Father's Day

Well Brooklyn, its been quite sometime since Dad has made a post. Like 2.5 years... Which is by no means a result of lack of material. This Father's Day seemed to be an appropriate one for me to give a "fatherly" update.

I want to start this off by saying that you've made the last 3 years worth living, for A LOT of people, and that your beautiful smile and incredible heart have made some pretty crummy times much easier to get through. You are my little angel...

Father's Day this year will be a tough one in this household. Your Mom lost her Dad a little over a month ago and your Dad hasn't spoken to his in over 6 months. But, true to form, I am sure you'll say or do something that will make our heart melt and make a tough day, easy.

So much has happened in life since my last post that it is nearly impossible to give you an accurate rundown but maybe I can give you a few gems of "fatherly wisdom"

* Never give up on something you think or know is important to you - a dream perhaps. (I went back to school to become a Firefighter in 2010-11, hopefully by the time you read this I'll be one).  Seeing things through will feel like perhaps only a small victory at the time but I can assure you that giving up on something will feel like massive defeat all the time.

* Never loose your big heart. At 3 years young your heart and compassion are something to behold. Sure, someday someone will undoubtedly break it, but as they say - it's better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all. (Mom and I just celebrated 5 years of marriage and I can tell you this. I love your Mom more today then ever.) Love is a funny thing B. I'd give you some tips but I don't want to ruin the surprise

*Never loose your sense of curiosity. Not being willing to try new things is tragedy. New people, new places, new food, new languages... Variety is the spice of life. (I said this to you but only a few days ago and you replied with "variety is spicy? I don't like spicy"... With any luck you'll travel, meet fantastic people, learn lots about food and language and culture like so many of the other people in your life (TIP - Talk to Uncle Matt about food!!)

This really is only the tip of the iceberg but I guess you have to start somewhere. I'll try not to be such as stranger here I guess.

I love you B and if I do nothing else of worth in life I know that with you I've done one thing that is truly great.

Kirk, out...

Message to my daughter on her 1st birthday

Wow, where to begin... A year ago, March 25th - 2009, was the single greatest day of your dad's (and likely you mom's) life. You finally came into the world after 9+ months of being your mom's "little" parasite. You stayed in there a little longer then we had hoped but I guess mom made it pretty comfy in there for you. You just needed a bit more time to cook and it looks like what they say is true - "you can't rush perfection" and "good things come to those who wait". Good things is clearly a gross understatement.

I don't know if I will truly ever be able to explain how much of an impact your arrival had on my life but I am going to try. The very first time I held you in my arms I wept with a happiness I don't know if I have ever felt before. Meeting and marrying your mom was a close second but holding all 7lbs of you that afternoon made me feel like a superhero. Not because I had helped create another living person but because you made me feel like I could move mountains to keep you safe from harm. We had a special bond right from the start, you and I, and I knew right away that daddy's little girl had him hooked. I walked the halls of the hospital all night and day to get you to sleep while mom rested and from then on we were our own little dynamic duo.

It was a rough year on dad (and mom) on a personal level and you were that little beacon of happiness everyday. After a crappy day at work, at a job I was unhappy doing, you were the toothless smile at the end of the day that always made my heart melt. You were (are) the driving force that made me look at "life" and decide that I had to make a change for me, for mom, and more importantly for you... By the time you read this on your own your dad will be a fire fighter and I (we) have you to thank for that. Though mom was a big help in deciding, you were the catalyst that made me realize that I needed and deserved to be happy in life.

Between you and mom, the two of you make me want to be a better man, husband and most important, father. Now I know that somewhere down the line I will screw up and you'll probably "hate" dad at some point and slam a few doors in frustration (if genetics prevail). Just know that it all comes from a good place, a loving and caring place and maybe in the future you'll see that you're always daddy's little girl...

I love you with all my heart Brooklyn and knowing that no matter how up and down work gets or life gets or how exhausting the day-to-day can be, knowing that I have your smile and those chubby cheeks to come home to makes it all worth while... Mom's pretty cool too...

Happy Birthday angel, love always...

Dad

Jan. 10th, 2010 - Save me Jebus!

On this day in 2010 we Baptized our by girl Brooklyn. It is a miracle that the gates of hell didn't open and swallow your dad whole as he set foot in a church... I digress.

You were an angel the whole day. Surrounded by family and loved ones, Great Grandparents and Godparents we watched you be a little rock star the entire service. On any given Sunday the church would do roughly 3-5 baptisms but on this day there was just one - you. This gave you free reign to unleash the cuteness for all to see. You coo-ed at the right moments, you hardly made a peep, you ate cookies and played in the Holy Water. You even got paraded around by your dad for the entire congregation to bask in your awesomeness. You were unnecessarily showered with gifts, most of which had some very large significance which both mom and dad will gladly explain to you at some point. The bottom line is we always knew you were a little angel but now "the man upstairs" gave you "his" seal of approval.

Really just wanted to thank you for blessing mom and dad with the best gift of all - you

Love Dad XOXOXOXO

Merry Christmas, Happy New Years and rounding third heading home

We are at the 3/4 mark in year one of the Brooklyn's life and a few things have become evident. First and foremost is... If you let them, your child will work you over. They will test your resolve to see how much they can get away with and how much you'll facilitate that. Hard to believe I am sure, especially while you look down at your new bundle of joy and they can't even lift their own noggin'. It will happen and you may not even notice it happening. Here is what I mean...

New Year's - adults night right? Not so in the case of our little one. Despite countless bottles and hours of play time and even a drive around the block with mom our little one was just not having it. No sleep for Brooklyn. So we conceded and she rang in her first New Year's with mom and dad and friends. I reckon she'd have outlasted all of us if given the opportunity.

Now lets jump back.

Christmas - though too young to really understand, our little trouble maker figured out right quick that tissue paper is awesome!! The crinkle, the ease at which it tears and last but not least how good it tastes. It must. She must have tried time after time to ingest these little shards of white and red and green! She was great through all the running around, bundle ups, lack of naps and constant schedule shuffling. We really couldn't have asked for a better baby. Next year should really be a blast.. My only words of wisdom on this front is as follows:

When you have a baby make everyone come to you!!!

Not always possible but if you can swing it make it happen. In this day and age of multiple parents with multiple marriages and extended families it would be well worth your while to find out what works best for you and yours and then open it up to the rest of your family. Lesson learned. But do what you need to do.

As we round the corner towards year one of Brooklyn's life I do know this above all else. Being a dad is the single most amazing accomplishment and the most challenging thing I will ever do. Thankfully we were given a truly incredible little girl. Now not everyone is blessed with a "good" baby. They come in all shapes and all sizes with all their own little quirks and nuances. But, if you have a good teammate - spouse, significant other, etc. - then your chance of survival will grow exponentially. Work together and you'll be fine. If that's not in the card for you then try and establish a good solid support system around you. Parents, cousins, aunts/uncles and so on. They are great tools to have in your arsenal.

Above all else, take the time to stop and enjoy the process of their evolution. The crawling, the walking, the discoveries... It goes by so damn fast you might miss some pretty cool stuff.

Cheers.

Listen to the woman - how to save yourself some frustration

Okay so we are going to go back in time just a wee bit to a time when babies are fresh from the oven and worlds have been turned upside down. Here is a simple phrase (from "White Men Can't Jump) that will save you a good deal of grief - "Listen to the woman". In the context of the movie it was simple; listen to your woman/wife - really listen (thanks Wesley Snipes). In your new reality of Dad and husband it means something similar but different (Huh?). If your "baby momma" is the same as mine some things will become obvious very quickly and that is this:

They've read books, they've gone to websites, they've gone to doctors appointments and they've had countless "dates'"with their girlfriends who are also "baby mamma's" or "baby mamma's to-be."

What that means is a few things. They know things you wouldn't have thought of in your wildest dreams. That also means they know things they wouldn't have thought of in THEIR wildest dreams too (Huh?). So lets attack this query last thing first, first thing last shall we?

As a result of the aforementioned mentioned "mom research and development" they have inundated their new mom brains with everything from time lines to feeding schedules to formula/diaper recon, serious black ops stuff. These tie into the "listen" part. What they've also done is "mom R&D" on every possible ailment known to man. Which means if your little one sneezes mom goes through her now extensive Rolodex of possibilities. They become dermatological ninjas and they will know things about baby stool that will blow your mind. She will go a little nutty, she can't help it. Mom-brain takes over and it's something you can plan for or pretend to understand. Just be there for them when they use the cream from Australia for diaper rash and the soap from Costa Rica for cradle cap and the all natural syrup that helps teething (okay this stuff rocks, it's called Camillia or something. Get it!!!). You can listen to the crazy stuff too but just realize that its mostly mom's being mom's (parents in general, you'll likely get sucked, you can't help it).

What you need to hear is a) all the time they spent preparing for your little one that will b) save you a lot of work. They laid the ground work, just follow their lead. What diapers, where to get the cheapest formula, what size onesies, the "how-to" on diaper changes and the really cool stuff like: "when she gonna walk? when she gonna talk? teeth?" and so on. They are a fountain of knowledge at your finger tips so the more you pay attention the easier it'll be. The easier it'll be for you to become the dad you want to be. I am the dad I am because of the work my wife put in prior to Brooklyn being born and because I payed attention to the key things (also because I wanted to be but you know what I mean).

Heed the words of the great Mr. Snipes and listen to the woman....

Hope that helps.. Cheers.

Crawling - The evolution of "the squigs"

Just to clear up the title as I suspect I have never refered to Brooklyn this way but here is a quick rundown on her various nicknames... handles, if you will

- Squiggle Bottoms
- The Squigs: purely a derivative of the aforementioned
- Bro-Ro: a clever take on Brooklyn Rose using the J.Lo template
- B-Rabbit: not too sure why I called her this.. May have just watched 8 Mile or something
- B (pretty self explanitory I hope)

there are undoubtedly more but there's the back story, I digress.....

The "wee" one has now evolved into a full fledged crawling ninja. Beyond that she has also figured out that she can pull herself up to standing using her walnut crushing pipes "o" death. Needless to say the bottom 1/3 (maybe even 1/2) of the Christmas tree will be "sans" decoration. Let the baby proofing begin! Baby gates and plug covers and drawer stops and god knows what else we'll need to do in order to keep the "squigs" at bay. Though it took her awhile to get the forward motion concept, now that she's got it down pat there is no stopping her. Which means "Ky" is on amber alert at all times now. She's no longer content sitting in the middle of the room playing with her toys. She is the Sherlock Holmes of the bottom 8 inches of every floor in our house! Pick it up, inspect it, jam it in my mouth, confirm or deny edibility, wait for reaction from mom, feed item to hairy four-legged thing, disregard item and move on to the next thing. Rinse and repeat....

The one thing that we've both noticed is that there is a definite need for someone to invent a swiffer sleeper/onesie. Let me spell this out for you a little. High shed dog vs crawling baby = hairy cookie cover little hands and a little girl who looks like she's wearing a sweater vest. NOT GOOD! So where is the Slap Chop guy or Ron Popeil to invent this when you need them... Too busy "setting it and forgetting it" I guess. Since the dog won't stop shedding and Brookyn won't stop crawling and nobody has created said "Swiffer Sleeper," for now "Ky" (and to a much lesser degree myself), we'll just have to get used to having a vacuum in or near our hands. That being said, therein lies another tiny issue. No longer is the dog free to roam the house unpestered, to lay in the middle of a rug and catch a few winks, to not have baby hands in my water and food dishes. No no. Brooklyn Holmes will see to none of that. Thank god his temperment is what it is, though with any luck Brooklyn learn to let sleeping dogs lie and not let sleeping dogs have clumps of hair ripped out on his back. At least she can wash her hands in the water dish.....

All the best to those who are embarking on this stage of parenting, it is exhausting and amazing all wrapped up in one.

Cheers.

1st tooth, 1st foods, and 1st Halloween

1ST TOOTH

It was a big week in the life of the wee one. Not only is she a week older but is now sporting her very own shiny white nub of a tooth. It broke through the other day and will undoubtedly spur on some dental companions soon enough, much to the chagrin of Brooklyn. Though she handled the whole teething process like a champ she was pretty unhappy for a couple of days. But to put it in perspective, as I've been told, if we had to deal with teething at any older age then newborn we would need some hardcore pain meds... So I guess be glad you can't remember. Having said that, if I thought the drool was bad months ago, this makes that look like a joke. Poor "Ky" does more laundry now then ever before, Brooklyn just soaks through shirt after shirt, sleeper after sleeper. I am surprised she hasn't dried up like a raisin, where does she store all that fluid???

1ST FOODS

Although she's been eating food, and I use the term loosely, for quite some time now (several weeks) this is the first I've mentioned it. It really is something to watch how much they change as they move from "boob juice" to pablum aka gruel to pureed fruits and veg. It certainly impacted her digestive system. If I thought the bouquet that Brooklyn was laying down early on in her life was bad... WOW! Not only has the aroma been amplified but she now has this amazing technicolour dreamcoat thing happening in her little "b.m.'s." She is more and more like a little person. I guess it should come as no surprise however that a change in food means an adjustment period for "B's" digestive system and given what this food looks like it is no wonder. The rice/oat/wheat pablum crud looks like gruel, smells like paper mache and after it has a few minutes to "set" could be used as an industrial strength adhesive. No wonder the little one struggles to let freedom reign every now and again. Much like everything else our little angel took to eating food like she'd been doing it for years. The occassional sweet potatoe mustache and green bean eye liner for "B" but otherwise the target is hit every time. What a blast to see their expressions the first time they eat something new - they lack the tact we have when trying something new. The squished up faces, the spitting it out, the smacking of lips - Hilarious!!

1ST HALLOWEEN

Now, not that I would consider this to be Brooklyn's first real Halloween because lets be honest Halloween without trick or treating and boat loads of teeth rotting candy is like a beer commercial without bad acting and scantily clad pornstars, er, models.. So this being her first prelude to Halloween the little one was dressed up as a bumblebee. If you are anything like me you are thinking Bumblebee, sweet!!! Transformers!! Not so. She was just a regular bumblebee but having said that, she was easily the cutest damn bumblebee you've ever seen. And I do mean cute:

* I am the cutest "B" you ever did see*

At this point I would like to explain the concept of dressing a baby up in a Halloween costume despite the fact that it won't be used for the aforementioned trick and/or treating. The only reason my little munchkin is/was subjected to this punishment is so that grandparents (more overly grandmothers - love you) could fawn over there little pride and joy. It was also so "Ky" and the rest of the mom's in the area can round up all the babies and have a group costumed baby jamboroo. These poor little kids, except "B" who is such a ham that she just played up the costume for the camera, just were not happy campers. If any of them were able to talk I am sure they'd say:

"Mom/Dad, you think you can just dress me up in this ridiculous outfit and get away with it? I am gonna stay up all night crying and I might even squeeze out a big smelly poop for you! I'm Rick James bitch!!!"

But I guess our parents tortured us the same way so it is our god given right to return the favour to our kids and they shall do the same to theirs. But beware the vengeful baby, you never know when they might get that crazy look in their eye..

Cheers.