I’m a Dad

Nothing Up My Sleeve

… or is there? Was in the kitchen last night checking the progress of the steaks in the oven. Normally I like to barbecue them but the weather was iffy and the meat needed to be cooked, so we just shoved them in the oven and let them simmer in their own juices, along with the barbecue sauce. Jen and I were both in the kitchen, she was holding the baby. I checked the meat, still not done, and then reached to take the baby and he put his head in my hand as I reached for him. I felt a hot, wet sensation on my wrist. My first thought was that some of the juice from the meat had somehow got down my sleeve. But that was silly because I wan’t really near the oven and it had been closed for a good 20 seconds at least. Then I looked down to see what was on my wrist – it was baby puke, and it wasn’t just on my wrist, it was all the way down my sleeve to my elbow. His mom was so proud of him for not getting any on the floor or on himself. Nice.

Posted in Baby stuff | 5 Comments »

New Picture Gallery

I changed the picture gallery program that I use. I’m now using Gallery 1.3.3. It requires much less work on my part to get pictures posted, so hopefully I can be better about that. I haven’t posted any new pictures yet but I will very soon. I know I’ve been promising to do that for months now, but this time I really mean it! Tell me what you think of the new Gravvat Family Photo Album

Posted in Pictures | 1 Comment »

Why I Love Kellog’s

Pop Tarts, Eggo Waffles. ‘Nuf said.

Every day at work, right around 3pm, I like to have some pop tarts. My favorite is the Frosted Brown Sugar and Maple. I used to adore the Frosted Dutch Apple, but I haven’t seen those for years.

And Eggos with lots of butter, and both maple and a touch of boysenberry syrup. It must be what they eat in Heaven.

It’s 3pm, I have to go.

Posted in Dad Stuff | Comments Off

It’s a Tooth!

Liam’s first tooth is coming in. We can just barely see a gleam of white when he opens his mouth, and if we put a finger in there we can feel the sharpness of it. Jen says Liam’s breastfeeding days are coming to an end. Apparently babies are supposed to cover their teeth with their lips when they nurse, but baby Liam didn’t read that chapter in the baby rule book.

He’s very close to crawling, too. He can scoot himself backward across the room, but that doesn’t really do him much good. In fact, it frustrates him sometimes: he can see the toy he wants and he is trying to reach it but it just keeps getting further and further away. Poor guy. I think we’re going to be sorry when he does become mobile, I have a feeling he is going to be all over the place. Jen is afraid he might have ADD because his attention span is sketchy at best, even while eating. He will take a few swallows from a bottle and then strain mightily to sit up, or look around to see what’s going on. He does this even in a dark room or with a blanket over his head during feedings.

There have a been a couple of occasions lately where the most mundane things have sent him into fits of laughter. There is no sound on this earth as sweet or pure as a baby’s spontaneous laughter. The first was at my in laws’ house. We were there for dinner and Liam was on the floor playing with a pile of toys. One of the things he was playing with was an inflatable rabbit about 12 to 15 inches tall. At one point something knocked the bunny over and Liam just thought that was the greatest thing. I must’ve knocked that bunny over a good 25 times before it become commonplace to him and he wouldn’t laugh at it anymore. Another time was a week or two ago in his bath. He has a couple of little rubber duckies that squeak when you squeeze them. If you squeeze them underwater, they suck in the water and become filled. Jen was filling a ducky with water and then squirting it back out on Liam’s tummy. I never heard a kid laugh so much, it was hilarious. It’s never until afterward that we smack ourselves for not getting out the camcorder. The most recent was just this past weekend. Jen was changing his diaper, he was lying on his back on our bed. Jen was dropping his mukluks (slippers) onto him from above and he just laughed and laughed and laughed. I did catch the end of that one on video.

Having such a happy, laughing baby is the best part of being a dad. Well, that and when he falls asleep on me. It’s a wonderful thing to have your child love you and trust you enough to fall asleep in your arms. Have I mentioned how much I love being a dad?

Posted in Baby stuff | 4 Comments »

Reality?

I want to rant about what’s being called “reality TV.” What I want to know is, what is it about those shows that people find so engrossing and entertaining? I think I may have watched 5 minutes of Survivor once, and maybe the very first episode of Fear Factor. Honestly, there is nothing at all “real” about any of those shows. Do you think they are not scripted? Do you think they aren’t edited for premium shock effect, sexual innuendo and entertainment value? I assure you they are. If you want reality TV, watch “American Dreams” on NBC. Even “Bernie Mac” is better and more realistic than that crap they call reality TV. At least Bernie usually has some kind of moralistic message. It bothers me that America is so enraptured by such drivel. When those shows first started showing up, I thought for sure they would all bomb horribly. None of them did. It’s disgusting and makes me ashamed to be part of a culture that honors and idolizes such useless programing. Come on America, do you believe the stars of those shows are just average Joes off the street? They are models and actors who are more than likely found through agents. What do all of these “reality” stars do after their particular show is finished? They try to become TV stars. It’s a scam America, please open your eyes.

And now, back to our regular programming.

Posted in Other Stuff | 3 Comments »

I’m dada

Liam has been saying “dadada” a lot lately. We’re not sure yet if he’s actually referring to me, but he does seem to say it a lot when I get home from work. He says “dadada dadada” and reaches for my head so he can try to put my hair in his mouth. He doesn’t just put it in his mouth and then take it out again, either. If he gets a hold of you, you’re guaranteed a good drenching. I try to keep a towel handy for post-Liam encounters. Maybe “dadada” means “get ready, ’cause I’m gonna wet you up!”

Posted in Baby stuff | Comments Off

Fusion

I had a Dr. appointment yesterday with a spine surgeon. He looked at my MRI films, pointed out the large herniation and the “edema”:http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=edema around the disk, and recommended I get surgery. However, he didn’t suggest the discectomy that I had two years ago, instead he told me that I need a “fusion”:http://www.davmarpad.com/The_Back_Pain_Information_Web.htm#ALIF which pretty much scared the wits out of me. He informed me that there would be an 80% chance that I would be restored to a pain free life. There are also the same risks that go with any surgery: complications, infection, death. He also asked if we wanted to have more children. That was when I really got scared. He said it has been reported (though he’s never seen it happen) that after this surgery some men have experienced “retrograde ejaculation”:http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001282.htm (I’ll just let you read up on that, ok?) The other ‘complication’ he mentioned was that some men are unable to have an erection after this surgery, though he’s never seen that happen either.

As scary as those possibilities are, the scariest thing to me is the fact that the surgeon would go in through my abdomen to work on my spine. It gives me the heebie jeebies. The doctor could tell I was in shock after learning all this so he told me to make an appointment for three weeks hence and take some time to make a decision. More than likely I’ll get the surgery; living with the daily pain has to be worse than any side effects.

This appointment and my back problems more or less coming to a head have coincided with a revival evangelist visiting our church. The result being that I’m feeling closer to God than ever. And not just because I’m asking him daily for answers and for healing, but also for all the wonderful blessings he has given me: my awesome family, my beautiful son, supportive church, so many good things that often get overlooked during times of stress and crisis.

I’m also asking him many times throughout the day for guidance in my career and education. I had been attending the University of Phoenix, pursuing a degree in Information Technology. But I’ve since reconsidered my career goal and I’m now leaning towards a degree in English and a possible career as a teacher. I just need to know that there is a career out there for me that I can do well at and enjoy. I need a job that is rewarding in ways other than financial. A friend told me recently, “Do what you love, and the money will follow.” I hope that’s true. They don’t offer degrees in English at University of Phoenix, but they do at National University, which is the same type of private college for working adults.

So many things going on, so much up in the air right now. Any and all prayers for me, my family, and my back are most certainly appreciated.

Posted in Dad Stuff | 4 Comments »

Why I Love Being a Dad #245

Liam is feeling much better. He’s so awesome I can’t even tell you how much I love being a dad. Just the way he reacts to me when I walk in the door is so incredible. I look forward to it all day long. I walk in and say, “Hey there buddy! Hi Mr. Handsome!” And he just beams and smiles and starts bouncing like a maniac if he’s in the bouncer.

Lately I’ve been doing this thing where I put my head in his lap with my ear up and he just lets his head fall on mine, his mouth covering my ear, and he just starts gnawing on it. It’s soooo funny. I mean, it’s not tentative at all the way he goes after it, it’s more like a pounce.

Another thing I’ve been doing is banging my head on his bouncer while he’s sitting in it and he just busts up laughing. I should get that on video before it gets old and isn’t funny to him anymore.

He’s not crawling yet, but he wants to. We’ve been putting him on his tummy a lot more often. He wants to crawl; you can see that he does. He gets up on his knees a bit and tries to reach the toy I’ve placed just out of his reach, but then he falls back onto his tummy and just flails his limbs wildly until I break down and give him the toy, usually Mr. Moo Cow.

He’s had this thing lately about eating hair. Well, not really eating it, but grabbing fists full of it and putting it in his mouth. He’s not too gentle about it either. He grabs my hair, which is pretty short, as well as he can and pulls it toward his mouth. Afterwards my head is pretty well slobbered on. I was talking to him last night and all he kept looking at was my hair. It’s almost like he has some kind of abnormal fascination with it. And it’s not just my hair, it’s pretty much everyone’s, though mine is the softest and perhaps the most satisfying to suck on.

I’ve also started wrestling with him. Just holding him close and growling and rolling from one side to the other and then kissing him all over before rolling back the other direction. He laughs and smiles and closes his eyes as I kiss them.

Sometimes he’s awake in the morning when I leave for work. His mom is -snoring away- sleeping soundly, and he’s just lying there, quiet as can be, bright eyed and bushy tailed, watching my every move intently. By the time I’m finished he’s usually asleep again. Interestingly, watching me get dressed puts his mom right to sleep too.

I love being a dad.

Posted in Dad Stuff | 8 Comments »

Burpin, Fartin, Spittin, n Scratchin

Jen went to a “Women of Fatih”:http://www.womenoffaith.com/ conference today, so Liam and I were home all alone doing man type stuff. He did most of the man stuff I mentioned in the title, although the spittin was more in the form of drool, and he tried to disguise the scratchin as uncontrolled baby arm movements, but I wasn’t fooled.

Liam was in a pretty good mood today. We watched some “Veggie Tales”:http://www.bigidea.com/. He had some peas and formula, I had Carl’s Jr. He played in his “bouncy saucer”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000056HB7/gravman-20, I watched “Stealing Harvard” (a pretty awful movie) with his Uncle Wes. He took a couple of naps, I drank Mt. Dew to be ready for when he woke up.

Jen got home around 5pm and her little baby boy was none the worse for ware. The house may have smelled a little different than when she left, but her two boys were just fine.

Posted in Baby stuff | Comments Off

The Dad Chronicles

“The Dad Chronicles(The Dad Chronicles)”:http://dadchronicles.blogspot.com/ has become one of my favorite blogs to read. If you’ve never ventured over there, you should. Yesterday’s entry is priceless.

“http://dadchronicles.blogspot.com/ “:http://dadchronicles.blogspot.com/

(There’s profanity in his post, but it’s part of the story.)

Posted in Dad Stuff | Comments Off