Officially "Da-Da"

So last night Mommy and I made the official declaration that Parker's first word is indeed, "Da-Da." We have suspected this for a few weeks now, but it was confirmed last night as Mommy tried unsuccessfully to feed him before bed. He kept looking up at me, reaching out and saying "da-da." Yes, heart-warming, butter-melting, sappy-sweet type stuff. But regardless, it's official. 

He is now talking/babbling, cruising, grabbing stuff off tables, throwing, and has had at least three instances (that we know of) where he has stood by himself with no support for at least 10 seconds. Amazingly, it takes 10 seconds to get a camera out, turn it on and focus before the little guy decides to sit down.

Back on the Air

After a fun-filled week on the island of Kuaui, we are back in town and back in business. Mommy, Daddy and Little Man joined Grandma, Papa, and cousin Banana for some fun in the sun (and rain) in Hawaii. Being our first time there (Mommy & Daddy included), we did a good job of alternating between days to bum around and days to site-see and shop. If you ask Papa, he will tell you it was one of his more relaxing vacations. To everyone else, we packed a lot of fun activities in and still had some time to just spend together.

Instead of writing up every little detail, I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Check them out by clicking here.

Also, I just added a new movie to the video section. Set to INXS "New Sensation," check out the happiest baby on the planet.

Mahalo!

Happy Father's Day to all those daddies out there! Will update when we get back in town, but until then, we are having a great time!

Air Born

Parker has been on an airplane more times in his first 10 months than I did up to the time I was about 20. Both mommy and daddy have had enough reasons to travel between work and family trips, that the kid has become an expert. It's a blessing, for sure, as traveling is something both Jaimie and I enjoy. 

Tomorrow, the three of us, Hannah-Banana, Chery and Rich head to Hawaii. I like the idea that my first trip there is also both Jaimie and Parker's as well. Although, I sure hope we continue to travel as Parker gets older. If not, the kid will kill us when he finds out that before he turned one years old we took him to Hawaii, Austin, Seattle, New Orleans, Denver and San Antonio.

Get to Get Going

There is just a lot going on right now. There is no other way to put it. You would think that managing two careers and the new Little Man's schedule would afford us a solid routine to work off of, but alas this is not the case. I learned very quickly this week how hard things are, although I admit the home life became much more fun.

Mommy went to Washington DC for a conference and the boys had three days alone together. Let me tell you know, as challenging as it is to keep a schedule that works for Parker, it was a blast. I found myself forcing an end to my "in-office" day, by leaving the building no later than 5:15 to be at daycare by 5:45. Since I normally don't leave the office until around 7:30, this posed problems in my normal routine. 

I have, however, become very skilled at managing calls in the car. Yesterday alone, I had three calls on my way to pick up Parker, two more with him in the car (I'm sure that's what made him fall asleep), and 3 more at home when mommy walked in the door from her DC trip.

Here is what I learned about being a single dad for three days:

1) There are no breaks. You stop when you pass out on the sofa watching recorded Deadliest Catch

2) Cleaning becomes a bigger priority than when it's just you. You couldn't tell by looking, but I cleaned the house twice before Jaimie got home, yet we were cleaning again this morning.

3) Guilt goes away. As bad as I feel leaving work so early each day, the minute I see him I lose all remorse.

4) Dad has two work days a day. I work until 5, spend time with Parker until he falls asleep around 9, then start my second day on the computer.

5) You can't get along without Mommy. OK, to be honest, you can. We had a lot of fun in the past three days. But, don't tell mommy that. Mommy has to feel that our world fell apart without her. So, shhh, don't say anything.