Hang in there little buddy

Here is a quick shout-out to my little-little man. Daddy and Casey are in SD for a couple days, we left you behind with Mommy so you can get 'sleep-trained'. As I understand it, there is a technique to teaching babies how to sleep. Pardon my ignorance, but my understanding is rather limited. My interpretation of the technique is that you let the kid cry for a certain amount of time. I assume you stand outside his bedroom with a stopwatch, and earplugs? At predetermined intervals, you go in and see him, essentially to let them know that, 'yeah, I hear you, but... suck it up... and my old favorite.. it's for your own good'... Eventually, after X amount of intervals, the kid is supposed to tire of crying and goto sleep. Anyhow, if you want more details, or even an accurate description, goto the CIA website, and do a search for water-boarding-sleep training- torture.

Sydney, from the reports I am getting, you are like your Daddy. You have very little patience for crying babies. It appears you have chosen to just say f- it, and quit crying and instead goto sleep. Congrats little buddy. I sincerely hope you aren't suffering too much, and it really does hit in the heart when we hear you cry.

I'll see you soon!

Don't Fumble

Way back when, when I used to play football, one of the things that my coaches stressed was, "Don't fumble". After all these years, the words still apply. Tonight was Sydney's first shower with Daddy. I was holding him and getting him wet. I kept thinking, "Just don't fumble". Once I got him wet, it was on to the next step... Soap. Now, I'm holding him with one arm, soaping him up with the other. Didn't think about the fact that a wet, soapy baby is one slippery unit. "Just don't fumble" I was concentrating extra hard to maintain a firm grip on the ball.. err, my son. In order to expose all parts to the soap and water, I had to do some re-shuffling; flips, inter-arm transfers, spins... I managed to complete all these without fumbling...

Coffee Stain

Daddy took the boys to the beach yesterday. Solo... We were having a good time; Casey was playing in the sand, and I was holding Sydney, first in the Baby Bjorn and then just holding him against my chest. As I had him against my body, I was shifting his position... and noticed a large, brown-ish yellow stain on the front of my shirt. Kinda like a coffee stain... except, I don't drink coffee! Uh oh... investigating the next most probable scenario, I turn Sydney over.. and the back of his onesie has a matching stain.. I guess the sand on his fingers that he stuck in his mouth to suck on acted as a laxative. I will spare you the gruesome photos.. But only because I have found its pretty difficult to watch two boys and take photos at the same time...

I managed to change his soiled diaper... Lets just say it was a SLOW pit stop. By now, I have changed my share of diapers. But usually, it's done in a controlled environment. Changing table, diapers, butt cream, baby wipes all laid out and handy. This was on the sand, at the beach, in the wind. Oh, and did I mention I couldn't find the changing pad? I used his burp rag (yes, it subsequently went straight into the wash) as a makeshift changing pad.. (its better than laying his bum in the sand, right?) I finally controlled the squirmy baby and managed to finish the change.

After we got home, I gave Sydney a bath. I realized it was my first time giving him a bath by myself. I figured, as long as I didn't drown him, things would turn out ok. It was way better than that. Sydney enjoyed the bath; no crying just a big grin on his face the whole time. He even figured out how to splash Daddy!

Father of the year

This being Father's Day, 2111, I thought it would be appropriate to post this one. Let's just say, I likely won't be getting any father of the year awards any time soon...

I'm upstairs, and I have to go down two flights of stairs. I have an empty diaper box and a 4 month old son to carry downstairs. What to do, what to do???? Two birds, one stone... Two objects, one trip... One empty box, one small child... Judging from the photo, Sydney wasn't very pleased with my decision...

Sydney's Life

Sydney just passed the 4 month mark. In some respects the time goes by so fast. Here is a brief synopsis of what he is doing these days. He has developed his neck muscles, so he is able to sit upright in a Bumbo seat.

His Mommy recently fed him ice cream for the first time. He didn't really have much of a reaction. His expression just said, "WTH? This stuff feels weird, and tastes weird too!" As you can see, not a huge percentage actually got into his system. Most is accounted for in the tower of drool, and the volume of liquid responsible for soaking his shirt.


Sydney has developed quite a grip. He can grab my hand, and return force when I try to pull away. I am attempting to teach him to pull my finger... He hasn't yet, but I will surprise him when he finally obeys my command. His big brother is very fond of him, and from time to time, they will hold hands...

So close

What up Sydney? Your life is about to get SO MUCH better... If only you could get those fingers and thumb in your mouth to suck on... Soon, baby, soon.

Bath time!

Who am I??? See if you can tell the difference... Who is who? Hint... One is Sydney, the other is Casey...