Category Archives: New Experiences

September 10, 2012

Guys With Kids

By Brad

I was perusing through the latest TV preview of Entertainment Weekly over the weekend and saw this advertisment fro NBC’s newest sitcom: Guys With Kids

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When I started this blog I was thrilled when Parenthood (also NBC) featured a Stay-at-home dad because he encompassed what I thought a STAD should be. Manly yet gentle and a vital and dependable member of the household. He had a trade, was a great father and took care of business and had the confidence to be a STAD.

NBC (I’m sensing a pattern here) also had a STAD in their sitcom last year with Up All Night. I was going to write a post about it, especially since it featured funnyman Will Arnett. My wife and I gave up on the show after 4 episodes due to lack of interest. The situational comedy of Arnett’s STAD was completely a misfire with only a small amount of time devoted to laughs to his somewhat ineptitude to his STAD role. I didn’t like the rest of the show so I gave up. I just read that the second season flip-flops the Stay-at-home role back to the wife and Arnett goes back to work so it’s a moot point now anyway.

So now I see this ad for Guys with Kids and I realized that the STAD character is the new “gay” character. What I mean by that is starting in the 90s, slowly but surely the tolerance towards gays was better and more and more gay TV characters were being introduced. My So-Called World, Will & Grace, ER and Sex & the City featured openly and proud gay and lesbian characters and now you can’t change the channel and not find a show featuring a LGBT character. Nothing wrong with that at all. But I find most of these LGBT characters are still written as the flamboyant gay or the “butchy” lesbian sometimes. Old stereotypes that aren’t always necessarily true.

Well anyway, I’m now seeing more and more STAD’s in TV shows, either being portrayed as seriously dramatic like Joel Graham from Parenthood or lovable goofballs like Will Arnett’s. Again nothing wrong with that but this new show with the Baby Björn tough-guy look (ripping off Zach Galifianakis’ gag in The Hangover) and I’m seeing a changing perception, tolerance and openness to “our group” of males. Its certainly a new game and world for us staying at home, taking care of the house and not just the yards as well as baby/toddler wrangling. Everyday I see the humor and joy as well as the misery and suffering of staying home, not making much or no money, going food shopping and cleaning up mess after mess these darned kids make. I’m glad the STAD is getting more exposure in TV and films. It used to be a joke-only since Michael Keaton fed the baby chili in Mr. Mom to now dudes confidently strolling their kids with other dudes (see the trailer for the What to Expect When You’re Expecting movie that premiered earlier this year) and walking around metro-sexually with Baby Björns.

I can dig it.

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September 8, 2012

Summer of ’12 (THE ADJUSTMENT)

By Brad

OK I’m back.

All apologies to you, my readers, for the huge gap between Penny’s birth back in June and now. Frantic summer that we all had to adjust to our new life with the newborn. My wife and I had a pretty good and easy time adjusting to having Penny home. For the first month or so she slept great. Could put her down anywhere. We attribute the breast milk AND the exhausting NICU/preemie ordeal as the possible reason for that. As the milk ran out we went to formula and she was still a great sleeper, especially at night so we got decent hours of night-time slumber. The main hurdle of the summer was one particular little lady.

I exaggerate. Maddie is a super-duper big sister. She LOVES her baby sister–Adores her in fact. She’s always asking how she is and if she see her closer for hugs and kisses. She is still thanking us for bringing her home from the hospital. She was a wee bit ‘scared’ of her at first, by that, I mean scared to hold her or have her sit in her lap. Totally expected but slowly but surely she’s gaining more confidence with holding or sitting with Penny.

Whether its Maddie’s age or the fact that she’s no longer the main attraction she did test us a ton this summer. Acting up, being rude, disobedience, extra stubbornness and refusal to go potty at key times during the day. Bedtimes became hectic and some dinners were nightmares. At the time we were banging our heads against the wall but we slowly realized that its a phase we must wait out and frankly, she is still better behaved than most kids we see so we shouldn’t sweat it so much. Now she’s calmed down and better adjusted to her new life. We did try our best to help her too by doing more things just the three of us. We went to the Camden Aquarium, saw the latest Ice Age movie, went to Sesame Place and other mall outings and such.

However the biggest adjustment for Maddie was adjusting to an active and healthy Mommy. When my wife was pregnant and on bed-rest for practically 2 months she could barely interact with Maddie. It took its toll on their relationship in a way we weren’t expecting. After Penny was born Maddie was still distant and somewhat cold to my wife. It was very sad and hard on her that Maddie still would rather have me do things for her and only play with her. Now we know it wasn’t a preference based on love and affection because Maddie would say things like “No, Mommy, you need to rest (or stay in bed).” So we knew she just assumed my wife was incapable. It took some time and many girls’ only outings to get Maddie to get accustomed back to having two parents again but we’re all back to normal in that regard.

In 2 weeks I will have the biggest adjustment of them all. A Stay-at-Home Dad with TWO kids! Am I nervous? Hell’s yeah! Do I think I will lose my mind? That’s a possibility. Will it really be that bad? Depends but I do know this: Whatever bad days I go through, they will pale in comparison to the melancholy my wife will have to endure going back to work after a 5-month hiatus, spending all this good quality time with her family and her new adorable baby and missing them dearly everyday.

I cannot complain too much, I know. In the long run, I have the dream job and I know I am very fortunate to be able to do what I do on a daily basis.

So, I hope to write more in the coming months but don’t be surprised by my lack of posts since I will literally have my hands full this autumn and winter.

1 Comment   |  tags: , | posted in Child raising, New Experiences

June 11, 2012

Penny For My Thoughts

By Brad

Penelope “Penny” Alexandra, born 06/09/2012 at 6:18 AM. 5 lbs, 3 oz & 17″ long.

Prologue #1:

I’m sure most lame jokers will use the “Penny For Your Thoughts” quote to her for most of her life, whether it’s a silly older relative or a drunken dude at a bar trying to woo her but I WANTED to be the first man in her life to make that dumb joke, just to be clear.

Prologue #2:

My wife struggled for 5 days in the hospital to keep our new peanut in the womb with 5cm dilation but with a few bad contraction bouts quelled by medication, my wife’s uterus couldn’t take it anymore and had to release Penny to the world. Her water broke little after dawn at 5:05 Saturday morning and with my mother-in-law making various moving violations to watch Maddie as I too bent some laws I made it in time for the emergency C-section.

The C-section vs. Marathon Vaginal Labor Birth

I will preface this paragraph by saying I am mostly speaking as myself and not my wife, although I have first-hand experience alongside my wife and she has expressed her thoughts to me on this matter. However, I will admit that I am just the supportive husband and NOT the child-bearer going through the bittersweet ordeal of childbirth…I will not make the mistake of glibly speaking as if I know what my wife went through.

Maddie was born vaginally with about 16-hours of labor. I was there the whole time, consoling, caressing, calming and coaching my wife with the nurses. We had music from our own iPod and we even had windows to see outside. I witnessed the joy and miracle of seeing my daughter’s head emerge into the world. We held the little baby immediately, took pictures and I even cut the cord. Not long after every family member in waiting was able to come to the room and meet Madeleine. It was a very happy and joyous day for all.

With the emergency C-section, my wife was numbed with anesthesia & strapped to a table with her arms out-stretched and tied down. I was in uncomfortable scrubs with a mask recycling my own hot morning breath and tried as best as I could to console and calm my wife who was shivering, very very nervous and blind to what was really going on beyond the make-shift cloth wall the doctors put up. I tried to take some peeks but was advised to stay down as many dads who thought they can handle the sight have fainted and sent to the O.R. themselves and missed the rest of the procedures. Within a quarter-hour’s time Penelope was out and healthily crying ‘hello’ and within minutes was whisked away with me to the NICU being only 34 weeks in utero. They didn’t even ask me if I wanted to cut the cord.

I was with Penny for another 15 minutes in the NICU while the doctor’s and nurses did their thing. I was very elated and relieved that she was big for 34 weeks and seemed perfectly healthy. I was very overjoyed and proud when she squeezed my finger in our first bonding moment. I then went to see how my wife was in recovery and stayed with her for an hour or so until the grandparents & Maddie arrived. The rest of the day I was bouncing back and forth in the NICU and my wife’s suite making sure everything was OK. At lunch time I took Maddie home for lunch and for a nap. I returned later in the evening with Maddie for a short while until I had to get her home for dinner and bed time. Since her birth I have been away from her and Wendy and sleeping alone at home. The last word in Lonesome is ME.

From my perspective this was such a bittersweet birthday for me, my wife and Penny. She’s already the second-child and the amount of bonding and time spent with her on her birthday was pale in comparison to Maddie’s. I realize it was circumstance but it’s still a shame. I’m relieved and very happy, especially that my wife and Penny are healthy and fine and just need time to get in the swing of normalcy but I was very much detached and side-lined that day. I was a wee bit more sad than glad. My wife told me she very much prefers the vaginal labor hands-down from the delivery aspect. If given the opportunity to relive Penny’s C-section she probably would opt to get knocked-out completely as the strapping of her arms and lack of vision was too much for a premature birth from a very worried mother’s perspective. But she too is going through some tough emotions right now too being so distant to our newest bundle of joy.

On Sunday, both my wife and I spent a huge amount of time in the NICU while Maddie was having fun with my folks. I finally bonded properly as I held Penny in my arms and fed her some bottle. I had my moment and it was great. I am now the very proud and overjoyed father that I should be. My heart belongs to her as much as it belongs to Maddie. I could cry thinking about her at any moment of the day.

The Worse. Waiting Game. Ever.

At over 5 lbs, Penny was one of the biggest preemies in the NICU. Which is great seems like it’s a cake-walk right? Wrong. She’s still just 34-weeks and she still has the same hurdles to overcome. Mostly it’s the feeding on her own. She has t learn to properly suck her bottle/nipple and not choke on it. We take drinking for granted as we do breathing but there’s reason’s a baby needs about 40 weeks in utero and that’s to learn this stuff. She’s doing OK with it so far but the doctors tell us that it could be about 2-3 weeks until she can come home with us. This is the hard part. In a few days time my wife will be discharged and every day, for however many weeks Penny’s in the NICU, we have to commute to the hospital to see her. With an older child that’s easier said than done. I realize or sacrifice that my time is more devoted to Maddie. That’s expected for many reasons but the two major ones are that Penny needs her mommy way more than me, especially if she takes to breastfeeding and second, with the surgery recovery my wife is in no condition to play with Maddie yet and there’s not much for her to do at home but rest. She can rest in the NICU and spend quality time with Penny. But it’s tough to make this sacrifice, however I am fine with this fact because POPPA PENGUIN will have her (and big sister Maddie) all to himself once maternity leave is done.

Oh boy.

So we will wait and hope Penny does well, sooner than later and try to maintain our good attitudes and humor until she is home and we can then spoil her little peanut-butt rotten.

Epilogue:

Sure I am an emotional wreck right now. Sure I feel distant and anxious to welcome my newest daughter home. I am also anxious at how her big sister, Maddie will be affected by this new baby in her life. I am also exhausted and drained as well as overjoyed and excited for our futures. Juggling all these emotions and thoughts are totally expected I know. I’m just so relieved that Penny is healthy and doing well. But right now I’m more relieved that my wife is good and will be back to her old self; mobile, cramp free and happier to be out of one of the most harrowing experiences she’s ever put through. That is something I’m more grateful for to be honest.

 

1 Comment | posted in Conflict, Emotions, New Experiences

February 23, 2012

2012 Is Already A Very BUSY Year (and Already Looking To Be Busier)

By Brad

Firstly I must apologize my faithful readers for the long absence from my last post which ironically was about writing more frequent posts as a New Years Resolution (oops). As my title dictates this is a so far a very busy year for the household. Mainly, gearing up for this:

YES!!! We are expecting another bundle of joy this summer. We are very excited. More-so that Maddie will have a baby SISTER!! That’s right I will be out X-Chromosomed even more now. I meant to post this good news at the usual 12 week mark but some events and annoyances got in the way. First off, we took our time telling our close friends and relatives. Surprisingly with a pre-schooler I tend to make keeping in touch not a first priority all the time and have relied too much on Facebook, Twitter and texting to be my main means of communication. I do have the good sense not to tell my close friends that we’re having another baby via Facebook messaging or texting which explains the procrastination. Some of my good friends don’t even know yet or haven’t responded to my Facebook announcement that I posted last week (perhaps they haven’t seen it). But I wanted to tell most of my good friends on the phone and that took longer than I expected. We also took our time waiting to find out the gender and wanted to package all the news together instead of installments.

On top of all this we are in the process of finishing the basement, mainly as a playroom for Maddie and a place to store all her toys, which doubled since December, and we can have a less Romper Roomed living room. So I had to clean out the whole basement that had years of accumulated stuff so the guys could work down there and that took a lot of my time. But it’s looking great so far and we’re excited about that.

When the basement’s all finished then I have move all the stuff back down as well as my collectibles and DVD collection which is in the other bedroom which will be the new nursery for Baby Girl #2. When that room is empty I then have to rip it apart, paint it and get new carpeting, finish the closet and install a new ceiling fan. If there’s time I should (to be fair to Baby Girl #2) attempt to do a room-wide mural on the walls like Maddie’s room. I haven’t even entertained the idea of designing a whole new theme to make it different than Maddie’s, which is forest-themed. So Baby Girl #2 will also have a forest-themed mural, albeit with different posed animals and different trees. Sorry kiddo, nothing too fancy. In the midst of all this we should have ordered new furniture. You keeping up with me?

So the clock is ticking my friends. Right now we’re super-excited but also super-nervous about having TWO children running around. So many unknowns like How will this new baby sleep? Will she give us the same troubles as Maddie or whole new problems? Or will she be even easier? Will Maddie be super-sweet to her sister or insanely jealous of the attention taken away from her? That one right there is my main concern to be nervous. Not so much that Maddie needs constant attention but I never really know with Maddie. She’s one tough girl to pin-point. We told her a few weeks back and she seems to be really excited as well to be having a baby sister but when Baby Girl #2 is actually in Mommy’s arms most of the day, what then? It is extremely cute and heart-warming to see Maddie talk to my wife’s belly and rub it to say hello. I’m sure we’ll see a lot of hugs and hair-pulls.

But as Bill Cosby said, “You aren’t a true parent unless you have at least two children.”

So this Stay-At-Home Dad’s role (and sanity) will be drastically different this summer I guarantee that. I’m sure I’ll survive but at what cost 😉 So in advance I do apologize for the lack of posts or for the frequent outbursts and complaining! Time will tell.

Wish me/us luck!

Leave a comment | posted in Emotions, New Experiences

December 30, 2011

Happy Anniversary Poppa!

By Brad

Just a quick post regarding the one year anniversary of my first posts for Poppa Penguin. Yesterday was the anniversary actually and it feels good I’m keeping up with the blog. I’ve done 36 posts which at an average of 3 a month I could be writing more. When I first envisioned this blog I thought I’d be writing more. I also thought I’d be complaining more and entertaining more. I suppose this could be my New Year’s resolution. I have a thing with just writing a post for writing’s sake though and that’s another reason I’m not posting that much. I’m not going to post on the site every time Maddie does something new or funny. That could be so boring. If I have a bad day as a SAHD and probably should be writing as a form of catharsis, in truth I just want to unwind and sound saner than I could. I edit myself too much I guess. I don’t know how many of you are reading my blog and I’m hoping you enjoy it most of the time. I wish I was more informative to other parents but in reality I’m like you, learning as I go along. Not everything I learn or do is novel or ground-breaking. In all honesty we’re usually late in our good discovery’s. Hopefully I’ll learn to not edit myself so much but I just don’t want this site to be so diary-like with every post being so “me-me-me.” I’m trying to make this as universal as possible and the first thing I say when I think of a subject or post to write about is: Would someone else find this interesting? So maybe 2012 I’ll hopefully not care so much for that question and write my heart out.

It also seems, fatherhood and stay-at-homehood wasn’t as rough and tough as I thought starting 2011 with a 1-and-a-half year old would be. The terrible-twos, I’d have to say, could’ve been worse. Now I know what most of you are thinking and that’s “wait until she turns three.” And all I can say is I hope I’m close to saying the same thing this time next year. Although who knows what surprises are in store 😉 WHO KNOWS!!!!

I almost forgot to tell you that we successfully converted the crib to a toddler bed and Maddie loves it! She gets in and out with such joy and loves her Yo Gabba Gabba sheet set. Our two biggest fears with converting was if A. she’d take to the change from crib to bed and B. staying in the bed now that she has access to exiting the bed now. Well so far she loves her bed and stays in the bed until we enter the room to get her as if she was still in the crib. Strange but I guess that’s what she’s used to. It’s so much nicer to be able to kiss her goodnight (which we couldn’t do easily with the crib rails) and the last few nights read bedtime books to her while she’s cozy in the bed. And even though this is an indication of her growing up, I’m happier with the new arrangement and wasn’t that sad to see the crib go away.

Maddie is a very very good egg and I hope she stays that way. She sometimes acts irrational and whiny but when she does she punishes herself with her own time-outs. Which sounds very odd but when we attempt to correct her or try to explain to her how she should react to something she takes that as disciplining and walks to her room for a time-out. We try to stop her, because we didn’t want her to take a time-out, but she does it anyway and is much happier and calmer for doing so. My readers probably think this must be the most strict household and I must not be 100% honest to how I actually disciplining her but I have not held back anything. I sometimes yell at her. I sometimes scream when I’m at my most frustrated but that’s about it. She is just understanding, maybe too well, good vs. bad behavior and discipline.

Happy New Year to my readers, my awesome wife and adorable daughter, as well as my family. Hope 2012 brings much happiness and laughs.

Leave a comment | posted in Emotions, New Experiences

November 1, 2011

Trick or Treat…Smell My Feet…

By Brad

I want to thank my precious little daughter for giving me the rare opportunity yesterday to do something I have not done for over 17 years…go Trick-or-Treating.

It didn’t dawn on me that its something we love to do but is strictly for kids (I’m looking at you weird Sophomores & Juniors) yet when we have kids of our own we can at least experience it again for a short time until they get older and want to go out with friends. It was such a great time walking up and down and around the block with Maddie going door-to-door and helping her up some tough stairs. She actually knocked or rang bells and appropriately and politely (and adorably) said “TWICK GOR TWEET” “HAPPY HALLERWEEN” and even “Thank You” when she was given her candy. She loved walking with the neighborhood kids and calling out the Elmos, Supergirls and other witches besides herself. It was just as much fun for my wife and me walking with the other parents and watching out kids have fun. I really enjoyed Halloween from a kids’ perspective again, a small sample or taste what it feels like to be 6 again.

Here’s a quick video of my little girl Trick-or-Treating:

NOW, I cannot wait for Christmastime.

2 Comments | posted in New Experiences

October 12, 2011

Get The Sillies Out!

By Brad

Today my wife and I took Maddie to her first official music show/concert—Yo Gabba Gabba Live!

Maddie has seen live music before but mostly through festivals, carnivals or birthday parties. This was the first time in a darkened theatre with hundreds other families for a nice time out singing and dancing to their our favorite Yo Gabba Gabba songs. I will admit I am a Yo Gabba fan. My wife too. It’s a fun and educational show that is very easy to get hooked on. I can see how it can polarize some people but I think even if I didn’t have kids I would appreciate what the show is and tries to do. Its very entertaining and the songs are actually fun to sing. I sing the songs even when the show isn’t on the TV. I actually look forward to new episodes and even watching the same ones over and over again doesn’t bother me at all. Some kids’ shows are REALLY annoying, condescending or downright creepy or even preachy. Most common people, myself included, at first will see Yo Gabba Gabba as a weird and odd show and will struggle with remembering all the characters names but eventually everything about them grows on them. And what other childrens’ today show has guest stars like, Jack Black, Weird Al, The Shins, Sugarland, Laila Ali, Tony Hawk, Elijah Wood, Weezer and the legendary Paul Williams sing or dance on their shows? Only Sesame Street and the old Muppet Show had such celebrity endorsements.

But Maddie had an absolutely fantastic time at the show and we loved every minute of her loving every minute of it. She sang along, clapped along and even danced along to the songs. And she cannot wait to see them live again. The hardest part is telling her it might have to be a long wait until they come around to our area to perform live again. But the trooper that she is didn’t cause a fuss about it, especially when we treated her to one of her favorite dining establishments afterwards—Applebees!

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in New Experiences

September 13, 2011

V for Vagina

By Brad

I don’t know why I held off teaching my daughter the name of her naughty bits until now. I think mostly because for girls it’s not a concern early on. In other words, no extra appendage hanging between your legs. Young boys can pull and play and hold their penis especially come the time they start potty-training. My Maddie touched her crotch maybe 5 times in her life so far. Another reason I never mentioned it and I’m sure you’ll find this weird and silly but I was planning on not calling it a vagina. I could be very odd at times I will admit and part of that is my technical thinking [for lack of a better word]. I try hard to say INTER-resting instead of IN-tresting. It’s called being ironic not being sarcastic. A tomato is a FRUIT!! I blame my very precise grandmother for this who corrected me often and it must also be in my genes. It was always YES not YEAH. Like I said it’s annoying but who I am. I drive my family crazy with this habit of mine of over-correcting and being right as much as possible.

Anyway, I don’t like it when people refer to the exterior genitalia of females as a “vagina” because technically it’s not. The vagina is inside the woman. So I had this very crazy notion to teach my daughter the correct way to describe or refer to her crotch-area.

However, after discussing this with my wife and mother I decided to stop being such an ass and call it what everyone on planet Earth calls it. There’s no reason to make her an outcast early in life despite her being more correct than most people. No one likes a Smart-Alec.

Maddie started calling it her Va-China the first couple of times. I blame Ni Hao Kai Lan for that.

All I know is in a round-about way I will be worrying about that vagina or vulva or whatever for a long time; until she gets married at least.

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Child raising, Education, New Experiences

July 26, 2011

Hooray For Hollywood

By Brad

A few days ago we successfully attempted to take Maddie to her first feature-length movie at the cinemas. Happy to report she sat through the 10-12 minutes of loud, annoying and underwhelming previews; a 5-minute short and the whole hour-and-10-minute movie — Winnie The Pooh. It was great. She ate popcorn [she called them corn-pops!] and drank both her juice and the small lemonade we purchased. She was mostly quiet, although no louder than the other dozen kids in a kids’ flick. She showed enthusiasm towards the screen [“It’s POOH BEAR!!!!”] and even asked “More Pooh Bear” when the credits were rolling. She was a bit antsy and moved her location a few times [from my lap to her own seat to Mommy’s lap, etc.] but between this experience and last week’s plane trips I’d say she is a great patient kid…more than I could have hoped for anyway.

Another great thing about her first cinema experience is that I am a HUGE movie buff/geek. I literally own over 3,000 DVDs, have countless toys, books and other merchandise regarding films and drive my wife crazy with movie-quoting although I try to tell her that all my friends, really good friends, communicate via movie quote frequently. My first cinema experience I was two years old as well [The Empire Strikes Back!!] and I was really wishing and hoping that my daughter would be good in the movies as well. After the movies Maddie kept asking us to go see Pooh again and I promised her that in the coming weeks her and I will go again. I love going to the movies, always have and with a decent-sized cinema literally within 15-minute walk from us I’m sure her and I will be going countless times together. Until she gets a whole bunch of friends and I have to drop her off at the mall.

PS: Also this past week I popped in Toy Story 3 for Maddie, who funnily enough knows who Woody, Buzz and Jessie are from other Disney books and toys she owns. Besides the 20-minute TV shows she knows and loves I really haven’t shown her a feature before and wanted something different to show her and much to my surprise she really likes it. Well, I’ve only seen it once with Wendy when the DVD came out and I was told that a lot of grown men were known to get misty-eyed at this movie. Well I was no exception and held back hard at the ending. Watching it again with Maddie I’m STILL getting chocked up, not just at the ending but at other parts of the movie. It’s crazy. A movie has never had this kind of reaction for me. Maddie has watched it about 5 times now and I still hold back tears. It’s not sad tears either but I think I’m just so happy watching it with my daughter and thinking in the coming years she may have favorite toys of her own and I can’t wait to watch her imagination with playing with them. But damn, Toy Story 3 is like cutting an onion for me. It’s worse than Terms of Endearment and Field of Dreams COMBINED!

Leave a comment | posted in Emotions, New Experiences, Toys

July 17, 2011

Maddie Got Her Wings

By Brad

…the cabin shock and jerked a little as we began our descent. The whirring and wheezing of the cabin air (or the outside air) was in constant motion. Subtle little booms were heard as well as the sound of what were perhaps the plane’s wheels bays opening. As we touched down on the runway the slight whiplash occurred for a few seconds as the plane struggled to maintain control and slow down. The plane is now at a low and easy speed as we taxi into our terminal. And the little girl who is in my arms, not because she was scared but more or less bored from sitting still in a stuffy airplane cabin, gave out a very enthusiastic “HOORAY!!” and then promptly fell asleep on my shoulder.

She took her map there on my shoulder for the next half-hour as we exited the plane and walked to the baggage claim. All that time I kept thinking: This is hands-down my favorite moment of our week long trip.

We took Maddie on a week long vacation before to a beach resort town in a nice 2-bedroom condo last summer when she was still 1 and a half-ish. We drove down and she had her own room to sleep and nap. It was a trying yet manageable nice vacation and a good time for all I’d say. This year we were invited by my folks to join them in their Bermudian timeshare for the week along with my brother and his wife. Truth be told both me and my wife (and my mother) were a bit reluctant and nervous about taking the trip because of the traveling and Maddie’s possible terrible twos. We agreed though because it sounded like a great trip to take and with all the family members it might assist us and Maddie in being well-behaved.

Turns out our anxiety was a tad overstated. Maddie was in excellent form, very well-behaved and was very patient with everything from waiting at the airport, customs, the actual plane rides, the lunches and dinners and the bus rides and ferry rides as well. In fact we think she liked the many new modes of transportations she experienced this past week, especially the bus as she sang “The Wheels On The Bus” and pointed out the sights along the many twists and turns on Bermuda’s roads. She napped and slept well as per her usual and ate like a champ. Our only complaint about her was she didn’t like the beaches (not sure if it was the heat, sand or wind that bugged her) but she loved the pool, so it wasn’t the worst thing, although traveling that great distance to a tropical island with great crystal clear water beaches only to stay poolside was kind of a bummer.

So it turned out to be a great and wonderful vacation after all and we have my parents and brother and sister-in-law to thank for helping out and being loving and supportive.

However, and this is in no way a slight to my folks, but my wife and I realized that this was not really a vacation for her and I. We think it’ll be at least a decade to get to a point of a real vacation again for us. As parents with a young kid (and if we add more kids) vacations are really not vacations but being a parent in a new locale. We really didn’t sight-see nor relax poolside/beachside. Even dinners weren’t much different with us eating quick and on alert making sure she was behaved and helping her eat. Until the kids are preteens I would say traveling and vacationing will be really worthwhile. I think even my own mom would agree with me there.

But after all the fun things we did together and all the great meals we did in fact have, coming home again with a very happy child asleep on my shoulder was the best moment I received.

1 Comment | posted in Daddy blog, Emotions, New Experiences