parenting

In January, I made the switch from an unlimited data plan to email only. This means I no longer have access to T-Mobile internet.

I had the unlimited data plan for two years (service is a little slow, but still convenient), but I’m happy to report I’m doing fine, saving a little money, and likely to father fewer Blackberry orphans as a result of my downgrade.

What’s more, my trusty Curve supports Wi-Fi, so if I really need access to the internet on my phone while not at home, it’s not that difficult to find a public connection.

For as technologically inclined as I am, it’s ironic how technologically adverse I can be, in an effort to maintain some level of privacy and social sanity. Do you ever feel the same?

“That not look good, daddy,” my clever, almost 3-year old girl said in broken but piercing English on Monday, upon seeing my newly purchased white leather belt around my waist. “That looks better,” she assured me, after I switched to a brown belt.

My confidence in fashion judgment is at an all time low right now. To make matters worse, Sadie told me I was “stinky” over the weekend. Great — out of style and stinky. Just what I need.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve knocked my two and ½ year old down while turning around.

You see, Sadie is a “Close Stander.” She often stands behind me, Gillette razor close, to see what I’m doing without ever touching me. As a result, I rarely sense her presence. She means no harm — just excited to be alive — but the act often causes her temporary pain, and consequently, a brief session of crying. So I do my best to avoid it.

While preparing to put her down for a nap this afternoon, I spun around to find her directly beneath me. With gymnast-like dexterity, I managed to avoid disaster by quickly contorting my body, but at the expense of tweaking me neck. (I did clip her foot, which left her slightly upset, but tearless.)

In any case, “Close Standing” is a comical, sometimes painful, and slightly frustrating side effect of being the parent of an enthusiastic but smallish human being. Can I get a witness?

I learned a valuable and humbling lesson as a parent yesterday: the unharmed sister or brother isn’t necessarily the one to blame. In other words, don’t jump to conclusions.

After feeding both Sadie and Maddie early in the morning while Lindsey slumbered, I laid Maddie on our tall ottoman to perfect my laptop father skills. Moments later, while entrenched in technology, I heard a “Maddie’s falling” accompanied by a heavy thud. I looked up from my PowerBook to find a suspicious looking Sadie standing over a fallen Maddie, who was now crying loudly.

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Randy Pausch, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, clearly understands the value of life. His thoughts on carpe diem, achieving your childhood dreams, and materialism are precise, inspired, and honest (no gimmicks here).

At the time of his discourse (Sept. 2007), doctors said Pausch would have “three to six months” to live. As of today, he is still alive. His original full-length lecture at Carnegie Mellon can be found here.

See also: My attempts to be a shoe designer | You have a choice

Music has always been a big part of my life. I’m good on my feet and have better rhythm than most other white men. Happily, my first-born of two years (Sadie) shares my affinity for song and dance.

I first noticed Sadie’s liking to music when she began shaking her hips as six-month old — while I played “Africa Unite” by Bob Marley on a sunny afternoon. Amazingly, for what was then a first time parent, she was moving to the beat. How could this be? How does a human only 180 days old recognize, understand, and know how to dance to the beat?

It must be genetic.

To this day, Sadie spends a large portion of her time banging on piano keys, moving to the beat, strumming my guitar as she passes by, dancing to Kids Songs DVDs, and requesting playback of her hokey poky CD. She enjoys music more than most, as do I. Did I pass it on to her? I don’t know, but I’m convinced there’s some inheritance involved. How couldn’t there be?

While I appreciate other forms of entertainment — like film, video games, and books — music would be the last thing to go in my book. It’s more than just entertainment, it sets the pace of life. And as corny as its sounds, singing just makes everything better.

I’m no fan of new year’s resolutions. I think individuals should resolve to improve on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, not yearly. But I am big believer in learning from the previous year, which brings me to my list of top educational attainments and the last post of 2007.

1. More really is merrier.
   I’m the proud father of two girls instead of one as of October. Before the latest arrival (Hi, Maddie!), I errantly thought that two kids would double the parenting workload. In reality, it feels more like a 1.5 workload with a 2.5 return. Challenging, yes, but even more rewarding than I imagined. (more…)

Parents say the most whimsical things to influence kids — especially when their two-year-olds constantly question “Why?” after every command. This is Sadie right now.

She has this little toy Elmo that she likes to take with her at all times. Expectedly, Lindsey and I are trying to put the kibosh on that — more for convenience than principle. So when leaving for church yesterday morning, Sadie of course wanted to take Elmo. “No,” her mother replied to which Sadie quickly retorted, “Why?”

“Because Elmo doesn’t believe in religion — he’s an atheist.”

Later that night, while trying to persuade Sadie to eat her veggies after she repeatedly questioned “Why?” I said, “Because Elmo’s a corn-eating fool.”

In a single day, the muppet became a corn-eating atheist. God bless his soul.

The toy compact disc you see pictured above is not compatible with PS3 hardware — in fact, the little booger is twice as thick as standard CDs.

But the irregular gauge nor warranty endangerment would keep my little Sadie from trying to play “I’m a Little Tea Pot” on the ill suited $500 machine this past Monday. Amazingly, the PS3 took the disc, but wouldn’t give it back — the Blu-ray drive was in duress.

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Madison Snow spawned Thurs. Oct. 11, 2007 at 4:22pm MDT. She weighed 8.2 oz and is 19 inches long. Mom and baby doing fine…

Hello world!

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