this is another form of looking the other way.. if you go to bed angry, then it festers.. and in the morning you're likely to just ignore what happened... Then nothing is resolved and it festers. So we NEVER go to be upset.

So that's my outlook on mom and dad's arguments... All in all I think you'll have it pretty good since you're mom and dad have a Rock'n Relationship!

Love ya buddy,
Dad

Valentines Day

2008-02-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

TC, One day you will find 'THE' woman, and some point thereafter, Valentines Day will arrive. So here is some advice for this oh so commercial day. Actions my dear boy, speak louder than words... and public actions are the loudspeakers of love. Here's just a few very public actions I've done for your mom:

Showered her with rose petals while she was at work (in a meeting). Literally.
Set up a tent outside of her work and had a 'lunch-camp-out-pic-nic'
Candle-lit dinner on our roof

Now your mom's got me topped here, on our 1st V-day with a scavenger hunt driven by love messages\presents left ALL OVER TOWN (that ended at a hotel.. woot!). But you get the point... If you love her .... show her... in public..

So it's kinda weak.. but with you here, time is hard to come by right now... so what could be more public than an internet blog?

Kim,
I love you. Not that "love you" at the end of a phone conversation, nor the Hollywood "love you baby" as you walk out the door... no no.. this is the end of the movie, finally found each other, overcoming all adversity, just escaped the end-of-the-world, almost died for you, soul mate, against all odds, shouting from the top of the mountain...
I LOVE YOU!
Happy V-day Babby
~jason

Watermellons Watermelons and Tweezers

2008-02-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

---Updated 2/12/2008 8pm---
Ok so your dad can't spell for crap, but you probably already know this... thank god for spell check! Now if i could just spell check in the titles.
--------------------------------

Hay TC, just thought I should let you know some thoughts on what your mom has gone through the last couple days. This post may be a bit graphic but then so was your birth so fair is fair. First off - your birth. Now there are all kinds of similes and metaphors that have been used throughout time to describe what birth must feel like. I have settled on one given to me by your mother, 'Image a watermelon coming out of your pee-pee whole'. And I saw you come out so I can verify the authenticity of this description. ouch!

Up next, first-time breast feeding. During the first few days, you and your mom had quite a difficult time with breast feeding. This eventually led to blisters and even blood on your mom's nipples. We had a conversation where she suggested I could take a pair of industrial tweezers, clamp them onto my nipples, then set about turning them as best I could every 1 to 2 hours... this she said, would provide a suitable simulation of the 'breast feeding ~~dance~~ ~~partnership~~ war'.

And finally sleep, or lack there of to be more precise. I can attest to part of this, but your mother (like most things baby) has to bear the brunt. Turns out that babies don't much care about day and night when they first arrive. So you've been doing well at keeping us all awake at most hours.. now to be fair we actually have had two or even three nights (not in a row) of 7+ hours sleep. So those were like golden gifts that you have given us both and we thank you!

So the good news is you are only born once, so no more pain down below for mom.. and you two have worked out the breast feeding nicely now so you feed fine and mom isn't kicking the couch. So now we're working on sleep and if you keep giving us those great nights every now and then... we'll have enough rest that we don't try to walk the baby and burp the dogs. The first week was tough but everyday gets easier. We really love you buddy and we are soo excited about things to come.

Some Housekeeping

2008-02-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

Remember that parenting magazine I am writing for? (thanks to you TC) Well their first issue comes out like next month or something.... (See their website HERE) Turns out I managed to sneak in about three articles.. woot! So I thought I should post the article that got rejected here. I think it's good, but that the ones they kept were better. So without further adieu, here's my first rejected article:

What Kind of Crazy are You?

I'm likely putting myself in danger by even writing this, yet I will forge ahead for the new parents that will follow. Sit back for my bloody insiders’ tour of a war so secret, the sides don’t even have names (I think this is a tactic that helps them ambush you in a moments notice.)

Article by Jason Skipper

Crazy-A's, as I call them, are the ones who think doctors are evil extensions of Satan himself. They'll say doctors are out to destroy women and children, whilst making cold hard cash. They know that hospitals run baby factories that would scare even Willy Wonka himself. They warn you that doctors will tempt you with sins like formula, breast pumps, and promises of pain free labor! They will frighten you with stories of doctors using newfangled sonograms that microwave your baby's brain like popcorn! They'll ask, "How can you argue with Nature? Don't you want the best for your baby?" And dammit woman, don't you dare get your son circumcised!

On the other side you've got the Crazy-B's, they'll swear that midwives are just nurse flunkies. They'll say midwives treat head-aches by drilling holes in your head to let out the evil spirits. They will warn you that midwives won't transfer a mother to a hospital (even if her life depends on it) because they would lose most of the insurance money. They'll ask you, "Why would you refuse life-saving technology like Sonograms and Caesareans? Don't you want the best for your baby?" They'll frighten you with stories of doctors barely saving lives with the latest technology. And dammit man, get your son circumcised!

Waiting in line at the Mall of Millennia, you decide to be neighborly and strike up a conversation. “I see you’re a new mom?” She smiles, “Yea.” “What kind of bottle do you suggest?” BLAM! Land mind at 12 O’clock! You’re blindsided with Crazy-A’s evil-bottle-babble. You check out and run! Having just broke free, in desperation you ask the next person you see “I’m late for my Midwife appointment, can you tell me how to get to….” BOOOM! Rocket Attack! You’re hit with a Crazy-B doctor-soap-box. Oh you poor fool! Either way it’s like going for a morning jog outside of the "Green Zone" in IRAQ! OK, so not THAT bad, but it's no picnic either. Trust me friend, just stay low, keep your head down, and whatever you do, don't end up on the side opposite your spouse!

D-Day (Delivery Day)

2008-02-02T17:09:00.000-08:00

-----Update 2/7/2008------
Thought I should give thanks:
To Michelle:
For providing a wonderful home for our child to be welcomed into this world. For her skill in delivering our baby, providing counseling on all things baby, and choosing a profession that has made our last nine months something we will never forget. Michelle you are exactly what we needed in a Midwife and we truly thank you.

To Maggie:
For providing that 'warm fuzzy' and the confidence that we so needed. For helping Kim realize her true potential. Maggie your are wonderful person and we are so thankful you were at our side during our sons birth, thank you.

To Our Parents:
For providing all that we needed and more, in both the physical world and in our hearts. For forgiving our mistakes and fixing them by loving us even more. You have given us the foundation upon which we are now building our family, we are forever thankful, we love you.

To Family and Friends:
For giving so much, and helping us bring TC into this world. Nothing can be fun without family and friends to share with. Thank you all.

To TC:
For all that is to come, we wanted you so bad, and here you are. We will surely make mistakes, but most importantly we will ALWAYS love you.

FYI click HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE for some pics of TC and company.

------------------------------
I'm going to try to dump all that I remember about the day of/before your birth... I am focusing on the time-line in this post.. you sure are taking up a lot of time (but every minute with you is TIME WELL SPENT!) so I'll follow this post with some 'catch-up' about the first days with you. First some footnotes:

Your mom and I chose to go to a Birth Center (Heart 2 Heart) instead of a Hospital. Now, this was a crucial decision for us as both. In retrospect we both believe it was the perfect choice (for us). I'll say this, if you choose a Birth Center or home-birth, YOU'RE ALL IN. By this I mean it was on us to research EVERYTHING, double check it all, triple check, and then ask our Midwife a ton of questions... never take any 'one' persons word as the final say... this really applies to anything in life as people are humans and we all make mistakes.. so that's what we did and we had a great birth.
You and mom are fine. People will argue and debate of which is the best way to have a baby, where and how, but the only thing that really matters: you and mom are healthy.

1-23-2008 D-day minus one
(Wednesday) I spend the day at work, your mom called a couple times just to let me know she was feeling 'different' but she told me not to worry and to stay at work. I wrapped things up at work and told the guys it may be awhile before they saw me again.

1-23-2008 D-day minus one - 6:30PM
When I got home, your mom was happy to see me. We had a normal evening, watched some TV then played some 'Farkle' ( I kicked your moms but, too bad they don't play made-up games in Vegas!) She was tired and suggested I play some Xbox 360 (sweet!) and she would lay in my lap. Five minutes into my first game she got off the couch and headed to the room... I knew better than to press my luck so I followed her straight to our room, well OK, so I finished my game of Halo III first (minus 10 points for dad)

1-24-2008 D-day - 1AM
Mom had been having hard contractions and feeling very uncomfortable since about 9pm. I got REALLY tired and fell asleep (not a good move). I was then woke up by mom at 3am, she was not happy with me. I was not entirely awake and I sorta hung out for the next 30 minutes watching mom go through these waves of 'extreme discomfort' aka contractions. Next thing I know Mom has sent me into the office to download some nice music from iTunes. I stumbled in and just as I was about to download some music, your mom walked in...

1-24-2008 D-day - 3:30AM
Now, if you haven't seen Private Ryan, then go rent it, this movie kicks ass. Anyways there is a scene in that movie where this young private gets really scared, bullets are flying everywhere and he just sortta hunkered down into his fox hole (this was me, not so much scared as just clueless as to what I should do) Then comes along this awesome Sargent that stands right out in the open, bullets whizzing by and yells at the private to Get Up! and Fight! Now! (This was your mom, minus the bullets whizzing by). What I'm trying to say here is that you mom laid into me, it was a wake-up call, I needed to get fully involved, and be there for her. Well this proverbial slap was just what I needed, I kicked in gear and got mom into the tub. I talked to her constantly, repeating over and over "Let this wave of energy ride through your body, it has a beginning and an end, you're doing great baby". I stroked her hair and of course, timed every contraction. We made several phone calls to our Dula (Maggie) and our Midwife (Michelle) throughout the night. We were nervous so talking to them both helped. We decided to ask Maggie to come to our house around 4 or 5AM.

1-24-2008 D-day - 7AM
Maggie has been talking with mom and helping her get through the contractions for some time now. Your mom was moving all over the place, the tub, the bedroom, even sat on a workout-bouncy-ball for a bit. Then the best suggestion so far... Maggie suggested mom go to the Heart 2 Heart Birth Center and get in their big tub. This is where dad lived up to the 'Crazy Dad-to-be' stereotype: I ran all over the house, grabbing your diaper bag, moms bag, food (i missed the cheese, crackers, and peanut butter - that sucked) cameras, etc.. Threw it into the car, drove the car out into the street and turned it around so mom could get right in without going around the car.

1-24-2008 D-day - 9AM
Your mom has been in the tub for a bit, she is doing a great job of "breathing" through the contractions and staying relaxed. She is 8 centimeters dilated and completely effaced (trust me one day you'll know what that means) So we were think'n we'd see you by noon for sure....

1-24-2008 D-day - Noon
Yea, you're not here yet.. poor mom has been laboring (not pushing, just dealing with each contraction, one at a time about 2 minutes apart now) all morning. I have been following her in/out of the tub, doing my best to talk her through each wave. I kept track of her hair tie and kept asking Maggie to put up her hair every time it fell. Not much, but I was literally doing any and everything I could think of to make mom more comfy. She hated getting on the potty cause it hurt her pelvis, one time she was hurting soo bad she said "Please, help me!" Man it just ripped my heart that I couldn't take the pain away, so I just held her.

1-24-2008 D-day - 3PM
Michelle had been checking on Mom all day, she had a bit of a cold so she popped in and out only when needed (much appreciated.. nobody wants to be sniffled over). This time she suggested mom have a couple glasses of wine. Your mom took a tiny sip and she said, "Sweetie, this isn't a tea party, this is for medicinal purposes, so chug it!" That's a great line your mom and i will never forget. The wine helped your mom relax and actually sleep for 30 minutes or so... just what she needed! I popped over to Mc'D's for a burger, felt like it took forever, but I didn't miss anything.

1-24-2008 D-day - 4:15PM
All the appointments at the birth center had come and gone, now it was just us. Mom thinks that subconsciously knowing we were 'alone' might have made her progress, although she says she never really knew anyone other then me, Maggie, Michelle, and Rebecca (Michelle's right hand/ Dula and Attending) were there. So there were a few more trips in and out of the tub to check on you and how far you had come in the birth canal. There was a little sliver of cervix keeping you from coming out. Michelle was able to figure out that that sliver went away when mom was on her back, so that's the position mom did most of her pushing from.

1-24-2008 D-day - 6:30PM
We are all in the bathroom, mom's in the tub pushing her heart out. You are so close mom can reach down and feel your head. I never had any doubts that your mom would do this.. she is sooo close now. Mom thought about trying to birth you in the tub, but instead we all moved to the bed in between one of her contractions.

1-24-2008 D-day - 6:50PM
Wow, your mom is working sooo hard. Pushing, holding, breathing, pushing, holding.. etc.. If your mom ever tells you she's a wussy, she's lying or she has completely forgotten the superhuman strength and courage she used to birth you. The next twenty minutes were ALL HER! There is a video of this, no money shots, so if you're interested, you can watch it all go down for yourself.

1-24-2008 @ 7:11pm (just shy of 24hr labor!)
We finally met you! I was watching your head come out and thought (wow this is going to be a tiny baby) Then I saw the other 3/4's of your head and thought "HOLY CRAP THIS BABY IS HUGE!"(If 7-elevens haven't been bought out by Google.. you'll get a kick out of the 1-24(hr) 7:11 reference). Then the rest of you came out. I saw your 'little package' and told mom we had a boy, and yes, then I started to cry... Couldn't believe it, you looked soo perfect. Tons of hair, and a tad grey, but there you were. They clamped the cord and I cut it. They wrapped you in some warm blankets and put you on your mom's chest. I leaned in and held you both, we are a family.

FYI - side note to your name: Michelle asked what your name was, I said we were considering 'Kia Zander' and she said 'Kiazander?' and I said no 'Kia...... Zander...' and then I realized, that wasn't your name... over the next few hours I found myself going back to a suggestion your Mom had made 'TC', we talked it over, and by morning it was decided..

Right now it's tough to fine time to write in this blog, but I feel it's important so I'm going to make time to do it... There is a certain substance behind my smile now... it's tough to describe but I'd say now that I'm a Dad and your Mom is a Mom... and of course we have you to thank.. it just seems like everything I do now has more purpose. I love you and your Mom soo much. Look forward to getting to know you TC.

The Skipper Birth Plan Party

2008-01-18T08:03:00.000-08:00

Intro...
For your entertainment, I have posted our 'Birth Plan'. This is mainly in case we go to the hospital so I have something to hand to the doctors/nurses that indicates how we want this whole thing to go down... We decided a 'list of demands' probably isn't the best way to get what we want (something that probably applies to most things in life).. so we've gone with a different approach. Enjoy!
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Skipper Birth ~~Plan~~ Party

Where?
Heart 2 Heart Birth Center
1301 South Park Avenue
Sanford, FL 32771
Phone: (407) 322-9944
Fax: (407) 322-9947
http://www.h2hbirthcenter.com/

When?
January 20th (give or take a couple weeks)

Guests of Honor
Kimberly Skipper – (321) 356.9095
Baby Skipper

VIPs
Jason Skipper (Husband) – (321) 356.9094
Michelle Gawne, LM (Midwife) - (407) 322.9944
Maggie McCarthy (Dula) - (407) 322.4430
Lynn Deer, LM, CLC (Director of midwifery at H2H)

House Rules

· No Drugs

o We want everyone to have a good, healthy, fun time so that means don’t bring any drugs to this party. The only exception here is if Mom “parties a little too much” and Michelle insists that we need drugs to help mom or baby.

· Nobody likes to lay in bed while everyone else is having fun so mom does not want to be hooked up to a continuous fetal monitor or IV fluids, I mean where’s the fun in that?

· Baby has never been to a party before, so we must insist that Mom and Baby are never separated, we want Baby to have a fun time too!

o Skin on Skin contact immediately after birth

o Don’t worry about the mess, mom likes to party, so please do not wash off the vernix

· I know some people may spike the punch, so to keep Baby safe, Baby will be breast feed only

· It’s Kimmy’s party so she gets to choose the music, suggest soft & relaxing

· Mom doesn’t like knifes, so no episiotomy

· So mom can be most comfortable, she would like to give birth squatting

· This is a party with a surprise, so don’t spoil it! Jason will announce the sex of the baby.

· Also Jason is a handy man of sorts, so if he hasn’t passed-out, he’d like to cut the cord, (he gets excited with tools, so don’t let him do this until after it has finished pulsating please).

· Ok so every party has to have some drugs.. so it’s OK to administer Erythromycin

· If baby shows up to the party happy & healthy, we don’t won’t to spoil it! So we’d prefer not to have a vitamin k injection.

· I know nobody likes tests at a party, but PKU Testing is OK…. But that’s it, we don’t want any other injections or vaccinations

· We’ve worked really hard to have this party, so please respect our wishes to have natural child birth (encouragement much appreciated!) and don’t be a drag and try to convince us to have medical intervention… unless absolutely necessary.

· Party ON!

On Your Mark... Get Set...

2008-01-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

Two days ago, your mom and I laid down some towels in the living room, mom got naked, I put on gloves... easy killer there's no way I'm going to be blogging about anything x-rated here... and then we made a plaster cast of your moms belly (to see pictures CLICK-HERE). I'm sure she is going to paint it up and make it all pretty, I'll be sure to add pictures then too. It was really fun. You're mom was a champ, standing (she thought it would look better if she stood) in one spot for like 45 minutes, but we got it done.

Today mom went to the Midwife and everything is looking good, word is you've 'dropped' (for shizzle my nizzle, drop it like it's h.o..o..o..o...o..T.. ) and I guess we could be seeing you anytime now. We are definitely getting really, extra really, super mostest excited (OK starting to sound gay so I'll leave it at that... by the way, girl or boy, if you are gay i love you just the same) You mom is all done with a fricking incredible FREE-HAND mural on your wall (to see those pictures CLICK-HERE). By the way your mom is incredibly modest, hopefully by the time you know what modest means I will have convinced her to start taking some credit for some pretty amazing talents she has... anyways we have totally cleaned the house from stem to stern.. maybe 7 LARGE boxes have been dropped off at Good Will.. sent furniture to consignment, our room-remodeling is all complete (see pictures HERE)... We have optimized the arrangement of all your accessories (clothes, blankets, toys, crib, changing station, diapers.. etc.) Speaking of diapers we ordered a 'trial pack' of cloth diapers (give it up to moms for at least trying to go cloth).. which your mom has triple washed and folded... mom has mopped the whole house, I put the garage in order... basically what I am saying here is we've done a shit-ton of work for you and you're not even here yet.. and yes this is the very first time i am laying down the "we've done so much for you.. bla bla..." guilt trip.. see I've got to perfect it, so I'm starting early.

It's pretty cool cuz it seems like most of our friends are having kids, kinda that old middle school mentality of "I'll do it, if you do it.." (by the way don't do something just because someone else does it) ahh there I've got my parental hypocrisy started.. one more and I'll have the trifecta of parental no-no's in one blog entry.. hummm.. let me dig down deep.. uuuhhhh... AH! You had better be born tomorrow, or else... ahh the classic and all too common "empty threat". There, I'm off to a folly of fantastic parenting foe-pa's!

really. can't wait to see you, love you, know you... and show you what fun really is.
Love,
(a very excited)
mom & dad.

Your Mom Is My Best Friend

2008-01-10T11:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday your mom told me about how this "Relationship Therapist" on TV was spouting that your spouse should NOT be your best friend.. That they don't need to know everything.. you can see where this is going.. That got us talking and the truth is, before I met your mom, I would have agreed. Keep things separate, secrets don't hurt.. etc.. And during our dating years I stayed true to those beliefs and it got us into a lot of fights, arguments, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings. Then just before we got married, we had a real heart to heart. And that's when I realized how wrong I was, and that your mom was right all along when it came to how we should run our upcoming marriage.

When you find that 'right person' it's easy to say "Lets never keep secrets", "Lets be best friends too".. but it actually takes commitment and work to live that way. They'll be times when it would be really easy to omit this or that because it's just going to hurt the other's feelings.. But, once you're BOTH on board, and if it's truly the right person for you, you'll wonder why in the world anyone else would do it any other way?!? Sure I go out and do my own thing and so does she.. but since we are soooo close, there is never any trust issues and you're actually MORE free to have fun.

Now that's not to say you shouldn't have some really good friends, both your mom and i do.. however, i know all the important things your mom thinks and feels way before any of her friends do and vice versa.. that's because we're best friends and best friends talk it up... anything and everything... it's that kind of closeness that just makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Good news is your Mom and I will love you so stink'in much you'll never feel alone. Bad news is I think it's getting harder out there to find quality people... but since you'll be made out of the stuff from your mom, I have no doubt that A) you'll be attracting a large quantity of the opposite sex and B) you'll have the smarts to toss out the ones that aren't worth your time (because time is the one thing on this earth that you cannot get more of, so hand your time out to others like precious drops of water in a desert) wooe that was like, poetic and stuff.. ehhhhh eh.

One more thing... your mom works really hard for our relationship... she spots the times when we are spending too much time watching TV or having our faces shoved in the computer and suggests a walk or a board game, something more intimate than staring at the tube. This has got to be one of the coolest things about her, and it's kept things exciting year after year. So big props up to 'da motha.. WHAT.. WHAT.. piece outtie '08 (sorry your dad's gansta jumps out every now and then)

Ahhhh! Oh Crap!!! Whew..

2008-01-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

Dear baby.. Hopefully, while reading this, you have the added benefit of knowing that your father is not severely maimed in any way. This knowledge will act as kind of a spoiler to the story I am about to lay before you, but I'll try to convey the suspense and intrigue as best I can.

Two days ago the handyman finished all the repairs to our bedroom wall/closet (see here). This was an exciting time as we can finally start moving back into our bedroom. Your mom's belly (aka you) are getting quite large and sleeping on the guest bed has taken it's toll on mom. We set up the master bed and mom mopped the floor.

Yesterday we moved the rest of the furniture into our room (we stole your dresser and bought you a changing table instead.. na na na boo boo) And I packed up all the debris from all the construction and took it to the dump. I began pulling/throwing stuff from the truck into the dump, when one rather large and heavy piece of wall began to act a little stubborn. So, in accordance with the 'Man Doctrine' I just pushed harder. Here is an important physics tip: If one object pushes another object, as said second object flies end over end, it does NOT, in fact have to travel away from said first object. This was the case and a rather large nail stabbed my right shin, at the same time a large piece of the wall served as insult to injury and bonked my shin in nearly the same place as the stab. If you wish, you may see the small (yet painful) injury HERE.

If this article were a Vegas Show, you've just seen the opener.. prepare yourself for the Headliner....

Having dispatched the debris (another crazy word, i mean the 'S' is right there in debriS, but no no no, don't you dare pronounce it!) , your mom and I swung by Lowes and picked up some nice new brass poles to install into our closet. Previously we had wooden dowels but they bend under the stress of our over-stuffed closet so we chose to upgrade. After returning home and preforming the necessary measurements, I was indeed ready to cut the poles. Important handyman tip: When performing work, if a non-power tool will finish the job in less than 2X's the time it takes to do the same job WITH a power tool; CHOOSE THE NON POWER TOOL (as the chance of loss of life and limb is significantly reduced). See what I'm doing here? this is the build up....

I ~~dawned~~ donned my safety gear: protective eye wear and sound suppression ear muffs. I then secured the first of two brass poles to the saw horse (what a strange name? 'saw horse' OK 'saw' i get, but horse?) and equipped myself with the Task Force Grinding Saw. I began to cut the pole, sparks flew like some kind of wild circus show.. and then.. wham I cut all the way through and the scrap fell to the floor, perfect cut.

See what I did there? that was the classic open-the-closet-door, music-building, she's-going-to-get-eaten, whew-she's-ok move. So you know what's next then.. That's right she gets eaten when the music stops and she turns around.

Now on to pole #2. This one seemed markedly more difficult than the first. Perhaps I was tiring? Getting anxious to finish? In any case, as I was grinding, the saw grabbed the pole a couple of times and kicked back. Again, according to the 'Man Doctrine' I simply held the saw tighter, and pushed harder. I am beginning to think perhaps we, as men, need to make some revisions to said doctrine. And then, in an instant (NOTE: all really bad things seem to take exactly one instant too occur) the saw kicked back harder than it ever had before. Important handyman tip: When using a saw/grinder of any kind, always hold it in such a manor that if the blade were to 'grab' the cutting material the saw should kick AWAY from your body, NOT TOWARD your body.

I threw the saw onto the ground, OK it kind ran to the ground on it's own. I felt a burning on my left thigh, so I looked down. I don't know if you are a girl or boy yet, but either way I think you may be able to appreciate the gravity of what lay before my eyes. My jeans were completely splayed open from right to left, DIRECTLY ACROSS MY CROTCH! One thing I have learned in all my injuries is that if they are severe enough, the body knows you'll be totally freaking out and decides it doesn't really need to send you pain signals; it's a kind of 'don't kick him while he's down' philosophy. But unfortunately knowing that my body may choose to forgo pain signals only pushes me further into panic if I am not feeling the pain (kinda catch-22 I suppose).

I was really, really scared. As a bonus convenience, my pants were so ripped open that I could simply reach through one of the MANY large holes in the crotch of my jeans to grab my package and ensure that all parts were accounted for... Having done a successful inventory, I pushed my heart back down my throat and again cited the 'Man Doctrine' which clearly stated that I need only to change the blade (it broke on either my jeans or the ground), complete the job, and completely ignore the fact that I had just come to within inches of permanently altering (nice way of saying cut off/destroy) what is quite probably the most sensitive and enjoyable part of my body. So I finished the job and went back inside.

Tip for dealing with mom (or dad): When you do something that did not injure you, but might appear to others as having severely maimed yourself, as soon as you see your parent, the first words out of your mouth should be "I'm OK". Otherwise a heart attack may ensue. Fortunately my numerous encounters with close-calls and actual maiming (see broken face, flag football, circa 1999) had taught me this so your mother was spared a heart attack and given a mixture of laughing/thanking god/hugging/laughing (repeat).

OK, so here's the soon to be infamous pictures: DAMAGE. Enjoy! and be safe ;) PS. I am thinking about adding an 'athletic cup' to my list of workshop safety equipment.

False Alarm #1

2008-01-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

Drifting off into the land of butterflies and rainbows, I was nearly to the 2nd stage of sleep (This is defined by a steady stream of drool flowing from the mouth) when my progression to 'Never Never' land was abruptly halted, reversed, and ultimately shot threw the roof.

Your mom screams, "JAAAAASSSSSOOOOOOON!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!". My body took first dibs on reacting (my brain was still drooling) and thus I stood straight up in bed, that got my brain going and I dove into full dad panic mode DEFCON-1 (FYI, I looked this up - apparently DEFCON1 is 'oh crap!' and 5 is 'oh well' so I went with 1 here and just to sound smart it stands for 'defense readiness condition' which has little to do with my situation but still sounds way cool) . Thankfully we have a small house so bounding off the bed and out of the guest bedroom (See Typical Skipper Form as to why we are in the guest room..) took just long enough for me to think "W-A-T-E-R B-R-O-K-E?"

I arrived to my fair maidens rescue to find no water, no blood, just your mom. Standing and pointing to the bathroom wall. Now to be fair this was one big MF'er. So I grabbed some paper and permanently removed the offending cockroach.

This served as an excellent reminder that I need to work on my 'plan'. See I'm suppose to be the calm one here so, running into the bathroom in full dad panic mode def-con 1 is not my desired state once labor has arrived. Now to be fair to me, lets hope your mom doesn't announce that she is going into labor at 11 pm with "JAAAAASSSSSOOOOOOON!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!". So all in all I think this was a good learning experience for all involved... Except maybe the cockroach, he didn't learn much.

CHEEEEESE

2007-12-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

Today your mommy's friend, Stacy, came by and took some pictures of me and your VERY pregnant mom. It was fun and I think there's going to be some very good pictures coming soon. Click HERE to see some of Stacy's previous work. We are excited to see them, and we'll try to get her back to take some more photo's when you're here!

Just a couple days ago we went over to your 'Uncle' Jeremy's and 'Aunt' Andrea's house and saw your 'cousin' Carley. Now just so you know they are just friends, not really family. But they're really, really good friends so call them aunt/uncle/cousin... but if you're a little boy and 20 years from now you think Carley is a hot mamma, you don't have to worry about any incest laws. Thus Jeremy is hoping your a girl so I have to go through everything he does too..

We are counting the days little Skipper... we love you.

Typical Skipper Form

2007-12-24T20:42:00.000-08:00

Well baby Skip, It's t-minus anywhere from two weeks to six weeks till your birfEday! And just to keep things exciting.. we had a handy man come look at improving our closet space.. sounds simple right? Well it was... until we also asked him to check out this little hole in our bedroom wall. Perhaps a little patch job you say? NA! We have our whole bedroom packed up.. moved into the guest/living room, and our room looks like, well you can see for yourself HERE. So once again.. Bad luck: Wall is rotting... ahhhh!/ Good luck: Damage was not as bad as it could have been, we are getting the closet upgraded, and it should all be done before you get here :)

Today your mom and I both got some books that we will give to you one day. They are full of questions.. probably stuff you won't care about till your older, but one day I'm sure you'll get a kick out of reading all about your mom and dad before they were crazy parents...

This is a real interesting time, becoming a parent makes you realize that one time (long ago) my parents existed before I was around... Sounds funny I know, but trust me for the first 20 or so years of your life, it won't even occur to you that I had a life before you came around :)

Well, it's late so I'm off to bed... i'll be dreaming of you tonight.

Oh baby, Oh baby, the places you'll take me!

2007-12-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

Well you're already making my life better and you're not even here yet! It has started with you're mother becoming a stay-at-home mom. Before you came along, your mom was a 'career woman'. I'll have you know she was never turned down even once at any job interview. I think it is the result of a perfect combination of being great at what she does and being way HOT! Anyways she is great at whatever she puts her mind to and now. lucky you (and me), she's decided to stay home and take care of You! (well me too :-) Well mostly you, but I am definitely benefiting too!

A good move on my part was buying her this really nice Kitchen Aid Mixer. Now I'm getting fantastic dinners (you'll have to wait awhile but one day you'll get to appreciate them too) There's lots of other cool benefits to you mom staying home, but I know that no kid wants to hear about their parents sex life :P

Next thing you've done for me is that I began this blog. I've always liked writing but never really had an outlet. This blog is really fun for me. Then your Aunt Cassie sent me a link to a new start-up magazine (http://playground-magazine.com) . It's a new way cool mag for Orlando area parents. She also mentioned they were looking for free lance writers. So I sent them a link to this blog and it turns out they like it! (You're mom's video was a big hit!) Next thing you know I'm at an editorial meeting (ten people there... I was the only guy...) and now I've got some articles that will be published! Way COOL! (May post the articles here after they are published..)

I can't image how awesome things are going to be once you are outside of mommy's belly! Looking forward to all the cool ways my life is going to be different. Love you baby...

Too infinity... and Beyond!!

2007-10-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Lil' Skipper,
This past Sunday we chose to put our beloved Jayda to rest. Sorry that you never had a chance to meet her, she was a good dog for sure. When we loose someone we love, it's inevitable that we find ourselves in reflection. Looking back at the good and the bad that was had with them. I think this is a good time for me to give you my take on this tough subject: Death.

Now I know loosing a person is way different than loosing 'an animal', but the same principals still apply. We love, and then we lose that which we loved. It's easy for a person to spin into a deep hole of regrets and sorrow once someone dear passes.. in my case, Jayda... .. But this is not the path to take.

First, I should realize that any feelings of regret ( I should have spent more time/ I should have been nicer, I could have saved her, etc) are really just derived from the fact that I love her and once love is lost, it never feels like I had enough time. Fact is, no matter how many times I took her to the park, played fetch, our found miracle cures, I would most certainly still feel like it was not enough. So these feelings of regret are really fueled by continued love and desire for additional time.

Secondly, life is way too complex and amazing to end when we die. So no matter what religion you pick... You gotta come down on the side of something more is out there, waiting for our last breath to spring us into another journey that we can't possible fathom here and now. Life is so amazing, that while we should give time to pause and remember our love ones, we should not waste one moment in regret.

And lastly, the most straight forward way to deal with death of a loved one: I must ask myself how would she want me to feel? I know that she loved me and of course she would wish only happiness on me; so Jayda would be upset if I sat around feeling bad. Love is basically a great circle of energy that is given then received. We continue that circle through death not with sorrow and regret, but with joy and the love of life itself.

Your mom and I will do all we can to keep any hurt or pain from your little heart. But eventually you will feel loss, and maybe the simplest advise I have is smile and your heart will follow.

Life Is Amazing, and so are you!

2007-10-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were in our 'Baby Class' (as I call them) yes we are really taking classes to learn all about you; and contrary to what you may be thinking right now... No, we did not flunk out of the class... well anyway, we were doing some deep relaxation and I had some interesting thoughts occur to me....

I can't wait to take your hand and guide you through this amazing world. The first thing I think you should learn: the simplest thing, no matter how simple it may seem, is really just one more miracle. I mean this world you're about to step into is just amazing! Want an example? Let’s say you're outside and you look at a leaf on a tree. Fricken amazing!! Right!? Ok, need a little explanation?... take a ride with me.

Farther away than the farthest thing you know, there is a thing bigger than anything you will ever see called the Sun. An incredible bubbling soup of energy.. it is always sending out tiny little packets, or photons.. it sends out more packets in one second than every grain of sand on earth... these little packets fly along through space for years at speeds that you and I can not even comprehend (fast enough to circle the earth 7.5 times a second).. Eventually, a tiny portion of these begin crashing into the earths atmosphere, most driving down, others bouncing off back into space. Now there is a steady stream of these photons landing on every part of this little leaf. The leaf is full of these little guys called 'chlorophyll' which absorb, or 'eat' pieces of the photon. The remaining pieces of the photon are bouncing off in all directions. An even smaller portion of these half-eaten protons start hitting your eyes. They start slamming together into one focus point which happens to be on a special nerve in your head. This nerve is constantly converting each and every photon to a chemical reaction.... Your brain is constantly mapping this in such a way that each of the photons appear different, by color and intensity, according to the various parts of the photon remaining.. You now 'see' a 'green' leaf. And this is the laymen 50,000 ft. view; there are specialists in dozens of fields that could go into details about every step of this process...

So take every breath, every view, every moment for what it truly is... fricken way cool! I can't wait to share this with you, we (you, me, and mom) are gonna have a blast!

See you soon ;)

Lesson #2

2007-09-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

Today my buddy and I were on our way to work (we carpool once a month or so) and just as we were rounding the on-ramp to I-4 from 417, we notice some people pulled over, exiting their car and running up an embankment. We spot a pair of tracks that go up and over a small hill and figure something bad is on the other side. We pull over and I drive to the top of the hill and that's when we saw the car floating in the retention pod.

So we hop out into some very wet/tall grass ( i have sandals on, so yuck!) and we scurry down to the side of the pond. The car is floating, ass-end up, with the water just below the front-seat windows. At first we all thought the guy might be in trouble as there was little to no movement inside. One of us starts yelling "Are you OK? Can you get out?" Myself and another guy start to prepare to get wet... then the guy finally roles down the window and yells "Hey, I'm already on the phone with the cops!". Like we are jerks for bothering him or something? I couldn't help but think "Hey asshole, see how much help the cops on the phone are when your car starts sinking!" ... He then finished rolling down his window and pulled himself up and sat in the open window, this tilted the car enough to let the water start pouring in. Literally within 30 seconds the roof of the car was under water. He slops/swims to the shore holding the phone above his head. The car sank so fast his phone almost got wet as he exited. Then there is a guy who gets all the way down to the edge of the shore (very mucky) and has his hand out to help the guy get out... well this asshole walks right by him like he wasn't even there.

By now the only thing left of his car was some tiny bubbles (reminded me of a natural springs). Well that was enough for us so we turn and walk away. I said to one of the guys walking away with us "This guy sure was an asshole" and he says "Yea that's not how you act towards people trying to help you.. maybe he's drunk?"

So the moral is don't drive drunk.. or be an asshole.. because both of these will likely end with your car sunk to the bottom of a lake.

Register? sure, how long could that take?

2007-09-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple weeks since we registered, and now that I am fully recovered, i can tell you the hell that is registering. Now maybe a lot of guys feel like registering is for the girls but your mom and I are a team, so we did this together. Your Aunts helped out a lot too, we met at their house and after a quick bagel, we were poised outside of Babies-R-Us at 9:20 AM on Saturday. I felt a little ridiculous waiting outside the store (now I've done this before when necessary, ask me about the PS3 I no longer have ), but there we were... ready to pounce! There's no way I can convey to you the next 8+ hours of registering in a way that will fully make you understand, but here goes...

There is one section of the store that largely consists of things roughly the size of a small can of tuna. Every three feet or so is an entirely different section of stuff, with somewhere around a dozen different brands/types of that particular stuff. So first you have to decide if you need/want this stuff, then if you do want it; you gotta decide exactly which one is for you.... did i mention every three feet?... This section was a solid three hours!.. Then you move on to bigger stuff, with even more choices, but at least you feel some accomplishments here cuz each decision moves you to another row... vs the next three feet... Well by the 3rd hour I had long since left my sanity and began playing 007 with the register scanner; sneaking around and shooting unsuspecting expecting moms, not to mention scanning completely random stuff (that mom had to take off later.. oops) . I nearly had a melt-down. But Kim kept us focused and somehow, we made it out. whew. Then there was Target, cuz the rule is you gotta do two places right? Oh man, I'm feeling dizzy again.. The first Target had only ONE scanner that was in-use, so off to the next one. I think this is where I blacked out.. Next thing I know it's 7pm or so and we had spent a solid eight hours registering!

Now, to all the dads that stay home and send the wife out to register: Have a nice warm bath waiting for your wife, maybe dinner, and a massage too? Now I am sure that due to a woman's affinity for shopping this may have less of an impact, but trust me, even the most enthusiastic shopper will be entirely beat down after a full day of registering!

Now here's my recommendation to Babies-R-Us: Create packages that we can just register for, and the only input should be the square footage of my house as that should be enough to figure out how much crap... ehumm stuff.. can physically fit in my house. Walla, 'custom' baby packages.

3... 2... 1.... Action!

2007-08-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today we had our first (and likely only) sonogram. It was pretty awesome. We arrived at 8 AM, poor Kim had to drink four bath tubs full of water. Apparently tons of pee makes for good pictures (or this is quiet possibly the meanest, longest running, prank ever). After some short paperwork we were ushered into a dark room in the back. The first thing I noticed was that there were maybe 10 or so chairs in the room. I had visions of entire families crowded around waiting to hear "It's a girl!". Today it was just me and Kim, we were intent on not knowing the sex until b-day so the rest of the family must wait too. The next thing I saw was the sonogram machine, it was that or somebody left a transporter in the room. It had dozens of knobs, lights, blinky things..ect.

The doc? (I guess he was a doctor or at the very least he probably spent 10 years learning how to run the transporter) came in with us and went right to work. Goo'd up Kim's stomach and away we went. It was like a riverboat tour guide.. "And if you'll look on your right, you'll see the baby's arm and head... along this ridge here is the ..." I was afraid I would have to look at the mess on the screen and pretend like it was whatever he was calling out.... but thanks to the transporter, a hand looks like a hand and a face looks like a face (for the most part).. whew. Our doc noted the sex and told us we could call and find out anytime (sorta like leaving the Christmas presents out and the kids home alone...) but we resisted and we've held out for approx 6 hrs so far.... He gave us a CD with pictures and movies, and we were on our way. Take a look at all the pictures HERE.

Book 'em Danno

2007-08-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

I booked the appointment for our first sonogram three days ago, it was slightly less complicated than landing a plane. I called, and a nice southern lady answered. I confidently stated that I needed to make an appointment for my wife to have a sonogram. She asked if it was an OB or pelvic or (some other one that sounded more like a military abbreviation)? Well, I was tempted to guess (i like game shows) but instead I tried a more laymen approach, "Wherever the baby is, that's what we're looking for..?" Some how this clued her into the fact that we were having our first baby. Then she asked how many weeks along we were.. Sounds simple, right? NOT! Pardon me for a moment whilst I stand on this soap box...

Somehow math has escaped most of the birthing medical field or they just needed one more tool in their box for making you confused. You would think that day one is when mom and dad had sex, OK so maybe it takes a couple days for the little dude to crack the egg; but give or take a couple days, THIS SHOULD BE DAY ONE! Ohhhh. no no no. What you do is, you go BACKWARDS to the last time wifey had 'aunt flow' visit, THAT'S day one aka week one (this is usually about 2 weeks before conception). So by the time you have sex and conceive your really on week two or three! Confused yet? oh it gets better... This all assumes of course that your wife has regular periods. Just so happens that my wife has a 60-ish day cycle, so what? does this mean we are at week 4 right as the pregnancy strip drys?!?

Ok, whew we'll put that box away now. So she asked what week we were... and the entirety of the previous paragraph bounced through my head causing a sound to drift out of my mouth ... "aaaaaaarrrrrrraaaaa", and just as she was assuming that I was some detached father that couldn't even care enough to track the birth of his only child, Bam! I remembered the predicted due date that had fallen out of the last fuzzy-math conversation we had with our midwife! Screw it, she's part of the conspiracy, let her do the math..." Our due date is January 31.". I started to feel like a senator in congress answering questions with answers that don't really answer but somehow keep things moving along. She had sufficiently exposed me as a clueless dad and we moved on to booking a time and day. Of course they don't book on Mondays or Thursdays that's when Kim is off, so after a few calls to Kim and back to them, we settled on Wednesday, August 22.

Your dad is a geek.

2007-08-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

So I spent the last few days hammering out this web page google-mashup that shows pics from web cams around central FL. (by the time your reading this, Google either owns the world or was defeated in world war III) Click HERE to see it. And this got me thinking.. Your dad is a geek.... but then my dads sort of a geek too (now we're talking you GRANDPA!), he plays FPS (First Person Shooters) on the computer.. (America's Army is his fav) For awhile he had a PS2, but he's just more comfy with a mouse and keyboard than 12 buttons and 2 sticks.... He's pretty savvy with computers but with retirement on the horizon he hasn't got into the web (as far as programing goes)..

So I have web programming and XBOX 360 that I can 'claim' over my dad in the world of geekdom ... therefor it's almost inevitable that one day I'll look over at some crazy holodeck? gaming computer thing and be like "son/daughter.. what on earth is that and why is it strapped to you spinal cord?!?" On the other hand.. I've grown up playing console games, I can kick any 12 yr old's but in Halo... You mom doesn't mind if I have 'game night' once and a while.. I will be pre-ordering Halo III ... so maybe I'll be rockn' the spinal cord holodeck with ya?

In any case, thought you should know that your grandpa is a geek, and so is your dad; that makes you a third generation of geekhood (unless you forsake computers and go live naked and free in some open field somewhere far out west... just watch out for the flying pigs ; -)
lol

"Pregnant Brain"

2007-07-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

Dear baby,
Yesterday you may have felt some sharp jolts followed by a rush of adrenaline. Please don't be too alarmed, your mom simply experienced a quintessential 'Skipper Moment'. Now being that she is pregnant, we'll take the liberty of blaming this one on lack of blood-flow to the brain. However being a Skipper, you will often find yourself in situations that require some quick thinking (Not because we are criminals, but rather we do stupid things that well, are stupid). So just consider yesterdays actions as some practice for what may come. As a side note, you will find these moments are generally very funny... Upon reflection that is.. Now, to be fair I should preface this one with a few thoughts:

I have previously done exactly what my wife did
I've done it twice in fact, once at work and once at home
The only difference between what I did (multiple times) and now? A motion-activated home security system which happen to be enabled and recording video... from multiple angles...

My wife called me Monday around 11 am, slightly out of breath, and proceeded to explain the following event.

Here is the DRIVEWAY <-(click me to play) view, a couple points to note:

This view starts significantly before the 2nd view as this camera started rolling about 45 seconds ahead of the other.
She is holding a glass cup upon exit of the car
As Kim re-enters the video, what at first appears to be a near fall, is in fact a purposeful bend to the ground as she places the glass gently on the ground (quite skillful/thoughtful at full run/panic)

And here is the PORCH <-(click me to play) view:

my personal favorite, you can see the vehicle and Kim in the same frame for the full shot, and you get a better feel for the panicked reaction.
Kim informed me that it was the reflection off of the front door window that alerted her to the unoccupied moving vehicle.

Darling wife, I love you completely! Thanks for the laugh, and allowing me to share with the world.

----- UPDATE -----
I forgot to mention that the car stopped due to the neighbors extra thick grass , rather than any sudden and abrupt stop (for once I wasn't complaining about how good my neighbors friggin grass looks!). However there is a stop sign that was a few inches from the car when all was said and done... whew.

----- 2nd Update -----
Two things:

Kim was in a rush to get home, grab some stuff, and GO SHOPPING (just makes the story better)
Kim pointed out that at 29 seconds into the Driveway video, you can actually see the lights flash on her car... she armed the alarm AS IT WAS ROLLING AWAY.. you just can't make stuff up this good !

Nursery A/C Project

2007-07-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

So here is what i did to fix the A/C in the nursery room....

The Problem:

The nursery is typically the hottest/coldest room in the house (depending on time of year). This is because, as you can barely see in the photo above, when you walk through the door you must immediately make a left turn to 'get into' the room. The A/C was originally over the door and would blow straight ahead, hit the wall and go back out of the room. Also the vent was just too small (3.5 x 7), so we needed a larger vent too.

The Solution:

By dropping the ceiling down in the small area between the door and the adjacent wall, I am able to extend and turn (90 degrees) the A/C duct. This was a LOT harder than I thought it would be but we are happy with the results :). In the picture above of the finished job (note that i did one quick coat of primer, we still need to finish painting so ignore the blue/white spotty-ness).

Kim's back!

2007-07-11T03:24:00.000-07:00

Kim is back from her trip to see family in Kentucky. I was able to finish the ac re-routing and 1/2 coat of primer on the nursery, and have one fun night out dancing all in about 3 days....

Today we celebrate Kim's birthday way early. We seem to never be able to keep secrets/surprises for very long, I told her like 2 days after i bought the tickets which in now like 2 months ago.... We are headed over to St. Pete to see the Police reunion tour! Poor Kim has caught a cold from her trip to Kentucky but she's determined to go so I hope last night/this morning shes able to beat most of this thing.

Lesson #1

2007-07-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

Since this is the first lesson post, let me explain. These are lessons I've learned that I want to pass to you son? daughter? (these posts will be easier after the birth). They are in no particular order, i just figured i number 'em cuz it looks cooler. I will generally post the lessons as they come to me since I think it's best to let unfold naturally.

When you go out and drink (and you had better wait till your 21 or your grounded!.. unless we are in Europe in which case it doesnt matter i think they start drinking at age 5) you should drink 2 large glasses of water before bed. I did not and now i have a slamming headache! OUCH!

And the work begins...

2007-07-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

Don't have much time right now. But I have spent the last 32 hours or so working on the nursery. Had to re-route the AC vent. I am tired, but I am fricken go'n out for a drink! Look for an entire post on the upgrade in a day or two... Going to get my freak on... (dance'n freak)
lata
jason

The Beginning

2007-06-27T06:53:00.000-07:00

Who is this for? I suppose one day I'll hand this link over to my kid and say "Here's your life".... (from dad's point of view) or maybe the smart little bugger will sniff it out on his?her? own. My beautiful wife, so that she can read dads thoughts whenever/wherever she may be
:-)
And for family and friends that may want to know what's going on... And for any other dads that may follow, so that they may learn from my perfect decision making... (insert sarcasm here).... And anyone else, so in a word... everyone.

Why is it here? I have been inspired to chronicle my experience as a dad. I truly think it's going to be 'one for the books'. So lets dive right in and get you caught up.

1995 BD (Before Daddy) - I met Kimberly at Valencia Community College in an honors Comp. II class. She's hot so I was naturally attracted to her, and somehow I got her to date me ( I think it was the Rollerblades, overalls, and no shirt that really did it? )

1996 BD - We moved to Gainesville and enrolled into U of F. We partied and studied (Kim did more studying, I took care of most of the party'in).

5/29/1999 BD - In the preceding weeks, I developed a masterful 'one-two' punch.... I convinced her that we should 'take it slow' and not move in together, only to have an epiphany two weeks later -- while she was in Canada -- and on this day we climbed the Light House in St. Augustine and I made the best decision of my life.

4/22/2007 BD - In we take our first trip to a new continent..... France. Well it has been there awhile, and it isn't a continent all by itself (don't be a smart ass).. but it was new to us. It was an amazing trip with some great friends check it out here ...

5/23/2007 BD - back home, a short time later, I awoke with my wife beaming; telling me I'm a Daddy-to-be!

6/25/2007 D2B (Daddy to Be) - We just went to our appointment at this very nice Birthing Center. Gonna go all natural (my wife that is... i'll be doped up on something i'm sure). .. So the exciting piece is that we heard the heartbeat for the first time! I recorded it on my phone and we play it like ten times a day. Definitely a milestone!

6/27/2007 D2B - So here we are making this post today... tonight... well the first one doesn't look like much but it took awhile.. So the next big planned daddy event is in 9 weeks when we head out for a sono to make sure everything is in the right place....