Fatherhood

Jen and I have asked ourselves few questions along the way ... I'm sure there will be more, but here are some of the answers we have found: What if he drinks the bath water? He might feel queasy or get diarrhea if the water is soapy, but he will not have a problem with germs unless he bathes with someone else, says Philip Tierno, Ph.D., director of clinical microbiology at New York University Medical Center, in New York City, and author of The Secret Life of Germs. Wash children one at a time, and try not to let them drink the water. What if he sticks his finger into a socket? Standard household current would give a child a mild shock, similar to that from static electricity, says Liza DeWitt, M.D., a pediatrician at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee. The child would be startled and probably pull his hand away, but electrical skin burns can still occur. What can be more serious is not pulling away immediately, which can put him at risk of internal o...

Last night was cool. Patrick was in a playful mood ... dumping food and drinks all over the place, sneaking toys over the back of the couch (then getting upset when I passed them back to him), and climbing over everything. He also got a family game going ... with everyone ready for bed, he had us put his shoes on, then Papa and Mama had to put on their boots. It was all very funny and exciting ... mostly watching his intensity. Then, we had to follow him ... around and around we went. Through the kitchen, into the dining room, through the family room, past the front door and into the kitchen again ... over and over, around and around ... stomping our feet in some sort of family train! Every now and then, Jen or I would fall behind and invariably, Patrick would stop to make sure that we caught back up. We played other games, as well ... but we always seemed to head back to the train ... oh, and don't forget the shoes ...

We had my parents over for dinner last night ... Patrick and Jen prepared dinner, even going as far as making brownies for desert! It was very cool watching Patrick cuddle with his Grandfather. It is always amazing to me how those two get along. It was also very cool watching Patrick and his Grandmother read a book together ... Before dinner, he got a chance to show off the cast-iron toy stove that Jen had played with as a child. This has become one of his favorite toys ... the parts certainly make a lot of noise when he tosses them across the room. At dinner, I sat next to Patrick, across from his grandparents ... their expressions as they watched him were sheer joy and a joy to watch, as well. At one point, I asked Patrick to show them the Moon and Stars in his room. He has a humidifier that lights up, projecting colored starts and a moon on the ceiling ... he loves them. He immediately headed for the stairs, and turned to his grandparents and signaled come on ... a q...

This is the second night in a row that we were able to spend time and Grandma and Papap's ... Patrick enjoys it so much! We even had a rousing rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" with all five of us involved ... yes, Patrick is pitching in now. He runs from person to person, giving a bit to each one of us ... there is never a dull moment. Tonight, he repeated a new activity from last night. Last night, it was getting everyone involved in chasing him around the house ... tonight, we had this activity, but what we saw was that he wanted to play different games and wanted certain people involved. This is when he went to each person that needed to be involved and grabbed a finger, pulling them along. He even checked every now and then to make sure they were still following. Such an amazing child ... knows how to ensure that we sleep well.

We headed over to see Grandma and Papap after work. They had taken the time to pick up Patrick from daycare ... so cool, giving us a few quiet minutes. The silence was so amazing ... Patrick and Grandma showed us the new boots he got ... again, so cool! At one point during the night, Patrick was being chased around the house (they have a nice large circle you can run around in their house) ... by Papap. He stopped at one point and grabbed his Mama's hand and got her into the chasing. Not long after that, Grandma was pulled into the chase, as well. So there I was watching my father, mother, and wife chasing my son around the house, like some super-cool train (yes, I did get pulled into chasing hi, as well ... but at that point, I was allowed to sit back and laugh) ... we are all so well trained!

Jen had e-mailed to ask if she should take Patrick in to see the doctor. Knowing he has had a persistent cough (although not bad ... just not going away), I told her to take him ... I expected the visit to occur once she got off work. I learned that she took him much earlier than I expected ... as I got a text message from the pharmacy saying that his prescription was ready. Then, things got exciting. About an hour later, I got a call from his daycare saying he had thrown up and I had to come get him ... since I was only twenty minutes from the end of the day, I left right away. On the way, I called Jen's work and cell phones and left messages, letting her know what was going on. I called the doctor's office to determine what I was dealing with ... thankfully, nothing major. I also got the bright idea to call the pharmacy ... to find out that Jen had not picked up his medication. I stopped in on the way and got it! Then, I finally got to Patrick ... he looked fine, ...

I pulled out the bed from the fold-out couch tonight ... for watching the election results. I managed this while Jen was in getting his bath. I got sheets out, put a blanket on and laid out pillows for our general comfort. I even arranged the snacks and juice (drinks for the non-toddlers in the group). Surprise ... Then, we got playing as Mama went to get a clean diaper for him ... All was well ... until ... He wanted off the bed, sliding forward and looking at me for assistance ... nothing unusual, so far. I moved down next to him, getting ready to help him to the floor. Then, I could only watch as he jumped up and sprinted to the other end of the bed where he buried himself in my pillow ... laughing all the way. ... Let the games begin!

Patrick had fun last night ... he was laughing and playing from the time he got home. Jumping around and playing with a spray bottle, he was a bundle of energy unlike I've ever seen. At one point, he tried one of my popsicles and I got the bright idea of placing it into one of his smaller cups. He loved it ... and we loved the fact that there was little mess. Dancing with the Stars was on and he spent almost the entire two hours dancing with his mother. While this was going on, I was remembering the night before when he fell asleep while getting his bath for the night ... simply sitting and playing, then asleep ... so cute! Last night, however, he was moving with a determined energy ... falling all over the place, obviously exhausted, but not willing to give up the fight. Eventually, he crashed and we placed him in his crib. I got a quick shock as he jumped and scrambled ... until his head hit the edge of the crib, then the snoring started up again. I'm not sur...

We were playing near the stair from our kitchen to the lower level. Patrick had a squishy toy we bought for him a few weeks back. When it hits something, it flashes brightly ... he loves it. He was tossing the toy down the stairs and I was flipping it back up to him, often bouncing it off his head or chest. The laughter was incredible ... so much fun. Then, he made a run toward the stairs to get in a good toss ... and I knew he was in trouble. He tripped as I launched myself up the stairs ... just in time to catch him before his head hit the first step down the stairs. As Jen came around the corner to see what all the commotion was about, I was just getting my nerves back in order and began lifting him back to his feet. He let me hold him for a few seconds then, seeing his mother nearby, his tears stopped and he stretched out for her. ... so much fun!

Patrick's routine generally has him napping at just before noon each day. He gets some food in him and crashes. We decided to take advantage of that today. We got up and got ready for the day ... Jen took him for a walk around ten in the morning; anticipating him getting hungry around eleven. We were right ... The entire family piled into the car around noon ... a bit later than we expected, but still able to enjoy the day. Then, we drove ... twenty minutes later he was out. Jen and I explored our town ... for almost two hours we drove until he woke up. We found a store that Jen wanted to check out ... children's clothing. That's OK on a family day! Patrick enjoyed checking out all the clothing and got a chance to stretch his legs. For some reason, he liked the knit hat with three eyes ... although, we couldn't get him to wear it until I pulled it down so it covered his eyes; not too practical for winter. Then, it was time for food ... chicken, ketchup, an...

What a cool day ... we did nothing exciting, but had some fun. We all needed haircuts, but the place we chose did not do the coloring that Jen was looking for. Patrick and I got our hair done ... he sat in the booster seat with no issue (OK, a little concerned over the hair dryer, but he did cry as we left, so not too concerned). We then went someplace else to get Jen's hair done ... since we were looking at two hours, I opted to do the shopping with Patrick. He was awesome in the store ... talking with other kids as they went by and holding the new Swifer I was getting Jen (all kinds of excitement this weekend ... she did ask for a new one) ... really, he would not let go. Then, we headed back to the salon where we waited in the car ... Patrick got to drive! After a few people walking by commenting on the toddler steering the Jeep (yes, we were in Park the whole time) ... Patrick managed to get the window open and started having conversations with all the people goin...

Cleaning dishes that had piled into both sinks and were spilling over onto our cutting board, I was reminded of when Jen and I realized that the amount of laundry we do has increased dramatically. For a little-guy, he generates a LOT of dirty clothes ... he also generates a lot of dirty dishes ... pots, pans, silverware, and cups. Our workload has increased, but in a good way. What we did before Patrick was for us ... now, it's for family. I thought back to how he has grown ... he's even playing different. Patrick helped me with dinner ... he carried the egg from the refrigerator to the stove and mixed the egg and bread mix together for me. So cool! He has also been eating candy from Halloween ... well, let me amend that, he chews on the package with the candy in it. If he breaks the package and can taste the candy, he gets a new one. He spent about two hours taking the candy out of it's container and organizing it on our coffee table. Bored with that, he grabbe...

We missed the Trunk-or-Treat on Sunday at out church. It was cold and raining ... seemed like a good idea to stay home. Getting an e-mail from Jen yesterday that I needed to get some candy to daycare for Patrick ... I stopped off and delivered the candy. I opted to stay until Jen got there to pick him up. To my delight, I got to enjoy Patrick and his class walking from room to room "trick-or-treating" ... he and I both loved it! On getting home, I made a quick run to get some groceries ... it was cold and raining again, so we opted to get Patrick dressed up and hand out candy to the kids coming by that night. When I arrived back from the store, Jen and Patrick were both in costume ... Patrick looked very cool in his dragon costume. Kids were coming by throughout the next few hours and Patrick made it to the door every time! What a night to remember ... his second Halloween, but just as memorable as his first!