May 20, 2017: Poop

It’s hard to avoid teaching your kid swear words when you walk into his bedroom and your very first comment is, “Oh shit…” …because apparently sometime overnight he opted to not only remove his diaper, but also smear his shit all over the carpet like he’s some sort of artist who’s chosen medium just happens to be his…

May 10, 2017: The Quiet One

Christopher, as our resident three year old, is the hyper one. David, the large and in charge twin, is the loud one. And Matthew, the smaller and more reserved twin, is the quiet one. You could say that I’ve got a kid for every mood, although admittedly lately I’ve been most appreciative of Matthew’s laid back demeanor because, well, the other…

May 2, 2017: Water Safety

All of our kids are taking swimming lessons so at some point they don’t fall into our pool and die. So far, it’s a strategy that has worked out surprisingly well! …although with three of them in classes now, already I’m starting to feel what it’s like to have kids in sports because it’s costing me a…

April 30, 2017: When Toddlers Attack

Is there anything more embarrassing for a parent than having to apologize because your kid hit another kid??? I’m sure there probably is, but with our oldest now entering the terrible threes, I guess this is the stage that we’re at… 🙁 Today is the first day I’ve ever had to deal with something like…

April 14, 2017: Fear, Hope, and Gratitude

Your world gets much smaller when your child is in the hospital, and everything that you thought were problems takes a backseat to the status updates for that little guy laying in bed with a million and one probes connected to him. This morning we checked Matthew in at All Children’s Hopsital down in St….

April 2, 2017: While Babes Sleep

There’s probably a limit for how long you’re allowed to take a break from following your passions. For me, anyways, it looks like that limit falls just a hair over three months … judging from my last Thing-a-Day post here on New Year’s Eve! 😉 I’ve done a bit of writing here and there, but…

December 21, 2016: That Which Once Was Broken…

Kids are why we can’t have nice things around here, I tell ya!!! 😯 On the left, we see Exhibit A – formerly known as Matthew’s 1st Christmas Ornament that we picked up for him while we were on vacation, broken less than 24 hours after we returned home because apparently Disney’s Christmas ornaments aren’t up to being tossed across…

November 25, 2016: Sneaky, Sneaky

I suppose it’s a pretty good thing that my oldest* son is a very heavy sleeper. * It’s so weird now having to actually specify that! Anywho, my wife went out shopping last night for Black Friday, but on Thursday Night … why doesn’t this have a proper name yet??? … and came home with a bunch of toys for the kids. After…

November 20, 2016: My Favorite Time

I think my favorite time bonding with David right now is after he’s had the last drink from his bottle and he starts falling back asleep on my shoulder after burping. And I don’t just say that because it’s easy, but let’s be honest here – he’s nine weeks old right now, so it’s not like we’re singing along…

November 19, 2016: Quelling Construction Frustration

In a way, it’s really neat to see Christopher more actively playing with his Duplos as of late because right now he seems to love building these gigantic towers out of the plain 2×2 bricks with just as many of them as he can find! However at the same time, more often than not it…

November 17, 2016: Nothing is Quick Anymore

I think this is going to be one part of having an even larger family that’s going to take some real getting used to because with time right now being my most valuable commodity, it’s painful to see things that used to be quick, little trips now taking up the better part of an afternoon or evening… Tonight I…

November 16, 2016: Parenting, Level 2

So last night was my first night alone with TWO CHILDREN. 😯 😯 😯 We survived! Though I’m still grateful that my wife will only be working one day a week so that she can be home more to take care of the kids, I think us boys (plus Cleo) got by alright during our 12 hours of unsupervised freedom. Meals…

November 14, 2016: Burrito Baby

I don’t think that I picked up on this with the first kid, but I wish somebody had clued me in on the fact that a good, successful swaddle is really a solid 40-45% of the key to a happy baby. I’m still not very good at swaddling, to the point where my wife actually bought these…

November 11, 2016: Little Shower Buddy

I’ve found myself taking comfort in the little things a lot the last couple of days. Last night it was running into a guy pulling a trio of small dogs around Walmart in a red wagon (?!), and today it was a quick, impromptu shower with my little buddy… 😉 It’s funny how those things…

October 20, 2016: Holy Frozen Breastmilk, Batman!

This week we did something that is a parenting first for us even after having been parents for some 2.5 years now. We bought a new freezer expressly for the purpose of freezing breastmilk! Back when the twins were just born, I recall casually chatting with Sara and one of the NICU nurses about breastfeeding…

September 28, 2016: Like Grumpy Father, Like Son…

I find it kind of amusing that I think Christopher hates getting up from his naps just about as much as I do. Exhibit A is a good example of this because I should note that while it isn’t uncommon for him to sleep with his blanket over his head instead of the rest of his…

September 25, 2016: Bonding is Weird

It’s weird to think that tonight’s the first night that I’ve seen my newborn sons in a week (on account of being sick). It’s also weird to think that they’re still only 10 days old. I suppose a lot of weird stuff has been happening lately. Just this same evening, I had to tell my…

September 15, 2016: My Two More Sons

So today our family grew, and then grew again some more! I haven’t really written much about it since Sara went into the hospital blorgteen weeks ago – life has been a little, *ahem*, hectic since I’ve been juggling work and kid duty and nightly commutes to visit the wife in her temporary home at the hospital. Well, things…

August 5, 2016: My Special Snowflakes

Believe it or not, I’ve been trying to be more positive about life, the universe, and pretty much everything lately. It’s not easy because admittedly I tend to be fairly cynical in nature, but I’m trying for my own mental sanity, anyways… So a simple phrase kind of rubbed me the wrong way this morning in…

July 16, 2016: Mr Cranky Pants

It seems that we’ve entered a stage of toddlerhood where naptime is of the utmost importance because whoa boy, watch out if he misses one!!! That was the case today when Christopher spent most of the day out and about with Sara so that I could try to get some extra work done. They made it home just…

July 13, 2016: He Floats!

Look at this smiling, little guy!  Granted, there’s only a few inches of water in the tub, but somehow in a week’s time he went from flailing about whenever he got his ears wet to loving laying down during his baths.  I’m even told that he did so much better in swim class this week…

July 5, 2016: Sweet Home Exhaustion

Yesterday was a very late night … I don’t think I was climbing into bed to chow down on my giant cinnamon roll from Gaston’s until almost four o’clock in the morning! 😯 Still, despite my aches and pains today because good god, am I out of shape + this kid is getting heavy!, I can’t deny that it was a…

June 29, 2016: The Pace of Learning

A big fallback for parenting has always been that old saying, “…as long as they’re healthy…”, so it can be particularly scary when somebody tells you that your kid might not be developing like he’s supposed to be… Christopher turned two years-old earlier this spring and although I could never keep most of the dates straight when…

June 26, 2016: Under Da Sea

Today was a day of family fun at the Sea Life Aquarium over in Orlando! Aside from the crying tantrums, and the not wanting to listen, and the general fussiness that comes from being a two year-old, but family fun just the same!!! 😯 It can be frustrating how one minute he’s doing great at holding hands…