Halfway Home...oh $#%! my resolutions!

It's been six months since I proclaimed my New Year's resolutions to the 16 people who follow this blog and the 2 others who reluctantly come upon it searching for videos of babies laughing and puppies playing with said babies.

How am I doing...well, glad you asked or this would be a really short blog post. First, let's recap.

1) Be more like Faith, and Howie.
Yeah, this was a grand idea in theory, but I'm completely happy being toilet trained. I also enjoy staying up past 7:30 p.m. and having thumbs. However, I do learn from these two each day. Faith teaches me to lighten up and laugh at things that aren't funny just because you can and Howie teaches me the art of forgiveness. We can yell at him one minute for chewing up unmentionables and the next he's like a drunk college girl the morning after..."Yeah, I don't recall that at all."

2) Be less like a sailor.
I was doing good. I really was....and then I left my phone on top of my car and drove away. Upon figuring this out, returning the scene of the crime and discovering no phone, I let out a string that made up for the approximately 279 words I didn't say during the Lenten season. Seriously, it was King's Speech bad. Turns out a lady picked up my phone off the ground, text Rob to let her know she did so and arranged to meet me the next day. Ah hell!

3) Be healthier. 
I wrote down the foods I consumed for about 4 days. Then I lost interest. I would love to get my tum tum looking like it did on my honeymoon, but it would still be bright white as I'm anti-tanning. I think I'll just eat some more peanut M&Ms and shop for muumuus online instead.
(True story: I wore a muumuu to school for Hawaiian day in high school. Still not sure how someone didn't snatch me up back then).

4) Be a better wife.
Rob would be a better person to answer this, but I have good days and bad days. I do get up with Faith in the morning to let him sleep in an hour or so before he starts his shift with his daughter as a stay-at-home daddy. And what a wonderful stay-at-home dad he is. Remind me of this during basketball season.

5) Be a dam runner.
By now you probably know about "The Slowpitch Softball Tragedy of 2011" in which my trusty rusty softball skills failed me and a ball collided with the top of my foot. To which I said, "That's gonna leave a mark." Actually, it was more like poundsignquestionmarkstarexclamationpoint, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, after the run, I had the nerve to drop a pan lid on the exact same foot, you guessed it, the exact same spot the softball hit it. Insert King's Speech style swearing. Nonetheless, I hope to be a true Dam runner next year on our 5 year anniversary :)

6) Be aware of my appearance .
I do more than just mousse my hair these days. A new mom cut helped with that as well as the fact Herbal Essences started making a really crappy bottle and they've broken on me twice. Riveting stuff I know.

7) Be a more frequent blogger.
Jan - June 2010 = 30 posts
Jan - June 2011 = 31 posts
I win.

8) Be a girlie girl.
I did go on a shopping extravaganza in March with my cardigan sisters, Kaylee and Nicki. I'm hoping we can make it an annual event. Jazz on the Green is coming up, so wine and cheese dates with Jaime and Cari will be a must. I want to be better about getting together with my sistas for lunch too. Anyone else who is a friend of mine or is crazy enough to want to be, feel free to invite me places sans baby. I promise to only talk about Faith's pooping habits for the first half hour.

9) Be in the moment more.
I am getting better at this though I wish there was a pause button for parents.

10) Be-lieve in the power of prayer.
It's a little distracting when your 1-year-old is throwing cheerios while your trying to listen to a homily, but we get to church on Sundays. I'm still doing a lot of baby-related praying for people, but know I could do more. There are so many kids, parents and parents-to-be who could use a prayer so I hope to make that a part of my daily routine.

11) Be me. And love me for it.
I have insecurities, doubts, and doubts about my insecurities, but I'm also grateful for what God gave me, in mind, body and spirit. On that note, it's time to give myself a hug. Whew, that made it really difficult to type ;)

I better start thinking of some new resolutions now!

Happy Birthday baby!

My baby is 1. O-N-E. That went fast!

What an awesome year. Our lives truly changed forever at 11:15 p.m. on June 24, 2010. We knew we'd love her but I don't think we realized how much.  Because of Faith, we smile more, laugh more and say "did you see what she just did?" a whole lot more. She continues to amaze us daily.We are proud of our little lady, or shall I say "yiddle yady" as I did when I was 3.In honor of the big 0-1, here is another list of 24 things...

To Faith:

1) Happy Girl - I don't know what we did right, but you are one of the happiest and most content babies anyone has ever met. You smile your little ornery, scrunched-up-nose grin at pretty much everyone.

 
2) Howie lover -  You have learned the difference between dog toys and your toys. Now when we hand you one of his, you hold it out to him like, "Hey, come get this from me." You are getting better at petting him though sometimes you treat him like a toy. He is wary of your flying sippy cups but loves that you (purposefully) drop scraps for him. It's a great working relationship.

3) Big Kid Now -You went and grew up on me these last few months. You can't quite walk yet, but you do this thing where you pull yourself up onto your pink rocker, jump down, grab a paci, shove it in your mouth and climb up in the chair again which just blows me away because it makes you seem like such a toddler.

4) Teeth - you are finally getting your top chompers (yes, 3 all at once). We recently started brushing your teeth and you seem to like it better than Howie, so that's good. The first time we tried it though, your expression cracked me up.

5) Yum Yums - You don't eat much pureed food anymore and are a pro at feeding yourself. You recently started going "mmmmmmm" when you think something is good and it appears you like everything, especially breads and cottage cheese. But not mac and cheese (that's against kid code by the way).

6) You Scream for Ice Cream - literally, we gave it to you once and when I ran out (silly me, I took a few bites too) you got mad and cried. You definitely have Weis blood in you.

 7) "The books" say no more babas for one-year-olds. The books never met you. You are a grump in the morning until you've had that bottle and then it's a personality transplant. So hopefully you're not drinking beer out of Dr. Brown's when you turn 21!

8) Cartoooooons - Daddy got you hooked on Little Einsteins and Special Agent Oso (3 Special Steps!). You can often hear him saying "I cannot BElieeeve it!"

9) Peek a Boo -You absolutely love "peek-a-boo" books. You turn over the flaps yourself and then mumble jibberish like you are reading.
10) Dr. Seuess - Too bad there's not a game show that involves having his books memorized. Mommy would win big $. We read to you every night before bed and depending on the night, you listen to anywhere from 2-16 books. You'll probably be a rhyming genius by age 3.

11) Daddy's girl - You and dad continue to develop a bond like no other. He is so proud of his baby girl! Sometimes I get a little jealous that you two get to spend so much time together, but that is such an awesome opportunity for both of you that most dads and daughters don't get.

12) Sleeping Beauty - We've had it pretty easy in this department, but on nights when I go into your room 3 or 4 times to search for the pacifier underneath your crib and replace it in your mouth, I wonder if I'm doing either of us any favors.

 
13) Creepy Crawler - I didn't think you'd ever crawl like a normal kid, but a couple months ago you just started doing in and have really improved your 40 yard dash times. I predict you'll be walking in the next month or two!

14) Wordy woman - Your first official word was bye-bye, complete with the wave when I dropped you off at daycare one morning. Dad also got you singing na-na-na. You love to point at any and everything and say ba-ba?

15) Mwwwaahhh! I kiss your chubby cheeks approximately 572 times each day. I just love how they feel and I know you won't let me do it all that much longer :( You on the other hand and not a good kisser, but a biter. People are going to think daddy and I are weird if they see bites marks on our necks, K...

16) Before you go thinking you're a complete angel, you must know that you've also slapped a few people (and I'm not talking about high fives). They mainly just laugh which I'm sure only encourages you. Ornery much?

17) Curly Q - Everybody asks where you got your curls. I present to you Exhibit A.

18) Animal Lover -You are amazed by animals. We took you to the zoo today and I loved watching you watch the sharks and eels. I love seeing the world through your beautiful blue-green , but mostly blue, eyes.

19) Small Fry - You are still a petite little baby. You weigh 18 pounds and some odd ounces. We officially find out Tuesday at your 1-year-checkup where you will be getting too many shots. I probably shouldn't be telling you this.

20) Snack attack - You've moved on from Gerber puffs to veggie crunches. May the force be with the person who tries to get between you and your veggie crunches.

21) Picture People - Your daddy and I took you and Howie to have your pictures taken yesterday. All the pictures cost $75 (don't judge) but I think I would've paid more than $100 if there were a video of the process. Let's just say photographer Dave earned his paycheck that night.

22) Stairmaster - You are quite the climber, and when you get to the top, you love to reward yourself with a big handful of Howie food. Don't worry, we never let you eat it. The relationship between you two is not reciprocal.

23) You're a TV star - You woke up just in time to see yourself on first birthdays. Daddy laughed when he saw your picture. Others said you look just like your mama! I said "thanks" assuming that's a compliment :)

24) Blessed- Just so you know, you are the best thing that's ever happened to your dad and me. We are so happy and proud to be your parents. Please don't get all embarrassed of us too soon OK? I cannot wait to see what this next year brings. Happy Birthday baby girl!

Happy Father's Day!

On this Father's Day I am a lucky guy. See, I'm typing this early because I don't know how much time I'll actually be home on Father's Day (Sunday).  I know, but I'm not an ass. In fact, I think of this (and I hope Nicole does too) as a little Father's Day present. ISU Guys Golf Weekend is this weekend; kind of like the US Open, except one group has talent. The plan is to get home early afternoon, to quickly turn around and go to a College World Series game with Nicole's dad, John (thanks Jocelyn for the tickets!).

Now, first and foremost, I am a truly lucky man. If you know me at all, you know that I feel this every day. With everything I've been able to do and accomplish, nothing is as important and meaningful to me as starting my family with Nicole. We have had Father's Day celebrations in the past (yes, Howie got me a card), but this one is THE ONE. I have my own beautiful, wonderful, gorgeous little girl. *If you didn't know this, shame on you - I only talk about her every moment I get.

It's been almost a year (literally) that she came into this world, and my life has changed awesomely. I am a summer stay-at-home Dad. It's probably the most demanding job I've ever held, and I love it. And because of this, Faith has become a Daddy's Girl (which I also love). We have learned a lot in just the couple of weeks I've been home with her... in fact she can take two steps now before lunging for my arms. *Because I'm doing this on the Mac I have at home, I have no photos or videos. I know... bad blogger.

We have a routine, we have patterns, and we know when it's time to just let her be (in the playpen, with my eyes on her of course). Becoming a father is an amazing thing. So to all of the fresh-out-of-the-box dads, and the fathers that have been at it a while, this Bud's for you... wait, wrong blog.

Happy Father's Day!

~Rob