What can be learned from taking a kid to see a movie?

Today my wife and I did something that every parent has to do at least once: we took our daughter to her first movie. Granted, this was a movie that we both wanted to see, but using our little girl as an excuse to go see Toy Story 3 was about as good of a reason as any.

It just so happens, though, that the theater we went to see it in ranks up there as one of the most incompetent theaters I’ve ever been to. They got hit by lightning a few weeks ago (while we were there), and didn’t offer vouchers for the tickets. They just told us to come back with our stubs, and they’d remember it. So, when we got there today I was told my stubs weren’t good for 3D movies, and I’d need to talk to a manager. Fortunately, the manager was good on his word, and we got in to see the movie with time to spare. I won’t go into the lack of 3D glasses for children for a CHILDREN’S MOVIE, or the fact that this was a movie that could stand on its own just fine without some flavor of the month gimmick.

After standing in line for refreshments behind three girls getting large cokes and large popcorns for the latest vampire movie, I vowed to never again go to the movies when a vampire movie was playing.

After getting the popcorn to share and a coke for wife and me, I walked in to see my little girl patiently waiting for the movie to begin, watching some awful previews and wearing adult-sized 3D glasses. She eventually shed the glasses, and I’m wondering if she would have been better at a 2D showing. Again, though, there was no option for the 2D, but I digress...

Anyway, there’s something about being a parent that makes it incredibly difficult to watch movies like this. I don’t know if I’ve always been so quick to wear my emotions on my sleeves, but movies like this one and Up really, really have tugged at my heartstrings more than anything else I can remember.

Without being too spoilerific the opening sequence of this movie has got to hit every parent in the gut. I sit around watching my daughter bake birthday cakes every day in her kitchen for Baby Doll and her friends at school, the opening sequence of TS3 really brought home how real that imagination is for children, how vividly they can create these worlds in which they inhabit.

I learned tonight, though, that these are not necessarily worlds that we can inhabit. I sat down to try to help my daughter with her birthday cake, and she said to me, “Stop messing with my stuff, Daddy!” It appears to me that we can only be so blessed to peak into their worlds; we can only be invited into them at their will. Hopefully, though, this is an invitation that I’m always willing to accept.

Terrible blogger.

You know, I really thought this blogging stuff would be a whole lot easier. However, if you look at my last post and this one, you'll see that I don't do it nearly as much as I'd like. It's a shame, too, b/c there are some really great blogs that I love to read. Maybe I just feel like they do such a better at job at the whole blogging thing that I shouldn't even bother trying to be in the same league as them.

Alas, here I am again trying to get back onto the blogger bandwagon.

We've made some major changes in our life since the last posting here. We live in a different city; I serve at a different church; and our family is about to increase in size. A few changes, right?

One of the biggest changes has been the schedule that I keep at my new position. Ideally I'm in at 8 and out at 5. That means in an ideal world I leave the house at 7:40 (have to go through 1.5 school zones) and that I'll be home by 5:20 (driving right into the blinding sunlight). Realistically, neither of those happen frequently enough. Because of this I have to make every moment with Amelia and Erin count, and, frankly, sometimes that's tough.

Two great parts of the day, though, are most certainly getting Amelia up and putting Amelia down for bed. She's always SO happy in the morning time, and if she wakes up early enough she and I get to have breakfast together. At night I'll give her a bath, and then we'll hang out in her room while she plays and reads after getting ready for bed. When it's time to go to sleep, she'll crawl into my arms, we'll read a book, and then she'll go down.

I can't say enough how amazing fatherhood is. Watching this little person grow into a toddler has been so wonderful, and every day brings all kinds of great and wonderful surprises.

Thoughts on our first Halloween in a house.

If you're still reading this blog, you're probably aware that we recently moved.  We now live in a neighborhood, and in our neighborhood we're able to have trick-or-treaters.  Erin was running around like a crazy person tonight in order to get back in time to greet the trick-or-treaters, and it was a lot of fun while it lasted.

With that in mind, here are a few of the exchanges from today.

This morning after chapel:

Little Girl:  Hola!

Me:  Hola!  Como estas?

Little Girl (loudly):  I'm going to be Supergirl for Halloween!

Tonight at the house:

Little Boy:  Trick or treat!

Me:  And what are you?  A flying dinosaur?

Little Boy (screaming...loudly):  A DRAGON!

Another little kid (dressed in all black and traveling alone):  Trick or treat.

Me:  What are you?

Little kid:  I'm going to take your soul.

Me:  My soul?  What are you going to do with my soul?

Little kid:  I am the reason you will rot in depression.

Me:  Alright.  Here's some candy.  Eat that instead of my soul.

So, all in all a pretty fun day.  I'm usually a grinch about these kind of things, but I had a great time seeing these little punks have so much fun begging strangers for candy.  I think next year we'll have to do something to make our place a bit more festive after we get through trick-or-treating with Amelia.  We're starting to take suggestions for costumes, and I'm thinking a leprechaun would be appropriate since we're now in Mobile.

In this blog still here?

If I haven't said it in an earlier post, I hope that I'm a better father than I am a blogger. With everything that happens it seems to be a real pain to take the time to jot down my thoughts and experiences each day, but when I look up and realize that Amelia is almost 8 months old, I realize that the times are slipping away! As I sit here this morning I'm watching her play like crazy in her Exer-Saucer and gum the teething toys that are attached to it.

Every now and then she looks up, sees Lily doing something, and gets a big grin on her face. Since she's not crawling at a pretty good clip she can get across the room quickly. She'll set a bead on Lily, and take off. As she gets closer to Lily, Lily gets a nervous look in her eyes and quickly moves. Erin and I laugh about this, but it's really kind of heartbreaking to see Amelia go after her so intentionally and excitedly then and have Lily just get up and walk away because she doesn't want to be bothered.

She's started to pull herself up on her toys, and it won't be long before she's making the first steps towards walking. It seems like not too long ago that she was on my chest while we watched Georgia beat up on Okie State before she was even two days old. As much as I want time to slow down so that I can keep my little girl I know it's just going to start going more quickly. I realize this as she has gone from not saying much to being a complete chatterbox in not too many weeks, she just changes and grows and learns so quickly. Babies really are incredible little creatures.

That's about it for now. I think it's time for some oatmeal for Amelia.

What kind of liberal am I?

I found this quiz on another blog, and in the interest of full disclosure I'll put it out there for all of you to see. I have it posted elsewhere, so I apologize to those of you who have seen it already.

Okay, here goes:

My Liberal Identity:

You are a New Left Hipster, also known as a MoveOn.org liberal, a Netroots activist, or a Daily Show fanatic. You believe that if we really want to defend American values, conservatives must be exposed, mocked, and assailed for every fanatical, puritanical, warmongering, Constitution-shredding ideal for which they stand.

Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com

Now, I'm not a "Daily Show Fanatic" in that I don't watch it religiously. With that said, when I do watch it I think it's the funniest damn thing on television.

Do with this what you will, and let's see your results.

I'm still a dad. No, really.

Erin reminded me last night that it's been forever since I've updated this blog. Well, it's been a while since I updated the "other" blog, too, so you can see I can't officially wear the mantle of "hipster blogger dad" just yet.

Some observations, though:

After a few days that seemed like weeks of Amelia Jane screaming every time I took her, she has finally decided that she likes her dad now. She's been in a fantastic mood lately, and getting a smile or two from her is no problem.

Secondly, I'm about tired of changing diapers. I don't think many parents relish the thought of their child growing up, but it will be a wonderful day when this little monkey is potty-trained.

I've also noticed that as parents we have this undying need to comfort our child when she's fussy, whimpering, or outright screaming. I've also noticed that sometimes this is the last thing in the world she wants sometimes. There are moments when she won't settle down, so we put her in the swing. Instantly she's fine, and she's mesmerized by the animals and music coming from her swing. I guess sometimes even babies just want to be left alone entirely.

Last week Amelia Jane had her two month check-up. She's still tiny compared to the average, checking in at about 21" and 10.5 lbs. However, she still looks so big to us! At the two-month she also received four shots, and that little champ hung in there like a pro. Mom and I were wincing and trying to comfort her, and she didn't really need us. She screamed in the, "Dammit that hurt!" sense, but there were no tears and the screaming ceased as soon as the needle was out. I'm sure I'd still be crying because I hate needles.

I'm pretty sure that's all for now, but if you want consistent updates check out Erin's blog.

I feel compelled...

to just add something here because it's been so long since I've had anything of substance to say. Also, being competitive, I think my beautiful wife is going to drive me to make sure I keep this as updated as possible to give a guy's view on the same things she experiences over at her own
blog.

With that in mind, some of you might remember the post about poop from a few days ago. Lest you wonder how Lia's doing in that department, she is making up for lost time very well thankyouverymuch. But that's nothing I feel like discussing right now.

Erin and Lia went to Columbus this past weekend, and that left me at home with the Dog. Lily and I usually get along alright, and this past weekend was okay. The trouble I have when I am alone is that I feel a lot like the Evening News Team from Anchorman after Ron falls for Veronica Corningstone. I kind of walk around in a daze, and I become a complete sloth. No laundry got done, no shopping got done, and I ate salads and baked potatoes (yum) for three days straight. On the upside, I finally finished S1 of Heroes, so that awesome. What this all means is that even though I should have gotten lots of uninterrupted sleep, I did not. I just kind of wander around doing !NOTHING! until I can't hold my eyes open (usually about 2 AM), and then I stumble into the shower, and then I stumble into the bed, and then...

"No 'And then'".

Anyway, that's my latest update. Lia Jane is asleep on one of her blankets here next to me, and I've got to say I love this kid.

*Grammatical update will come soon (hopefully).*

Some thoughts on babies and fatherhood after about three and a half weeks.

When I started this place to gather my thoughts, my idea was to catalog my thoughts and experiences as they pertained to being a father for the first time. After a few weeks of this I have to say (and thankfully so) that being a father is great and a wonderful experience. In that same vein, I'm not finding many things lately that are compelling enough to write about because a three-week old baby doesn't do much at all other than sleep, eat, and poop every 2 or so days (yeah, we're on that cycle now).

Some recent events to think about, though:

• Last night after nursing, Amelia Jane let out this wail/scream/squeal that seemed completely involuntary but full of joy and fun. We couldn't help but laugh, and I can't wait for her to start recreating those sounds.
• After a weekend of being held by her grandparents she couldn't stand to be put down last night, and she let us know that by crying inconsolably within about 8 minutes of being placed in her crib or pack-n-play.
• I've begun feeding her from a bottle occasionally, and looking into her eyes when I can give her the bottle is just amazing.

EDIT: Fixed some glaring typos due to sleep deprivation.

Oh. My. Word.

###Disclaimer: This post is not for the faint of heart.###

There's a general stereotype out there of new parents that says we get freaked out by every little noise or sniffle that we encounter, and this might be true later on. After the absolute scare that was the few minutes after her birth (which I still haven't recounted), I think we've been pretty laid-back about Amelia Jane and her first 2 1/2 weeks. Some things we chalk up natural, some we chalk up as odd, and most things we rush to our books to see about and then see that it's just normal. One thing, though, that didn't seem normal has been preoccupying my time for these last few days.

As the parent appointed to change diapers, I've become pretty well-versed to our little princess's bodily functions. By this, I know about how many wet diapers I change and about how many dirty diapers I change. I know to change them after naps and before feedings (which is generally the same time, and who wants to eat with a dirty diaper on?). Just the other day, she had a dirty diaper at the doctor's office, and I said, "Is that what it's supposed to look like?" She said, "Yeah, for today. It'll change soon enough. But that's fine." "Good," I thought...our daughter is moving right along.

About two days ago, though, Amelia Jane hit the breaks. I mean she went cold turkey. I changed A LOT of wet diapers, and I began wondering where all of the dirty diapers were going. I asked Erin, and she hadn't changed any. I kept an eye on Amelia Jane, and sure enough, they were all still wet. Now, it's not completely uncommon to go a few days without a twosie, right? But this is a child who didn't go a few HOURS without a twosie, so I thought something was up.

I called the pediatrician today, and they asked me their general battery of questions. "We'll be back in touch soon." I got a call back from Betsy, and she said wanted to know when were last in, etc. When she realized we were just in for a two-week check up, she said, "Oh, her next one will be huge. Breast-fed babies are very irregular because they utilize everything they get, but if she is passing gas then she's fine." "Great, thanks for the warning."

Erin and I laughed it off, and we braced ourselves for the impending bomb that would be the next diaper change. We ran a few errands: Hobby Lobby, Cingular, and Publix. On our way home, we were a few grunts. We laughed because a 2 1/2 week old making noises like that is hilarious. We got home, and I unstrapped Amelia Jane from her carseat, and I held her out. I placed her on the changing, unstrapped the diaper, and I saw her own little personal Nagasaki + Hiroshima festering inside of a Sesame Street newborn diaper.

Wow.

I placed my hand behind her head, grabbed her ankles, and we made our way to the sink. Erin grabbed the sprayer, and she hosed her little tush down to clean her off. I set her on a towel, patted her dry, and diapered her up for her next little mission. It wasn't long before she began making up for lost time, and Erin got to change that one.

If you've made it this far, you've either had a similar experience. If so, I salute you. If you haven't had a similar experience, you either think poop is hilarious, or you are just bracing yourself for your own future. Either way, I love that little booger so much, even hosing her down with the kitchen sprayer isn't too much to ask.

Has it been a week already?

Fatherhood has not driven me so crazy that I've forgotten to write down my thoughts, but the sheer lack of sleep that is coming at night and my uncanny ability to not sleep while Amelia Jane is sleeping is about to make me like the Desert Fathers. You remember the stories from CH where we talked about their visions and how they were all insane from not sleeping and not eating, right?

This first week as a dad has gone by incredibly quickly. Lia's little cheeks are puffing out from all of her "nourishment", and I'm pretty sure she's a bottomless pit when it comes to nursing. I have never seen a child eat so much, and when she is through nursing she looks like a fat kid with ice cream running down his chin. However, I digress.

We (Erin and I) have already begun to fall into roles of who does what when it comes to taking care of Lia. I usually change the diapers, and she usually nurses. There have been a few times, though, when Lia attaches herself to me and just goes to town. I have to break the "suction" and hand her to Erin before she gets too angry. The lactation consultant that crying is a late indication of hunger. If I can get her off of me and onto Erin quickly, we normally avoid the crying altogether.

I'm having a difficult time telling if we have any kind of schedule yet, but after Erin's mom leaves we are really going to have to figure something out. If I don't start getting some sleep soon, I don't know what's going to happen.

I'll try to be back soon with more thoughts and some pictures to share of our first week as parents. Thanks to all of you out there who are actually interested in these ramblings! I noticed that I haven't gone back to tell about about the actual labor yet from the first post; I might have blocked all of that out!