No News = Lazy Daddy

OK, you all know I'm not that lazy, it's just been a crazy month and updating a blog hasn't been top of mind. This is a shame considering how much has happened in the past 5  weeks.

At Parker's birthday party, which I mentioned below, Parker walked for the first time. OK, so fast forward to today, where Parker is in full on baby sprint mode. You know how babies start walking but don't know how to bend their knees so it's got a frankenstein quality about each step? Or when they finally get the knee bend, but now realize that all they have to do to move faster is to lean into it with their giant melon head? Or when they finally learn how to step up to go over uneven surfaces, only to exaggerate the step so much it knocks them off balance? Yeah, that should just about cover Parker's past 5  weeks.

Throw in a trip to Disneyland, Daddy going to London for work and Mexico for play, and the kick off to another college football season (LSU #7, Texas #8), I'd say you got a good snapshot of August for us.

More to come, just wanted to give you something to chew on.

Little Man's First Birthday Party

Parker's birthday (if you've kept up from the beginning) is actually August 6th, but as I have been reminded, kid birthday parties are for weekends, so yesterday was Parker's first birthday party.

With trains as the theme, we had plenty of local friends join us for a little backyard BBQ and booze fest in honor of the Little Man. It was a nice warm Pasadena day, which started out with babies and adults hanging out in the backyard then slowly migrating to the air conditioning.

Gramma and Papa Osburn were here to celebrate, with Gramma making an amazing Thomas the Train birthday cake. It's funny, because our family loves the idea of placing a baby in his high chair for birthday #1 and allowing him or her to go to town on their birthday cake. What we learned from our Lake Tahoe vacation the week before (check out the photos) and confirmed at his party, Little Man does not like icing. It's funny to watch, but when he reaches out to help himself to a healthy chunk of Gramma's chocolate love, he recoils in horror as a layer of icing covers his little hand. We expected it, as Tahoe with the Davis clan taught us much, but wow, he HATES icing.

We all enjoyed a good laugh, then moved on to an activity he does enjoy, which was opening presents. The idea of tearing paper and not being told no must be a pretty appealing ideal to a child.

The highlight of the afternoon was actually as everyone was leaving. Left in the house was Mommy, Gramma, Papa, adopted aunt and uncle Andrew and Abby, and Daddy. Little Many REALLY began to walk. Not a step or two then fall, I mean a good 5 to 6 steps to take new toys out of mommy's hands. It was amazing to see/take photos of/video tape. I'm sure it's just the beginning of a new level of crazy in our household, but it was wonderful to have so many great people with us as we witnessed his next major milestone in life. Now that's a birthday present.

Birthday photos here!

Not Nauert, I'm Busy

Uncle Chris, Aunt Lisa, Cousin Cole and Cousin Hannah all came out to visit us for a week. We had spent a prior week with Hannah, so we knew how she would be with Little Man and him with her. But, I was curious to see how Cole would be. It was amazing, he is the best big cousin you could ever hope for. Most boys stay away from babies, but Cole loved Parker, making him laugh and playing with him.

Knowing the age difference will always cause a bit of separation between the boys, it was nice to see that Parker has a great cousin in Cole to look up to. Parker will always be the youngest cousin (unless he has a little brother or sister), so he won't get to "play" with his cousins the way I'd like them too. But, if he is going to grow up idolizing his big cousin Cole, I'm thinking he could do a lot worse ;)

Check the pictures out to see the three cousins having fun in Disneyland.

Lights in the Sky

Yesterday was Little Man's first 4th of July, complete with fireworks, swimming pools, large crowds, and over-priced hot dogs.

We had a full day yesterday and it began around 9am when Jaimie, Parker and I went to Maranatha High School to meet up with our friends John and Amanda to swim. John is a high school teacher at a private christian high school in Pasadena. This school is located on a former private college campus, that went bankrupt in the 90's. What is so amazing about the campus, which I'm sure the High School kids have no idea how lucky they are, is they basically have un-used, mint condition College facilities. 

This includes a natatorium for the swim, dive and water polo teams. Jaimie and I were able to get a little swim training in with John, while Amanda and Parker explored the campus. We are out of shape, for sure.

Afterwards, the three of us went on a little run off Orange Grove, a very nice neighborhood in Pasadena. By the time we got home, we were spent.

After lunch and a little rest, we began a deep-cleaning of the house. Then, it was off to the Rose Bowl for the firework spectacular.

If you've never gone, I recommend braving the crowds and rude amazon women to give it a try. We picked up Aunt Maureen at her house, then drove down to the bowl, parking up the street so we didn't get caught in traffic or $15 parking.

After checking in our stroller we made our way to the endzone, threw down a blanket and watched as the Pasadena sky lit up. From the first boom to the last, Parker loved it! He had his eyes on the sky the entire 30 minutes, regardless of who's lap he was sitting in.

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.

Happy Birthday Hannah Banana!!!

Little man hopes you have a great birthday! He misses you!