When you have a kid, you sometimes put words in their mouths.
You might think baby babble is just that--baby babble. But just because those sounds are undecipherable to most adults doesn't mean there's no underlying meaning. As you can tell from the following video--and the captions I have so graciously provided--Baby A. is capable of having a serious conversation about politics, and delivering sharp commentary on the Tea Party and Sarah Palin. Who knew? Perhaps her grandparents' constant claims that she's "advanced" are spot on. It may be too early to tell, but hopes are high. Forget Palin in 2012. We're thinking Baby A. in 2052!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
WW#29: Glimpse of Spring
Wordless Wednesday: Glimpse of Spring
Last Friday, we took advantage of my day off and some unseasonably warm weather to take A. for a walk around the neighborhood and to let her play in the driveway for a bit. That small taste of spring was so invigorating—physically and mentally! With the amount of snow that’s fallen in Boston and its long-lasting impact on my daily commute and psyche, this winter has taken its toll on me. I know it has on Steph too. Between the constant snow and A. having a cold and then an ear infection, she hasn't been able to get out of the house anywhere near as much as she would have liked.
Here are some pictures of A. playing in our driveway. I can't wait until it's spring and we are doing this all of the time!
Last Friday, we took advantage of my day off and some unseasonably warm weather to take A. for a walk around the neighborhood and to let her play in the driveway for a bit. That small taste of spring was so invigorating—physically and mentally! With the amount of snow that’s fallen in Boston and its long-lasting impact on my daily commute and psyche, this winter has taken its toll on me. I know it has on Steph too. Between the constant snow and A. having a cold and then an ear infection, she hasn't been able to get out of the house anywhere near as much as she would have liked.
Here are some pictures of A. playing in our driveway. I can't wait until it's spring and we are doing this all of the time!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
#33: How to Tell a True Parenting Story
When you have a kid, there are certain attributes that define a true parenting story.
A true parenting story is not altogether different from a true war story. Both contain truths that are contradictory. Parenting, like war, can be grotesque one minute and full of beauty the next. Like when a firefight erupts on the changing table with that innocent little girl who was just so happy and sweet. Despite your size advantage, the battle is fierce and you must summon every ounce of strength and courage to accomplish your mission: changing a wet or poopy diaper. After several minutes of hell, the room is suddenly peaceful and quiet. Your enemy is your friend again, and with no visible recollection of what just happened, she's doing that adorable thing where she sticks her tongue in and out quickly like a lizard. Exhausted, all you can do is smile.
You can tell a true parenting story by the complete lack of filter for embarrassing or gross details. Pee, poop, vomit. It's all on the table--sometimes literally--and it doesn't bother grizzled parents one bit. Moreover, in the telling of these stories, they don't abstract the horrors they've seen into vague, sterile terms. Otherwise, in the process of abstracting, these stories, though technically true, lose their truth.
When Steph IM'ed me at work last week to describe a particularly difficult diaper change, she didn't call it an "incident" or a "mess". She laid it all out there, painting a picture of the carnage that would make a non-parent run for cover: "Poop everywhere. She had no interest in being changed. Literally got poop all over her, all over me, on the wall. Then I just put her in the sink to wash her off and so it was all over the sink."
A true parenting story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe. If Steph's poop story wasn't enough, here's another example. While my in-laws were watching A. a few weeks ago, she spit up. It was nothing major, just some standard-issue baby spit-up. What's important is that my mother-in-law never rinsed out the sponge she used to clean up the vomit. She must have gotten distracted by the baby and left it in the sink, where there it sat festering until I decided to do some dishes the next morning.
The smell was faint at first, and I wasn't sure what it was or where it was coming from. Suspecting it might be the sponge, I brought it closer to my face and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Festering, vomit-soaked bricks. It was one of the most horrible smells I've ever encountered and gagging, I could feel my own vomit start to rise from my stomach.
At that moment, I thought of stories about my mother and her sisters throwing up as kids, and how because he had a weak stomach, my grandfather would sometimes throw up alongside them. Vomit inducing vomit, a time-honored parenting tradition in which I was on the verge of participating. Can you feel that in your stomach?
Fortunately, although such stories tend to command the lion's share of attention, there's very little about parenting that actually makes you sick. Sure, it's a lot of work and poopy diapers and late nights and early mornings, but it's an incredibly rewarding experience. To see the child you and your spouse brought into this world open his/her eyes for the first time, or smile, or roll over, or crawl, or take their first steps, or say their first words--is a feeling unmatched by anything in this world.
This amazing act of creation--and the awesome responsibility it entails--makes you truly feel like an adult for the first time. But yet, in a fleeting way, being a parent also allows you to be a kid again. In the process of playing with your child, you play with their toys, read their books, and watch their cartoons. Often, when their attention has wandered on to something else, you're left playing or reading or watching by yourself. And you don't mind, because for a few, brief minutes, you're transported to a time when life was easy and carefree, with no jobs or responsibilities or problems. Just playing, eating, and sleeping. And simple, fundamental truths.
This post was inspired by Tim O'Brien and one of my favorite books of all time, The Things They Carried
.
A true parenting story is not altogether different from a true war story. Both contain truths that are contradictory. Parenting, like war, can be grotesque one minute and full of beauty the next. Like when a firefight erupts on the changing table with that innocent little girl who was just so happy and sweet. Despite your size advantage, the battle is fierce and you must summon every ounce of strength and courage to accomplish your mission: changing a wet or poopy diaper. After several minutes of hell, the room is suddenly peaceful and quiet. Your enemy is your friend again, and with no visible recollection of what just happened, she's doing that adorable thing where she sticks her tongue in and out quickly like a lizard. Exhausted, all you can do is smile.
You can tell a true parenting story by the complete lack of filter for embarrassing or gross details. Pee, poop, vomit. It's all on the table--sometimes literally--and it doesn't bother grizzled parents one bit. Moreover, in the telling of these stories, they don't abstract the horrors they've seen into vague, sterile terms. Otherwise, in the process of abstracting, these stories, though technically true, lose their truth.
When Steph IM'ed me at work last week to describe a particularly difficult diaper change, she didn't call it an "incident" or a "mess". She laid it all out there, painting a picture of the carnage that would make a non-parent run for cover: "Poop everywhere. She had no interest in being changed. Literally got poop all over her, all over me, on the wall. Then I just put her in the sink to wash her off and so it was all over the sink."
A true parenting story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe. If Steph's poop story wasn't enough, here's another example. While my in-laws were watching A. a few weeks ago, she spit up. It was nothing major, just some standard-issue baby spit-up. What's important is that my mother-in-law never rinsed out the sponge she used to clean up the vomit. She must have gotten distracted by the baby and left it in the sink, where there it sat festering until I decided to do some dishes the next morning.
The smell was faint at first, and I wasn't sure what it was or where it was coming from. Suspecting it might be the sponge, I brought it closer to my face and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Festering, vomit-soaked bricks. It was one of the most horrible smells I've ever encountered and gagging, I could feel my own vomit start to rise from my stomach.
At that moment, I thought of stories about my mother and her sisters throwing up as kids, and how because he had a weak stomach, my grandfather would sometimes throw up alongside them. Vomit inducing vomit, a time-honored parenting tradition in which I was on the verge of participating. Can you feel that in your stomach?
Fortunately, although such stories tend to command the lion's share of attention, there's very little about parenting that actually makes you sick. Sure, it's a lot of work and poopy diapers and late nights and early mornings, but it's an incredibly rewarding experience. To see the child you and your spouse brought into this world open his/her eyes for the first time, or smile, or roll over, or crawl, or take their first steps, or say their first words--is a feeling unmatched by anything in this world.
This amazing act of creation--and the awesome responsibility it entails--makes you truly feel like an adult for the first time. But yet, in a fleeting way, being a parent also allows you to be a kid again. In the process of playing with your child, you play with their toys, read their books, and watch their cartoons. Often, when their attention has wandered on to something else, you're left playing or reading or watching by yourself. And you don't mind, because for a few, brief minutes, you're transported to a time when life was easy and carefree, with no jobs or responsibilities or problems. Just playing, eating, and sleeping. And simple, fundamental truths.
This post was inspired by Tim O'Brien and one of my favorite books of all time, The Things They Carried
.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
#32: Hush Little Baby 2K11 (Papa's Parody)
When you have a kid, you have to find ways to make the repetition bearable.
Every night, when Steph puts A. to sleep, she sings her "Hush Little Baby". Whether I am listening to her singing it or singing it myself, I am always a bit irked by how outdated the lyrics are. Looking glass? Horse and cart? C'mon, people, we're living in the 21st century! So I decided to write a parody that incorporates the latest social media sites, gadgets, apps, etc. My updated lyrics are below. Maybe, if enough people are into it, I will record it and make a short video.
Feel free to leave a comment with additional lines! There are plenty of modern references I wasn't able to cover.
Every night, when Steph puts A. to sleep, she sings her "Hush Little Baby". Whether I am listening to her singing it or singing it myself, I am always a bit irked by how outdated the lyrics are. Looking glass? Horse and cart? C'mon, people, we're living in the 21st century! So I decided to write a parody that incorporates the latest social media sites, gadgets, apps, etc. My updated lyrics are below. Maybe, if enough people are into it, I will record it and make a short video.
Hush Little Baby 2K11 (Papa's Parody)
Hush, little baby, don't say a word.
Papa's gonna download Angry Birds
And if those Angry Birds get beat,
Papa's gonna write you a pretty tweet
And if that pretty tweet isn't shared
Papa's gonna buy a MacBook Air
And if that MacBook Air goes out of style,
Papa's gonna create your Facebook profile
And if that Facebook profile isn't liked,
Papa's gonna build you your own website
And if your website traffic starts to dip,
Papa's gonna make you a YouTube clip
And if that YouTube clip makes you groan,
Papa's gonna buy you a 4g phone
And if that 4g network goes down,
You'll still be the Foursquare mayor of our town
Feel free to leave a comment with additional lines! There are plenty of modern references I wasn't able to cover.
WW#27: Sleeping Beauty
Wordless Wednesday: Sleeping Beauty
My new Canon 50mm f1.4 lens
arrived last Thursday. Unfortunately, my commute was so long (curse this snow!) that my favorite subject A. was asleep by the time I got home. Although I didn't want to disturb her, I couldn't resist snapping off a quick photo of her sleeping in Steph's arms. After all, my first picture with the new lens had to be of my baby girl!
My new Canon 50mm f1.4 lens
arrived last Thursday. Unfortunately, my commute was so long (curse this snow!) that my favorite subject A. was asleep by the time I got home. Although I didn't want to disturb her, I couldn't resist snapping off a quick photo of her sleeping in Steph's arms. After all, my first picture with the new lens had to be of my baby girl!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
WW#26: Baby A: Lord of the Stacking Rings
Wordless Wednesday: Baby A: Lord of the Stacking Rings
We bought A. the classic stacking rings baby toy
a few months ago, and until this week, she did little but use the individual rings as teething toys. But then, out of nowhere, she could stack all of the rings in quick succession. It was like someone flipped a switch and she instantly knew what to do.
The best part is her reaction. In trying to help her master another toy (the shape sorter), I started clapping when she put a piece in the matching hole. Pretty soon, she was clapping herself, whether she did it correctly or not. As you can see in the video below, this self-applause carried over to playing with stacking rings. And it's incredibly cute.
Here's to documenting and celebrating baby milestones. Which milestones have your kid(s) reached recently?
We bought A. the classic stacking rings baby toy
a few months ago, and until this week, she did little but use the individual rings as teething toys. But then, out of nowhere, she could stack all of the rings in quick succession. It was like someone flipped a switch and she instantly knew what to do.The best part is her reaction. In trying to help her master another toy (the shape sorter), I started clapping when she put a piece in the matching hole. Pretty soon, she was clapping herself, whether she did it correctly or not. As you can see in the video below, this self-applause carried over to playing with stacking rings. And it's incredibly cute.
Here's to documenting and celebrating baby milestones. Which milestones have your kid(s) reached recently?
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