Fatherhood

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...

  Can you believe that I had no idea how to spell "croup" two days ago? Thank you Google. I arrived at my parents to find my wife and son in the bathroom with the shower running ... I am not sure what thoughts were running around in my head as I heard where they were, but croup was not one of them. Then, I heard it ... croup. And ... so aptly named. In anguish, I was trying to remember everything I knew about child-rearing and croup ... it didn't take but a second, or two. Again, thank you Google. After a quick refresher on what we were up against, I made a quick trip (with Jen ... my parents gave us a break from watching Patrick, knowing we were heading for a long night) ... to get a cool humidifier for his room. Everything together, we headed home. He did get to sleep, after two rough attempts where he coughed himself awake, having trouble breathing because of all the crying he was doing. He did get to sleep ... in between his parents, both watching him ...