Monkey See, Monkey Do

One month shy of Small Man's second birthday, I'm realizing what a little man he truly is becoming. He gets bigger and bigger every day, and he's got such spunk about him. He looks up to his two big sisters all the time, especially Ruby, trying to follow her around and mimic her whenever he can. He still loves his Mama, but he makes time for Dada, too, likely because I play a little more roughly with him. (Boys will be boys, right?!)

You can already see his little personality shining through. He's plays hard, and he crashes hard, and while he's a physical little guy like most boys, he can also be really sweet. Of course, he just started whining for more dessert, so scratch that! I guess that's why we love him!

There's nothing like extensive time with the kids to drive home what it means to be a father. My wife has been out of the country for the past week, meaning that I've been working at home part-time while juggling the needs of our two youngest children. Unfortunately for me, they both started the week off sick, so my visions of productive days while the kids were off at day care quickly went up in smoke. In fact, this morning marked the first time all week when they were both being care for at the same time!

That being said, being the lone parent for a week makes you realize how much your kids need you. Wittles is barely three, but she's always been Daddy's little girl. Mini, however, has clung to his mother from the get-go, so weeks like this give me a little taste of what it's like to be the center of his tiny universe. He's a wonderful little man, playing with his toys and trying to get his sister's attention all the time. He's also a little guy in need of lots of hugs, and he does like his snuggle time. At moments like that, I am all too happy to oblige.

Some of the most entertaining moments as a parent occur when a child exhibits certain characteristics that can immediately be attributed to a specific parent. In our case, we often talk about Wittles and her desire to be neat and tidy - courtesy of yours truly - or Mini's rather emotional nature - a nod to my loving wife. What we find especially interesting, however, are those moments when the kids do something unique to themselves. In recent weeks, the biggest manifestation of this concept has been Mini's unwavering desire to produce high-pitched screams. Mind you, the little guy is not in pain, nor is he sad. He simply screams. Why?! Who knows, but he does get a kick out of it!

Mini doesn't turn one until Wednesday, but we celebrated his first birthday with a party yesterday morning. (When dealing with kids, parties are always scheduled around nap times!) Needless to say the guest of honor was absolutely adorable. He awoke from his morning nap just in time to great his visitors, and he had a grand time with all of his gifts, especially the ones with colorful balls! When it was time for the traditional cover-your-face-with-as-much-cake-as-possible exercise, he showed he was truly up for the challenge.

Seemingly emboldened by the arrival of his big day, Mini pushed the envelope even further today, trying to show his Mom & Dad that he could, in fact, stand on his own. This typically ended with the little guy plopped on his butt, but his enthusiasm and courage were unrivaled. Walking is right around the corner, and, as the proud papa, I cannot wait!

Seeing your kids sparkle on their own is one thing, but seeing them truly shine together is another thing entirely. Wittles and Mini took their first bath together today, and they could not have been happier. What started as an attempt to clean some of the dirt off of our two littlest angels turned into an hour-long festival of laughter and smiles. Moments like these are when we get to see the beginnings of a relationship that will last them the rest of their lives.

Maybe it's a guy thing, but there's something about our children that brings out the competitive fires in us. It's not the same feeling you had as a kid on the baseball fields, but there's something inherently normal about wanting your child to do well. Yes, this is even true when the child in question is only ten months old!

Mini decided early on that he would crawl and walk in his own time, and nothing has caused him to veer from this course. The little guy is scooting along now, practicing his soon-to-be-patented inchworm technique, and I couldn't be prouder. Of course, now I pester my wife with constant questions about when he's supposed to walk, talk, and the like. I'm learning, though, and I will eventually appreciate each step as an end in and of itself. Until then, however...

Valentine's Day has long been a holiday devoted to romance. In fact, I can recall spending a number of Valentine's Days in my twenties stressing over just the right gift and just the right restaurant. Nowadays, in light of the fact that this holiday falls less than two weeks after the anniversary of my first date with my wife, we've made it into a family holiday!

While most other tables we saw last night were occupied by couples experiencing the moment, my wife & I enjoyed an entertaining evening out with our three kids. A different kind of Valentine's Day? You bet, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

A little over a week ago, we finally decided to "break" Mini, meaning that we determined that waking up repeatedly during the night wasn't going to work for him... or us! Looking back, the first week went very well, even though we rushed the little guy through it in advance of our adults-only trip to Las Vegas. (We couldn't leave the grandparents with a baby who wakes up at all hours of the night!) Now, he wakes up happy, we wake up happy, and the sun actually shines a little more brightly. Or something like that...

There's nothing like hearing your two-year-old yelling "Panties!" repeatedly while running around the house. That's right - it's time for us to teach Wittles how to perform one of life's basic functions. Rather than focusing on her little toilet, however, she's merely excited about her ability to finally wear "big girl" clothes, namely, panties. Needless to say, the first day hasn't been a rousing success, but it hasn't be a total failure - or a huge mess! - either. I guess we simply start up again tomorrow...

Nothing quite compares to a child who absolutely will not go to sleep. Even when it's driven by sickness, as is currently the case with our little Mini, it can really wear on the parents. After my loving wife tossed and turned trying to care for our sick munchkin until well past two last night (this morning?!), I've been trying to keep him calm for the last 4+ hours. He seems to be calming down again, and he was positively chipper during his "awake time," but, needless to say, we're hoping for improvement tonight!

Of course, now that we have a family-sized Dora the Explorer tent / mansion, maybe we'll throw him in there and see how he does!

Two days ago, my little guy Mini had tubes put into his ears, an event that we hope will end a nearly two-month ear infection odyssey. For anyone who's scoring at home, Mini, barely eight months old, racked up at least four ear infections in the last two months. Needless to say, his doctors were very impressed!

As might be expected, these little ear adventures have thrown a wrench into the little guy's sleeping progress, so we're hoping he's finally turning the corner. New year, new baby, eh?

It's almost time for the New Year to kick off, so I thought I'd give this old thing a whirl once again. Actually, I might have a new direction, so we'll just have to wait and see where that goes. Wish me luck!

After gathering some expert wisdom from internet legend Scott, I decided to try my hand at penning a blog. Who knows how successful this will be, but I think it's a worthwhile project for now. Hopefully, this will serve as a nice companion for the Proudest Monkeys website. Wish me luck, and feel free to let me know what's up...