WW#23: This New Dad's Best Christmas Gift

Wordless Wednesday: This New Dad's Best Christmas Gift

This year was baby's first Christmas, and also the first time Steph and I hosted Christmas.  We had a great time with my dad, his girlfriend, my mom, and my grandmother, who all came in one car packed to the brim with presents.  And I thought we were spoiling A.!

As suspected, A. was too young to understand the concept of gifts and we ultimately opened her presents for her.  But once they were unwrapped, she had a blast playing with them.  The biggest hit was her Sesame Fly with Elmo Ride-On, though she enjoyed pretty much every gift she received.  From my perspective as a new dad, the best gift of all wasn't wrapped and under the tree; it was baby's smiling face, which brimmed with happiness all weekend long.

Hope you all enjoyed your holidays as much as I did!

A. loving her Elmo Ride-On

A. trying out the rocking chair her Grampy made.

Groovin' along to her musical activity table

A. with her great grandmother Vova

WW#22: Christmas Self-Portraits

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Self-Portraits

Seeing as how this is a parenting blog, it shouldn't come as a surprise that all of my Wordless Wednesday posts to this point have been baby-centric.  This week, though, I thought I would mix it up and post a couple of pictures of yours truly.  Sort of.  I took these Christmas-themed self-portraits by capturing my reflection in a bowl of ornaments on the mantle and another on our tree.  It's amazing what you can find around the house to create an interesting self-portrait.

It's my whimsical way of saying Merry Christmas to you all!  Have fun and be safe.

#30: A New Home for the Holidays

When you have a kid, you (finally!) get to host a holiday.

Recently, I wrote about how grandparents are the real CEO's of young families.  While that's certainly an important-sounding (albeit intentionally misleading) title, it's new parents who actually hold all the leverage.  And call me Ebenezer, but there's no better time to exercise this leverage than the holidays.

Until this year, there was no question that my newly self-employed wife and I would be traveling over the holidays.  Thanksgiving isn't so bad because we rotate destinations each year, but Christmas can be a bear because we typically make three stops (my mother's, my father's, and my in-laws') in two days.  It's exhausting just thinking about it!

This year, though, the (yule)tides have changed and we'll be hosting Christmas for the first time.  I know, big step, right?!  And all it took was one priceless gift: our first child, my parents' first grandchild.

Not wanting to cram three Christmases into two days, especially with an eight-month old who doesn't always travel well, I asked my parents, who live about two and a half hours away, to come to us and they quickly agreed.  I guess it's hard to argue with "We really want to spend A.'s first Christmas at home.  Would you like to be there with us?"

So this Christmas will be significant for many reasons.  First and foremost, it's baby's first Christmas.  While A. will probably be more interested in wrapping paper than gifts, it's going to be a special day, especially for her parents and grandparents.  In addition, hosting a major holiday like Christmas for the first time is one of those rites of passage--along with getting married, buying a house, and having a kid--that makes you feel like a legitimate adult.  Checking that final box is a big step, though since I won't have to leave the house on Christmas, I may counteract my full-fledged adulthood by staying in my pajamas all day.

So here's to being home for the holidays, whatever your definition of home may be.  Home was and, to a degree, will always be where I grew up.  But this Christmas especially, it's where I live with my own family, including my beautiful wife and my ridiculously cute baby girl.  I'm glad my parents (and my dad's girlfriend and my grandmother) will be there too!

Happy holidays to you all!  Have fun and be safe wherever you'll be.

WW#21: Baby's Native Tongue

Wordless Wednesday: Baby's Native Tongue

Steph had a client call today, so I worked from home in the afternoon and watched A.  While playing with her in the basement, I caught a couple of cute moments.  As you can see, she's been obsessed lately with sticking out her tongue.  Sometimes, she even flicks her tongue in and out real fast like a lizard!

WW#20: Christmas Card Castaways

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Card Castaways

Last weekend, we held two photo shoots for A's first Christmas card -- one at home and another at my in-laws' place, each with their own wardrobe and props.  We got a ton of ridiculously cute shots, which made it very difficult whittling down the list to just one picture (we actually considered printing two different Christmas cards, but decided against it).  Rather than let the others go to waste, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos that "didn't make the cut". Maybe after the cards go out, I'll update this post with the one that did.

#29: Quitters Can Win

When you have a kid, you'll do anything in their best interest--even quit your job.

Wifey

I have big news to share: my wife Stephanie Beagan Hadley quit her job!  She's becoming a freelance marketing communications and public relations consultant, so she can spend more time at home with A.  With the recession lingering, it wasn't a decision we made lightly.  However, after thinking and talking it through, we ultimately felt it was the best thing for our baby.

Sure, there are some downsides--namely less (and more sporadic) income, less job security, and more expensive health insurance, since we have to switch to my company's plan.  But the ability for my wife to be home with A. all day, every day far outweighed these cons.  As added benefits, we won't have to put the baby in daycare and Steph is freed from the hassles of a full-time corporate job, including the commute, dress code, office politics, etc. I couldn't be more proud--and envious!

The road ahead for our family is both exciting and a little frightening.  We'll have to tighten our budgetary belts and live more frugally, but we're going into it with the mindset that we'll make an adventure out of "cheap" and "free".  Taking advantage of the MFA's free community day was our first attempt, and there's plenty more in store.

So, in this scenario, I firmly believe that quitting is winning.  Even if freelancing doesn't work out and Steph has to find a full-time job again, we will still have won, as she'll have had that much more time with A.  Now, if only I can find a way to quit too, so I can be home with them!

#28: The Real CEO of Your Family

When you have a kid, grandparents are the real CEOs of the family.

Grandparents are entertainers, first and foremost.  While they certainly help take care of their grandchildren -- my mother-in-law has been watching A. three days a week while Steph and I work -- their primary role is CEO, or Chief Entertainment Officer.  Having spent years raising their own kids, they've earned the right to focus less on childcare and more on child's play.  A good illustration of this grandparent mentality can be found in my father-in-law, who will play with A. while she laughs and hand her off as soon as she starts to cry.

Spending Thanksgiving with my family in Western MA, I noticed that both of my parents have really embraced their roles as grandparents too. When Steph was trying to get A. to eat her sweet potatoes, my mother was putting every singing stuffed animal she could find in front of her.  And while we were trying to get the baby ready for bed, my father was carrying her around the house looking at and explaining every picture, plant, and knickknack.

It's all well-meaning and I love every minute of it.  It's just funny to witness and be a part of the role reversal where child becomes parent, and parent becomes child.  Hopefully someday--in the very distant future--the roles will reverse again and I will become that goofy grandparent who will do anything to evoke smile and laughter from his grandchildren.

Who's the CEO of your family?

WW#19: Baby's First Thanksgiving

Wordless Wednesday: Baby's First Thanksgiving

Steph and I alternate major holidays between our families.  This year, we did Thanksgiving with my family in Western MA -- specifically, my mother's side on Thanksgiving day, and my father's side on Black Friday.  In both cases, there were four generations present!  Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

Me and A.

My mother having a ball with A. on Thanksgiving

A. with her great grandmother Vova (my mother's mother)

My dad and his girlfriend Estela entertaining A.

A. with her Great Grandma Hadley (my father's mother)