Fright, Fun, Fish and an odd run in with a homeless man.

Oliver and I  were meeting Alissa downtown the Friday before Halloween for 'Fright, Fun and Fish'. This is a Halloween event at the Boston aquarium. Every dresses up and looks at fish and the kids get candy and there are contests and food. It is a pretty fun event. Anyways, on our way to the aquarium Oliver was getting more than his usual share of 'ooos and ahhhhs' since he was dressed as a curly headed pumpkin.

As we passed a '7-11' there was a large black homeless man asking everyone for change. It's funny that when you have a baby homeless people hardly ever bother you. This guy was no different. He just smiled at Oliver and wished us a fun evening. Then he stopped us and commented on how much he loved children. I started to get a little nervous but then the man does the craziest thing. He told me he would like to make a donation to Oliver's piggy bank. I was very confused and had him repeat himself at least five times. The man finally took the dollar he had in his hand, that a man had just given to him, and he put it into the pocket of the stroller.

 'See, I just wanted to make a donation to this beautiful baby's piggy bank.'

 'Uh, thanks man', was all I could mutter.

I was almost speechless. Oliver just had a homeless person give him money! Wow. He's already ten times the salesman I am. Maybe I should smile more. :)

Learning new things...

We have been teaching Oliver about his 'poo-peck' (the czech word for belly button) Now every time we say 'poo-peck' or poop or potty or just about anything starting with a 'p' O picks his shirt up and bends over to look at his belly button. Due to his fat belly he almost falls on his face b/f he can find it. He also loves sticking his little hands up shirts to find others poo-pecks. It doesn't matter who is wearing the shirt at the time he wants to see everyone's. 

Also, we have been teaching him 'caliente'. We turned on a space heated last night and looked at us and shook his hands in the air, (our hand signal for hot.) I asked if it was caliente and he started laughing. 

Then at the grocery store he was about to bite into raw ginger when I told him it was caliente. He bit into anyways and laughed as he shook both hands in the air confirming it was indeed 'caliente'. 

I do things for a reason... (90% of the time)

This morning Alissa was in the restroom getting ready for work and I was changing Oliver out of his PJ's and wet diaper. I then started shutting all the doors and latching the gate so I could set Oliver down and he could hang with his mommy for a little bit.

Alissa starts telling me I'm over protective and then tells me to just set him down, he'll be fine. O.K. you got it. Thinking that Alissa was going to be watching him, while she was in the restroom I set him down and went into his room to put some laundry away.

In about 30 seconds from setting him down I start hearing, 'Oliver, don't do that... Oliver stop it... Oliver why are you doing that?' I walk in and Alissa in in the shower, watching our little boy put all of her clothes into the toilet. The toilet is filled to the rim with Alissa's clothes! It was hysterical and thankfully the toilet had been flushed.

Then I told Alissa that, I tried to shut the bathroom door but she was the one that wanted it left open.  'You didn't tell me he was going to put all my clothes in the toilet!'

'He has never done that before but I know he was going to do something.'

Moral of the story, I do things for a reason... until of course I do things that make no sense at all and I can't tell you why I did them. But that accounts for only about ten percent of the choices I make.

Recent Vacation

Let me start this off by giving a little advice, never... ever... ever... plan a vacation with your toddler and your 100lb dog if you plan on camping and rain is anywhere in the forecast. Two days stuck in a tent with you, your spouse, your toddler and your wet smelly, wet, bored dog will drive you and every thing else in the tent crazy.

On second thought it doesn't matter where you are going (unless you are staying with family or friends and they have a yard for your dog) don't plan a vacation with your 100lb dog and toddler. One of them has to stay home, period.

We were camping a beautiful spot in the White Mnts. of New Hampshire right on a mountain lake. The camping idea was great for the first afternoon and then the rains came, and stayed for the rest of our stay, until of course we were leaving. The weather was great while we were packing up.

While in the tent we played games, took naps, changed diapers, had arguments, yelled at the dog, etc. All the while we managed to keep the inside of the tent dry along with all of the stuff in the tent until  Oliver found Norman's full water bowl and thought it was funny to dump it out in the tent, while walking from one side of the tent to the other.

More of our vacation experience to come...

What Oliver has eaten since turning the Big One.

Oliver turned one recently. At his 12 month check the Dr encouraged us to expand his food including anything we wanted except for nuts. So, over the past month Oliver has enjoyed the following new foods:

Sockeye Salmon: loves it
Dill pickles: his favorite
Blue Cheese: loves it
Pancetta: loves it
Prosciutto: loves it
Lobster: loves it
Crab: loves it
Shrimp: loves it
Scallops: loves them
Hummus: loves it (Oliver has even eaten Jalapeno hummus with a spoon, he can already eat hotter food than his Nonnie and he is pushing his mommy out of her #2 spot in the household hierarchy of ability to handle spicy foods in the house.)
9/2/11
Pot roast and carrots: LOVED IT, his favorite so far.
9/3/11
Raw Tuna: loved it
Pickled Ginger: Loved it
Wasabi: Did not love it... at all.
Imitation Crab: not a fan
Super spicy chicken satay: loved it, ate it with out flinching. It made Alissa sweat.
Yes we ate sushi.

I'll list more as I think of them and as he continues to expand his pallet.

Of dogs and babies...

This is the day Oliver saved Norman's life...

It had been a particularly tough day with Oliver. He was teething badly and would not go down for his morning nap. Nothing would make Oliver happy and he needed to be held non-stop. Norman picked this day to transform from a 100lb respectable dog to a 5lb yappy, annoying, needy tea cup poodle.

Finally at 4pm Oliver started showing signs of wanting to go down. I took him upstairs and went thru the routine, pulling the drapes, turning on the fan and his music box then sitting down with him in the rocking chair and reading him his nap book. He wasn't having it. Oliver was up and down in my lap, putting his paci in my mouth, back in his mouth, back in my mouth, throw it on the floor, wash it off, back in his mouth, etc.

After about 40 minutes of rocking he finally starts to shut his eyes when Norman barged thru the shut door, (waking up Oliver) just to see what he was missing. He made a lap of the room then left. I got up, shut the door again and went back to rocking Oliver. Norman then started pacing outside the door creating enough noise with his nails on the hardwood and his dog collar to not allow Oliver to focus on sleeping. Norman finally laid down outside the door and Oliver started to fall asleep again. Then Norman started hacking up some of his lunch! Oliver was now wide awake and I was starting to run thru options on how to kill Norman.

I got up and forced Norman downstairs. 30 minutes later Oliver was finally in bed and ready to nap when the postman showed up (5 hours later than normal.) As always the postman's arrival set Norman into a barking frenzy. Oliver was up again, and my plot to murder my dog thickened. By this time I was to the point in my plan that I was trying to figure out how to dispose of Norman's body, his death was already an afterthought.

15 minutes later Oliver is down, I'm walking out of the door when Norman sees another dog outside, or a squirrel, or a rabbit, or cat, etc and he gives his deep growl and a lone loud bark. I start heading for my shotgun when I hear Oliver (how is still asleep) utter, 'dog'. Norman barks again, I hear another muffled, 'dog'. This went on four times. This broke my murderous thoughts towards Norman and by the forth 'dog' I was laughing to myself hysterically.

Little ones are great for getting your head straight again. Sorry Norman for wanting to kill you. I love you but sometimes I wish you were a fish.

Change of pace...

Up and showered by 6am... (probably 7am but felt like 6am)

Check on animals and get them fed... (Oliver, Norman, finches with baby chicks nesting in my flower basket on porch, they feed themselves.)

Cooking coffee on stove while frying up bacon and eggs...

Happy with all the rain we've had this week-end due to the positive effect it has on my crops... (new grass in front yard and two tomato plants on back porch)

Taking some medicine to help my aching back but thinking 'All the pain of work is worth the results.'

Looking over my land thinking, 'It's good to own land'... (quote stolen from Family Guy and by 'land' I am referring to my 40' by 60' back yard.)

Thinking to myself, when the hell did I turn into a farmer.

Catching Up... (with a bit of rambling)

It has been a long while since my last post. Sorry for the long delay, Alissa tells me I'm not a good 'blogger' due to my lack of consistency, I've been called worse.

Oliver has been moving around like crazy and he's into EVERYTHING. This is nothing new for parents of children older than 9 months but it has been life changing for me. I have to admit, life is much more fun now that he is moving. I like being on my toes, all the time. Plus spring is finally here in Boston, so that helps too.

I really feel sorry for parents that are naturally 'Type A' and try and take that approach to parenting. Kids are the most unpredictable creatures I have ever been around. I can't imagine trying to keep a tight schedule and live life pre-planned once a kid arrives.

For myself, I subconsciously set a few vague long term and short term goals (I actually write a 'to-do' list for daily goals) and then I try and keep the ten-thousand daily distractions (that run thru my head) from derailing me completely. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't but tomorrow is another day.

Here is my approach to raising Oliver, (if it doesn't work there are always second and third kids, HA.) I know the type of man I want him to be and I know the type of person I want him to be in society. I want him to be a confident person, that treats others with respect. I want him to be a person that works hard and sticks with something even when things get real hard. I also want him to never take himself too seriously (confidence) and I want him to keep a good sense of humor about everything (sanity). The rest of what he becomes is up to him.

So, on a daily basis we work on; making each other laugh, making silly faces and sounds, exploring new things, taking chances (him more than me), and trying new things. The only planned activities are naps (which may or may not happen as planned) reading time, play time, meals (when he's hungry), and spending time outside. And, most importantly, I focus on enjoying every minute I spend with him. Oliver is a special person and I want him to know I love him no matter what.

Sometimes all this stuff happens, sometimes it doesn't, but tomorrow is another day and we can try it again.

Having only one kid I have had nothing to base my parenting style on. I haven't known if I was doing a good job or if Oliver was behind other kid's his own age. This was until Oliver and I started his Jelly Jams class. (It's a class for infants and parents to go and learn songs, dances, rhythm, sign language, etc.) Oliver is the best kid in the whole class (biased opinion) top two with out question or bias. I feel much better about my parenting thus far after comparing him to a small group of other 9 month olds. And, if my little man keeps his outgoing personality and current good looks (eyes, smile and hair) the little guy is going places. (If he wants to go places)

Talk to you again in a couple of months.

Conversation I just had with my wife...

Alissa and I were sitting on the couch talking about how we would like to spend the rest of our day and then discussing what time Oliver should be waking from his nap. Then Alissa starts the following conversation. I'm not hard of hearing I was just really, really confused through out this entire conversation.

ALissa: 'Did you know that Knut just died?"

Me: "What?"

Alissa: "Knut, he just died."

Me: "What?"

Alissa: "Knut, K.N.U.T, Knut, he just died."

Me: "Thank you for spelling that for me, but I still have no idea who or what Knut is."

Alissa: "Knut, the panda and the San Diego zoo. He just died. Isn't that sad and really scary?"

Me: "Oh...That sucks but why is a panda dying scary?"

Alissa: "Because, he was just walking around in circles and then fell over in his water bowl and drowned. Isn't that scary?"

Me: "I guess if you were standing between him and the water bowl."

Alissa: "He was the only living male panda and he just died, and he had been around all the female pandas. That's why it's so scary."

Me: "What?"

My Little Unhappy Snot Monkey...

Oliver has started teething on the big front teeth. I have heard from others that their little ones were unaffected when their teeth came in. Oliver is not so lucky and neither are we. Alissa didn't get much sleep last night due to her inability to sleep thru a baby's cries, lucky for Oliver. He'd have to attach a police siren to his crib to wake me up.

Oliver has a cold to go along with his teething woes, thank you Children's museum. I wonder if it was him drinking from the kiddie pool or licking the play mats in the 'crawlers only' section? But, I hear he needs the exposure, yahee.

His cold doesn't stop him from wanting to pound on the computer from my lap... stop it... I have had to correct five of Oliver's spelling errors so far. Ahh, my shoulder looks like it has been molested by a tree slug, snot everywhere.

So far today the only thing that makes him happy is dancing with me to 'The Talking Heads'. I know this brings up two immediate questions; "Brek, you know how to dance?" and "How do you dance to 'The Talking Heads?".

No, I don't know how to dance, but Oliver seems to think I am really good at it. And, since I don't know how to dance, dancing to the Talking Heads is actually really easy. And, again, Oliver thinks I am awesome at it and it makes him happy. As long as no one else sees me doing it then everything is fine.

I think Oliver is trying to get my attention. He is on all fours and repeatedly banging the top of his head against my leg but he's not crying... maybe this is a new game for him, now of course I have snot on my pants leg, my cute little snot monkey.

Sign Language

Alissa and I have been trying to teach Oliver sign language. A lot of parents do this early on to help with communication between them and their baby before the baby has developed their verbal language. So, we have been working on four signs: milk, food, more and all done. Oh, and 'dog'.

Oliver started picking up and doing the 'milk' sign when he was about 5 months old. We'd notice his hand opening and closing then look at the clock and sure enough it was right at feeding time. This is only sign he has picked up so far but he has created a couple of his own signs lately.

In addition the the 'milk' sign Oliver has created a second way to tell us he's hungry (before he starts crying.) When he is ready to eat he looks right at you and opens and closes his mouth nice a big just like a guppy fish. You can do the sign back to him and he smiles real big and does it more pronounced. And he only does this at meal time.

Today, I was feeding him solids and was asking him, in sign language if he wanted 'more food' or 'more milk.' He didn't do his milk sign or his guppy mouth. So, I asked him again if he wanted 'more' or if he was 'all done.' He looked straight at me with his serious look, picked up his bib, keeping eye contact with me, and started licking the food off his bib with purpose.

I think he has a new sign for telling me he wants 'more food.'

Oliver vs. college room-mate on St' Patty's day

Yesterday Oliver and I enjoyed our first St. Patrick's Day together. I was a little bummed to have the day off for a change, but I had to stay at home and watch Oliver all day. But, as the day wore on I realized that hanging out with Oliver on St. Patty's Day was pretty similar to hanging out with my old college room-mate on St. Patty's day. The major difference is when Oliver drinks he's drinking MILK, vs BEER for my old room-mate. Let's see how similar the two really are:

- Both get up early ready for a drink.

- After drinking just the right amount both get really excited, loose their 'inside voices' and then feel like dancing.

- Both throw up on themselves when they have drank and danced too much, but then they'll both get a second wind.

- Both babble on and on about something that I can't understand.

- Both get VERY cranky if not given enough to drink.

- Both think crawling after the dog is HILARIOUS actually they both think anything the dog does is HILARIOUS.

- If constant supervision is not there then both will get themselves into trouble.

- Both will eat solid food, if they have to, but what they both really want is another drink.

- At some point during the day both will have to take a couple of naps, cry about something and eventually pee on themselves, and possibly other people, requiring a change of clothes.

- And eventually, both will crash at about 730pm.

So, as you can see, my St. Patrick's Day celebrations really haven't changed since college. But, hanging with Oliver is much easier to handle and I feel much better the day after.

Just to see what would happen.

Like most little ones Oliver is drawn to our computer. We have a Macbook, laptop. While I was playing with him on the floor, I pulled the computer out to do some March Madness research for my bracket (Tourney starts tomorrow).

Oliver, can't crawl but he's really good at pulling himself across the floor. So, with in seconds he was between me and our computer trying to hit all the buttons. This behavior is pretty typical of every other time the computer is with in arm's reach of Oliver. So, I decided to let him go to town on the keyboard.

I let him do whatever he wanted to our computer for one minute. In that minute he managed to:
- close safari (macs web browser)
- open Iphoto (to our Christmas album)
- change screen setting to a split-screen then four screen and then six screen setting
- open the dash-board to the calculator and then multiply 7 times 2
- lick the screen (I'm looking at a big tongue mark in the middle of the screen)
- shut the laptop on his head (he's fine, he has a big head)
- and as I'm pulling the lap top away from the crying baby a CD is ejected out of the disk drive.

Oh, and being a baby, he didn't use the mouse for any of this. It was all done by commands that I don't have a clue about. Even my seven month old is smarter with computers than I am. And, a lot more productive, this was all accomplished in a minute.

Maybe he will invent Facebook 2.0. You are all witnesses, Facebook 2.0 was my idea, if Oliver creates it I will expect the customary 65 million for having an idea with no ability to create it. (Watch 'Social Network' for an explanation of the last paragraph.)

My little Bullfrog (taken from my FB post)

Yesterday Oliver saw Alissa's water cup sitting on the floor about two feet away from where he and Alissa were sitting. So, he launches himself out of Alissa's lap to tackle the water cup. He looked just like a bullfrog leaping into a pond.

He gave himself a big strawberry on his chin. But, he tackled the cup.

The best part was when Alissa was comforting him, he stops crying after about five seconds and looks at me and cackles as if to say, 'Did you see what I just tried to do? Wow, that was awesome!'

I'm worried about that boy.

First trip to Stone zoo

Yesterday was a great day. It was in the 50's all day and most of the snow around our house melted. Maybe the groundhog was right?

Tired of being stuck in the house Alissa and I took Oliver to Stone Zoo where, you get the great deal of $2 off an adult ticket due to the fact that over half of the zoo is closed for seasonal repairs. Oh, well, we were outside for a change and the few animals that were tough enough to brave a 50 degree New England day, seemed excited to see us.



Did you know that there are only 500,000 million coyotes left in the wild? We were truly lucky to catch a rare glimpse of one so close. This one was way closer to us than the one I saw running down the street this summer.

But, now on to the cool animals at the zoo. This Jaguar was about 12 inches and a sheet of 1 inch plexy-glass away from Oliver's face and it looked pissed. It's head looked like the cat version of a pit bull's head. It was a beautiful cat. Hard to believe they are hunted in south America and Mexico because they kill a few stupid goats. Or, maybe they don't I actually didn't read the sign about them, too busy being impressed by it's massive head and spots.



The best part of the whole trip was seeing the snow leopard, For those familiar with Kung Fu Panda the snow leopard looked just like Tai Lung (the bad guy). It's tail and paws were huge it was a truly amazing animal. The zoo placed Tibetan mountain goats directly beside the leopard cage separated by a chain link fence. It would lock eyes on a goat and the goat would poop himself. Or, it just needed to poop. It's hard to tell when you don't wear pants if a poop was fear driven or a natural occurrence. Either way the goat looked uneasy and I don't blame it especially after watching Kung Fu Panda.



Alissa and I enjoyed our trip to the zoo. Oliver was a little indifferent. But he apparently paid more attention to the animals than we thought. While eating Mexican food later that day Oliver waited in my arms until the chip bowl was within arm reach. Then, with lightning quickness he snatched the chip bowl and would not let go. It was like watching a baby boa constrictor attack. He then let out a triumphant yell over his conquest and beat the bowl on the table until it was dead. He sounded like a hyena or a baboon. Either impression was impressive and a little confusing since the zoo didn't have either animal.

All in all it was a great family outing and apparently educational for Oliver.

R.I.P. Harley girl, you were a good dog.

My dog, Harley, died last week. She was a beautiful Black lab who lived a good long life. I got her back in college but she lived with my parents for the past few years, in Texas.

She was a peaceful dog that never hurt anyone or anything. She would let our dachshunds hang from her lips without so much as a growl. One time my sister was walking with a frog in her hand through the back yard. Harley was walking beside her when the frog jumped from her hand. To my sister's horror Harley snatched the frog out of mid-air. But, then she leaned over opened her mouth and let the frog go free.

She never wanted to be anywhere but by your side. While in college she would lay at my feet while I studied at the kitchen table. When it got to be her bed time she would look at me a start whimpering. I would tell her to go to bed and she would slowly head down the hall to my room. Then every thirty minutes or so she would come back to see when I was coming to bed eventually giving up her soft bed to curl up by my feet.

Her only fault was her addiction to the tennis ball. She would chase them all day and night if given the chance. If there was a group of people outside she would eventually find the person with the strongest arm and then only bring it back to them. She loved chasing tennis balls. My sister put a tennis ball by her head when they buried her.

I hope they have tennis balls in heaven Harley girl. I'll miss you.

Diapering a cat...

When did this happen? Oliver was the easiest going little guy. When I would change his diaper he would just lay there and smile at me or coo as he looked out the window. I changed his diaper today and it was like trying to change the diaper on a cat.

At the end of the event his diaper was changed but not before everything on the changing table (new diaper, wipes, pants and socks) had been in his mouth and then thrown on the floor and the curtains had been pulled off the wall. I was almost sweating by the time I was finished.

A few minutes ago I tried to clean out his nose with the bugger sucker. I attempted to do it while leaving him on the floor, which was my fault. So, I had to straddle him to keep his arms from poking the device into an eye. Then I had to hold his head still with one hand while sucking out the boogies with the other. And though he was pinned to the ground he kept snorting like a mad bull until I was finished. He smiled at me when I was done, at least I thought it was a smile, it turned out to be his 'poop' face.

My last note on these events, aside from the fact that he poops too much, he isn't even mobile yet. I think it's time I join a gym.

Waking up

Why does Oliver insist on waking up at 6 AM on Saturday and Sunday? The little Hobbit (see pic) was wide eyed and raring to go. Along comes Monday and he decides to sleep in until 8 AM? This hurts Alissa more than me, but I hurt anytime I have to wake up at 6 AM. I have heard stories from friends about not getting to sleep past 5 AM since their baby was born 2 years ago. The thought of such a horror is more than I can comprehend.

Lack of sleep is my Kryptonite.

Finally getting to enjoy the outdoors.

Today Oliver experienced his first run. The side-waIks are finally clear enough from snow for a stroller So I ran while he rode in his Chariot. I was exhausted at the end due to being grossly out of shape, thank you again New England winter. Oliver apparently was even more exhausted than I was, he passed out half way thru the run.

Once we got back to the house it was warm enough to sit on our porch swing for a few minutes. Oliver was mesmerized by a pine tree blowing in the wind. It is probably the first pine tree he has ever seen. He then tried crawling out of my arms while spinning to look up at the big oak tree in our front yard, never mind the ten foot drop beneath him, he was blown away.

He just takes it all in and is amazed by the smallest things. Those five minutes on our porch with him made me 'stop and smell the roses' as they say. Seeing the wonder in his eyes is what blows me away.

I have been looking forward to turning him on to nature ever since I found out Alissa was pregnant. I love being outdoors and I want to share my love for the outdoors with my son for his benefit. I never thought how inspiring seeing him experience nature would be for me.

How are babies like basketball?

Have you ever tried to feed an infant solid food? Getting the last two bites down is like the last two minutes of a close college basketball game.

The last two bites of food take about thirty minutes, it's ugly, and nothing much seems to be accomplished for all of the effort.

The way things change...

Alissa, Norman and I used to go hiking a lot. We would leave early in the morning, drive two hours and hike all day in the mountains. Now that we have a little one we have not been hiking once. I have been needing to get outside so last week I got online and bought a baby carrier back pack and two pairs of snowshoes so the family could all go hiking.

Yesterday, I got everyone together and we went hiking. By which I mean this; it took forty minutes getting everyone dressed and prepared to face the elements and on the way to the trail when Alissa realized she left her shades at the house I was accused of rushing all of us. :) We drove five minutes down the street to a little park with trails.

Once at the park we put Oliver in his back pack, I put the back pack on and then we tried to put on our snowshoes. I put Alissa's on her and then I fumbled with mine. It was like adjusting new ski equipment on the side of a hill but with a baby screaming in my ear.

We hiked for twenty minutes and then called it a day due to the baby being cold.

Forty minutes getting ready at the house, five minutes of driving, ten minutes of snowshoe testing for twenty minutes of hiking.

Things have changed. But I am looking forward to more experiences just like this in the future.

Things you will never see in Texas...

My beer cooler for the winter. I built it for the Super Bowl. By 'built' I mean I watched three feet of snow pile up on my back deck over the course of a couple of weeks and at just the right moment, I stuck my beer in the mound of snow.

The Characters...

Our son Oliver @ six months (not wearing new hat)

The Characters continued...

My wife Alissa and me (in summer)

The Characters continued...

Norman (our Golden-Doodle)

The Characters continued...

Our House (in winter)

First Post

I have not written the 'First Post' before now because I was waiting for something really big to happen. I wanted the first post to be something noteworthy or really funny. But, the reality of staying at home with your baby is there is a whole bunch of 'normal' and mostly routine. Not many huge events go down.

Over the past few weeks Oliver and I have been hanging around the house watching the snow pile up by the foot outside. All my spare time (away from Oliver) has been dedicated to keeping our house from loosing it's battle against the elements. I have never seen so many leaks in a house. As a consolation they say this is the worst winter Boston has seen in at least six years.

So, today, we are hanging out, listening to Radiohead's 'The Bends' with me writing this post and Oliver trying in vain to grab Norman's (our Golden-doodle) tail from his Exersaucer.

But, I did find a Oliver a new hat.