Six Months (Almost)

Today was the first time my wife and I left our daughter with a babysitter. Granted, we actually babysat our babysitter, ourselves, when she was a baby - but she is more like family to us now. We even refer to her as one of our daughters when she is out with us somewhere.

Even still, its been almost six months since my wife and I have been anywhere together without our daughter Ashlyn. My wife handled it better than I thought she would. Admittedly, we were both a little nervous. But we were only going to be gone for a couple of hours. And we knew we could trust "our other daughter" Abby with her. They love each other and we knew she would take good care of her.

The six-month thing struck us though. It's hard to believe our little girl is nearly that old. She's changed so much. Now she's trying to skip crawling and go straight to walking; she has this fire in her that she wants to be able to do so much more than she can; she's eating baby food, teething, sitting up almost with no support, has more than doubled her birth-weight, and is, overall, just awesome. My wife and I have been blessed with a beautiful girl who we adore, loves 80s music and prunes, laughs at Elmo, and burps and passes gas like a champ. She is truly the light of our lives.

We've had some challenges in the past six months though that she has gotten us through.


My wife has some severe complications from her c-section and developed an infection which required several surgeries. She spent nearly two additional weeks in the hospital and then spent her maternity leave at home recovering for a month and a half unable to do most of the things she wanted to do with Ashlyn. Breastfeeding was out of the question because of all the meds. And she couldn't really pick Ashlyn up and play with her hardly at all for the first several weeks of her life. My wife had an incredibly hard time with that. I took almost all my vacation and sick time from work to stay at home and take care of my girls. A few days before I was going to go back to work, my boss called me in and told me they were eliminating and outsourcing my position to an agency that we had been using for some other services as well. Nice.

So I've been at home being Mr. Mom since the beginning of June - taking care of Ashlyn, job hunting, doing housework... I decided at the start I wasn't going to be bitter or angry about being out of a job because it would do me no good. Doesn't mean I can't be stressed though. Sometimes I feel kind of useless since I'm not working at a job - but then I get over it. My job right now is to find a job, take care of my daughter, and be the best husband and father I can.


Everyone says a baby will change your life. Truer words have never been spoken. I adore my nephews and nieces, love them, and would do anything for them - but being a dad takes those feelings to an extreme. I tell my daughter all the time "I love you from the moon to the stars and even further." She has brought so much joy into our lives. 

She's such a character.

There are so many nuances of her personality that are hilarious to watch. Sure, there are things that are challenging about her personality - she's impatient, stubborn, and sneaky. But she's a very happy baby, who loves to laugh and smile, meet new people, show off all her new skills,and is very attentive at church. She amazes us more and more every day.


Being parents have changed us and taught us a lot. Our first thoughts in the morning are not about hitting the snooze button anymore, but of going into her room and greeting her for the day. On most days, she's already up and waiting for us to come get her. She greets us with this electric smile that literally makes her body shake in excitement. 


She has taught me that despite whatever else is going on, family is number one. She's taught me to love more; not only toward her. She's taught me that some things I would have been bothered by in the past that other people do aren't really worth my time to be bothered by anymore. (Although being a parent brings a whole new set of things to the table that people do that bother me now, like disregarding the fact that there are children nearby by being loud, obnoxious, stupid, smoking in a public area, etc). She's taught me to treasure the blessings in my life even more. 

She's taught me so much already , just in six months - and I can't wait to teach her new things every day to come, as well.

Little Miss Magic

As much as my wife and I thought we knew what to expect of becoming parents, we’ve both been put in our place over the last two and half weeks.

You can prepare for a baby financially…. You can prepare for a baby with material things… You can prepare their nursery and their wardrobe…

But the one thing I can’t get over is how much I have fallen in love with this little girl

I see a little more of me everyday
I catch a little more moustache turning gray
Your mother is the only other woman for me
Little miss magic, what you gonna be?
- Jimmy Buffet, Little Miss Magic

Sometimes I do just sit and watch her. Hold her in my arms and just look into those beautiful eyes. Look down into her bassinet and spend a few minutes just amazed that my wife and I created such a precious, innocent life.

It’s amazing. It’s something that I don’t think any expectant parent can prepare for.

Sometimes I catch her dreamin and wonder where that little mind meanders
Is she strollin along the shore or cruisin oer the broad savannah
I know someday shell learn to make up her own rhymes
Someday she's gonna learn how to fly
Oh that I wont deny
- Little Miss Magic

I do wonder what she thinks of when she sleeps. A friend of mine posted on my Facebook page the other day, “if they smile or laugh while sleeping they are playing with loved ones who have gone on to Heaven, angels.”

That hit me hard. She has such a beautiful smile. And she laughs in her sleep a lot. It’s actually really cute to watch. But after I read that comment, now I can’t help think, “Who’s she playing with now?” Great-Grandma Maxine? Grandma Doris?  Pop-Pop?

I wish they could all be here to watch her grow up. It breaks my heart that she will only know of them through what we tell her. But that’s our job as parents. To show her we love to her. To tell her how important family is. To teach her to love. To teach her to become her own person. To teach her to be strong in her faith.

Faith can't be taught
It's just something that is caught along the way
No faith is never taught
It's just something that they catch from watching you along the way
-    Mark Schultz, She Was Watching

She’s already starting to form her own personality. Wait, what am I talking about? She was doing that in the womb.

There are a few things we knew ahead of time about our little girl… That she’s stubborn, a fighter, spirited, a clown, and determined.

I can tell that all those are true.

But each day I see new traits developing. I watch her watching us. I can tell she’s got a million thoughts going on in that little head.

She has a tender heart, but she means business when she’s mad. She is expressive, but manipulative too. I think babies have that down pat.

I hope as she grows up that her mother and I will be parents that she will admire, trust, and love. I hope I will be a good father and model strong values and faith to her. I hope she becomes an individual who others look to for love, guidance, and support.

I have two amazing parents, who I love with all my heart. There’s so many ways they have influenced my life and who I’ve become that I am so thankful for…… I hope I will be as influential in who my daughter becomes.

But for right now, I’m going to want her to stay a little girl, my own Little Miss Magic, who actually is amazed by the blades of the fan on the ceiling.

I love you, baby girl.

The Visitors

I just had to post this because it is going to be freaking cool.

I loved the original "V" movies and mini-series. I just wish they would finish the story where it left off.

But this should be good, either way. I just hope they don't screw it up like was done with the Battlestar Galactica "re-imagining"