Back when C was in his early speaking stages, he went through a brief little phase where he was suspicious of everything we put on his plate. I’m not sure why, because he had a very wide range of things that he liked. In fact, J even fed him hummus once and he gobbled it […]

Several of C’s friends and acquaintances are bi-lingual – speaking both English and Spanish. Even Madrina (one of his godmothers) speaks Spanish. I don’t. A few days ago, we were out and about when someone sneezed. Several people said “Bless you!” and I (as is my habit) said “Gesundheit!” Realizing that C probably had no […]

Over New Year’s we had some friends over. They’re a couple that we’ve known for a long time, and we typically exchange “couple” gifts. This year, we made a mistake. They arrived at the house, we welcomed them in, and then handed each other our presents. C was very excited. He watched patiently as we […]

Our swingset has a little wooden “fort” at the top of the slide which is about 5 feet long on a side. That’s plenty of room for a few little kids, or even two kids and one grown up. Two grown-ups and two children, however, is quite crowded. Consequently, C & I were in the […]

One of the largest issues for the parent of a little guy is toilet training. Getting that accomplished quickly and easily with a minimum of fuss (and mess) is truly a noble goal. According to folklore, there is a brief period of time during which the child realizes what’s happening and is open to the […]

On Monday, we celebrated having the day off by taking a bike ride. We have one of those kiddie trailers attached to my bike, so the kids can ride along while we pedal. We rode out to a park, played in the park for a while, and then went to get some lunch. Lots of […]

Last week was an interesting one. J & C were both sick, so I stayed home from work to take care of everyone. C, in particular, has had a tough time. He went from having a stomach virus to having a more traditional flu/fever thing. He has lost a good bit of weight, and has […]

I have always had a great deal of difficulty changing N’s diapers. His mom has never had a problem – he just lies there and quietly gurgles – but it’s never been easy for me. In the early days, he’d scream. As soon as he went down on the changing table, he’d scream, kick, and […]

Last Christmas, it occurred to my wife that we should have two manger scenes: one the kids could interact with, and one that is kept looking nice. The child’s manger scene, in our case, is made of hard plastic. It consists of the manger, and plastic figures for all the participants. That’s quite a lot […]

This past weekend, we went with some friends to a local “snow mountain.” Don’t be fooled by the name. As grandiose as it sounds, this particular snow mountain was a pile of snow sitting in a fenced off section of a parking lot. As we’re in Florida, it was melting fairly quickly. They seemed to […]