Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Party Boy

First birthdays are tricky -- it's not as if a one-year-old can tell you what they like, at least in any discernible way. So we tried to put ourselves in Owen's place: If we were one, what would we want? Allen and I agreed on a scooter for his present. I suggested an ice cream cake for Owen's actual birthday. And Allen suggested that we let Mom-mom plan and execute his birthday party. Two of the three were a hit.

Owen loves his Radio Flyer. Contrary to my sense of order in the world, Allen convinced me that we should give it to him a day early so that we could fully enjoy his enjoyment of it. It was totally worth it.



The ice cream cake cake received mixed reviews. He seemed to like the chocolate, but as you can see from the video, he couldn't quite get over the brain freeze.



The party was a hit for everyone involved. Owen was in a great mood (loads of attention and a lack of baby gates always perks him up), and Mom-mom made some delicious brined pork loin sandwiches (which Owen didn't try), a wonderful banana cake (which Owen liked better than the ice cream cake, but not as much as plain bananas), and some fresh watermelon slices (which Owen decided were the best food ever).

Monday, August 20, 2007

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

Owen turned a year old today. He laughed. I cried. Allen took pictures. As we're saving the real celebration until this weekend, we thought today would instead be an opportune time to reflect on some of the lessons we've learned in our last 365 days of being Owen's parents.

  1. Swaddle. Side. Shush. Swing. Suck.
  2. Onesies are the last line of diaper defense.
  3. Park etiquette dictates that you always bring a toy to share (it mitigates the bad feelings engendered when your son rips another child's toy from their arms).

  4. Run fans in both your room and the baby's. That way they don't hear you, and you only hear them when they really, really mean it.

  5. The line of destruction rises like the tide.
  6. Never buy the tub of diaper ointment. Sure, it seems like a better deal, but do you really want to continually reach your hand, which has just wiped a baby's bottom, into a tub of cream?

  7. Babies will eat almost anything if you add enough yogurt.

  8. Sleepless nights are soon forgotten (it really does get better, and those long-term memories really are fuzzy).
  9. Cheerios are like crack for babies -- it gives them instantaneous joy but then they immediately want more and more.
  10. It's all worth it.


Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Dylan Avery Williams

Congratulations to Matt and Cecily Williams on the arrival of their son, Dylan Avery, at 2:40 p.m on August 14th. Weighing in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces, a height of 20.5 inches and for those keeping score, 33 Scrabble points, Dylan enjoys a fresh diaper, cuddling and Biz Markie.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Pool Time


Brad & Marlo invited us up to Silver Spring last weekend to take the kids swimming. As you can see, Owen had a great time. He loved running around in the baby pool, and swimming with his pilfered float in the toddler pool was even better. All this pool stuff was old hat for Mia of course, but hopefully she won't mind having Owen over for another pool time play date before too long.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Fickleness, thy name is Owen

So Allen's reign as supreme parent appears to have ended as abruptly as it began. After roughly a week, Owen began to walk to me instead of Allen and not solely when Cheerios were involved. Now his preferences appear to be inversely proportional to how busy each parent is. Ah, our little capricious toddler.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. And while I hope we never resort to the life-size Allen cutout, I'm definitely keeping the "walking past Owen and crying out for Allen" technique in mind lest I fall out of favor again.

Friday, August 03, 2007

Daddy's Dearest

Allen is an amazing father. I know this and I'm grateful for this. Allen is far better than I at getting Owen to eat his vegetables, is largely responsible for Owen remaining (mostly) in a sitting position during his bath, and while the number of diapers I've changed probably exceeds his, Allen generally changes the more challenging ones. Owen lights up whenever he sees Allen (except when he first wakes up and is starving...) and delights in all sorts of daddy play, whether Allen is tossing a ball at him, tossing him, or simply crouching down and making what can only be described as the sound of a caveman doing a Scooby-Doo impression. It's incredibly endearing and makes me love Allen all the more.

However, a few developments this week have made me wonder if Allen is a little too good at this parenting thing. Like when our son crawled around me, as I sat with my arms outstretched, in order to get to Allen. Or when Owen began screaming inconsolably when Allen left his room for a moment while I was playing with him, but didn't even look up when I departed for a few minutes. Lately, when faced with being held by Mommy, Owen turns away and clings even more strongly to his father.

This development is not wholly unexpected. Long before Allen and I decided to have children, it was pretty clear that I would be the "bad cop," a "killjoy," the Fawcett family "fun police." After all, I don't like the volume of the stereo to be above 5, drive the speed limit and won a perfect attendance award my senior year of high school whereas Allen did not. I figured that Owen would eventually realize that Allen is a lot more outgoing and adventurous than myself and therefore prefer his company to mine. I just figured it would take longer than 11 months.

I wish I could say that this didn't bother me, but it does. I really thought that at this stage, if there was going to be a favorite parent it would be me. I am after all the mommy.