My New Favorite Holiday

Been waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long since my last post. Let's just say parenting has taken a lot out of me. Livi may only be 22lbs and about 2ft tall, but she's a force to be reckoned with. Sickness, ear infections, learning to walk - she's been a bit busy and as a result so have her parents. I will try to be better this summer with posting as I'll have some time off, but until then a quick shout out to all the dad's out there. Happy Father's Day y'all!

 

Her latest trick.

Mmmmmm, chedder bunnies :)

Two pig tails = One big smile

"Faster daddy, and watch those bumps!"

My two favorite ladies.

 I am indeed a lucky, lucky dude. Only 364 more days until my next Father's Day!

Progress

So here I sit, in bed with a cold. Our house has been ill for about.... oh, 10 months or so. Livi has two ear infections (again), Susan is all stuffed up, and I have a fever. These are indeed dark days.

But there have been some positive developments as of late, mainly in the form of mobility for Livi. You may be familiar with the famous evolution of man diagram, that goes from crouching monkey to upright dude.

Well, Livi has had her own version of that progression. Here's the documentation of the development over the past few weeks. I present to you..... the evolution of Livi!

Stage one: the reverse slide (my personal fav)

Stage two: the forward crawl

Livi: By The Numbers

Inspired by one of my favorite things to read, Harper's Index, here's my version for Livi:

The Year In Review

Well, 2011 is slowly fading away into the rear view mirror and my-oh-my what a year it has been. And with the end of the year comes the time when everyone and their uncle creates their own list of superlatives to sum up the past 12 months - the best of, the worst of, the best dressed, the worst dressed, the top stories, the top stories you missed, and so on ... We here at LWL are not above that at all, in fact we've been making our own list, checking it twice, and here's our greatest hits from twenty-eleven. [NOTE: Criteria for selection was simple: things that happened this past year. The selection committee included me (at times Livi chimed in as well). We've tried to be as objective and inclusive as possible].

And the winners are.......... (Drum roll please).......

The best belly: Susan

Looking good and feeling good!

The best room painting job: Livi's room (painted by yours truly) 

This also got color of the year - sea breeze

The best newborn: Livi Jun-Slangen - born March 23, 2011 at 9:21pm, 7lbs 11oz, 20.5 in long/tall, at Kaiser Medical Center, Oakland, CA.

  Livi: "What the hell just happened?!"

Parents: "What the hell just happened?!"

The best Jedi: Livi

"The Force runs strong in you young Livi"

The best sucker: Livi

And she has the paper to prove it.

The best 'fro: Livi

Nothing to really sure what to say about this one. I'll leave it to your imaginations.

The best mustache: Livi

"Just wait until I can use an Iphone dad! I'll get you back someday."

The best dress: Livi

The best laugh for no apparent reason: Livi

The best drunken sailor impersonation: Livi

 The best pumpkin impersonation: Livi

The best photo with brussel sprouts: Livi

"This is a funny looking Christmas tree dad."

The best at keeping her parents up all night: Livi

Do not be fooled! When the sun goes down this seemingly cute, cuddly little angel turns into a little nocturnal demon whose mission is to keep mom and dad awake, sleep deprived, and cranky. 9 months in and she's still going strong :(

And last but not least.... the best driving photo: Livi

Keep you eyes on the road Livi!

 Overall, it's been a good year here at LWL, full of ups and downs (more ups than downs). And mom and dad still have no idea what they are doing..... but this is only the beginning! We have much to be thankful for and look forward to in the days, months, and years to come - hopefully sleep will find its way in there, sooner rather than later. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned... and happy 2012 all of you from all of us here at LWL.

Livi is looking forward to 2012. Here's her latest Pavlovian trick.

Seven Months Old!!!

Loooooooooong time since my last post. Life has become packed - work, parenting, mourning the Red Sox September collapse.... We've ben a bit busy. More stories to come, but here's a few shots of Livi as she has turned the ripe old age of 7 months.

"I'm 7 months old and still keeping my parents up! My plan is working perfectly (insert evil laugh: mua ha ha)"

Fun with the fam - "I loved being spoiled by them!"

 

A bit tipsy and still figuring out how to sit up.... A work in progress

"My thighs are too chunky for my seat"  :(

BFFs :)

Going to try to be better about posts. We'll see what happens...

Animals do it too

So last Friday marked my last day as a SAHD (Stay At Home Dad). 15 days solo with Livi. Overall it's been a good run but a wild ride indeed - a bit like a roller coaster full of ups and downs, excitement and fear, and of course... spit ups. And also similar to a roller coaster, you start by saying, "Hey, that looks like fun! Let's try it!" So you and your friends get on and you quickly realize that it was a big mistake, especially after you ate that funnel cake and corn dog, but it's too late now to get off, you're in it full on. And you pretend like you're having a good time because you don't want your friends to think you're a wuss, but inside you're terrified, counting the seconds until it's over. One hair-raising turn after another and you think to yourself, "People actually enjoy this?" But you persist and persevere because you simply have no other choice, until finally this journey through hell comes to a screeching stop. Your heart is in your throat and your lunch is still in your stomach, thankfully. You want to kiss terra firma, but the world is spinning and you're afraid if you bend over your lunch will also be on terra firma. Your friends say, "That was awesome! Let's do it again!" and you say, "Uh... I'll meet up with you guys after" and they race off to get back in line and you race off to find nearest restroom. Wait... what was I talking about again? Oh right, the roller coaster-SAHD analogy. Got a little carried away there, but you can see the similarities. In the end I survived and so did Livi. 

But us men aren't the only ones who stay at home to care for little ones. Animals do it too. There are some of our brethren in the animal kingdom that take on this role, and in much greater capacity, making my SAHD stint look like child's play (well, actually there was a lot of that going on with Livi and I). Here's a few examples (courtesy of NOVA):

"Male parenting is virtually unknown in insects, but one striking exception is the giant water bug. The male becomes a virtual beast of burden, beginning with the mating process, when the female latches onto him until she is ready to lay her eggs. She will cement as many as 150 eggs onto his back and then depart. The male will carry this load for the next month, aerating his cargo by performing elaborate deep knee bends and warding off parasites by sunning himself at the water's edge. After three weeks, the eggs will have tripled in size and the male will stop eating altogether, so as to avoid accidentally eating his new offspring."

"Elaborate deep knee bends" = yoga for dads

"The male emperor penguin is entirely responsible for incubating his mate's precious egg over the long Antarctic winter. He does this inland, while the female returns to the sea to feed. His success depends entirely on his fat stores; if a male gets too thin, he will abandon his egg and try to get back to the ocean. Big fat males are consequently creatures of great worth and females have been observed fighting over them. Once the egg hatches, the male produces milk from gland in his esophagus to feed his chick."

So sitting on the couch and drinking beer actually HELPS male penguins!

"Spotted sandpipers are one of a few species of birds that are sex-role reversed; females are aggressive and play the more active role in courtship, while males provides most or all of the care for the young. Studies of the birds' hormones have shown that males have higher levels of prolactin than females—particularly after a clutch of eggs has been laid. Males will sit on the eggs for a 21-day incubation period and then tend the fledglings for another 21 days. Females may offer some assistance if the clutch is her last of the season, but she will be quick to shirk her duties if an opportunity arises to take another mate." 

Female sandpipers = love 'em and leave 'em

So it turns out I'm just another animal trying to raise, nurture, and protect its child. I wonder if these other animal dads freak out though when mommy leaves (or is that just a human trait. Or maybe it's just me.)

One discovery I made that really helped Livi mellow out was music. Turns out that it really does "calm the savage beast" (or baby in this case). When Livi was having a bit of a melt down I'd break out my guitar and the soothing sounds of my ole' 6-string mellowed her out. One day my friend Jonas came over and we put on an impromptu concert for her, taking some classics and changing the words a bit. Here's a few of our greatest hits (perhaps you'll recognize the tunes). Feel free to sing along: 

- From the Police: "Every pee you take, ever poo you make I'll be washing you." 

- From Jimmy Buffet: "Wasting away again in Daddy-daughter-ville. Looking for that last bottle of milk. Some people claim that there's a baby to blame, but I know... it's my own damn fault."

- And one of my favs from the great Bob Marley: "No mommy no cry." (With this one the last line became my mantra for the weeks: "Everything is going to be alright." I kept on singing this to myself over and over again....)

- Livi also seemed to like Paul Simon's "Mother And Child Reunion" for some reason - that was her fav.

Here's some more greatest hits from the past few weeks...

Out for a latte with Livi (don't worry, she had decaf)

Walks by Bay

 

Enjoying her new chair

On her belly (her newest move)

"...these are the times that try men's souls."

The phrase "these are the times that try men's souls" was the opening line from the first of a series of pamphlets authored by the great patriot and political writer Thomas Paine in December 1776. Titled The American Crisis, or The Crisis for short, many consider the "time" the pamphlets referred to was the start of the American Revolutionary War.

However, this reference couldn't be further from the truth. A little know fact was that Paine's wife Abigail often had to travel out of town for business (she sold Mary Kay products door-to-door; keeping your skin fresh and young was in high demand in those days). This meant Thomas was left at home alone with their 6-month old child, Samuel, for extended periods of time. Thomas found this new role incredibly challenging - much more difficult than ridding the colonies of the British tyranny. He was so distressed by this that he considered being a SAHD (Stay At Home Dad) an "American crisis". He reflected on this in his writings and circulated these pamphlets throughout the 13 colonies, forever leaving his mark on history.

Thomas Paine: writer, patriot, revolutionary, and SAHD

Fast forward 235 years later and I find myself in Thomas' shoes. Last Friday was Susan's first day back to work and marked the end of her 5-month maternity leave...for now (she managed to negotiate an additional 6 weeks starting mid-August through end of September). Where has the time gone? When she started her leave she had a bun in the oven. Here we are a few months later and that bun is more like a loaf - a 25in long 14.5lb loaf named Livi. So with her return to the work force the roles have now reversed and I am holding down the fort, taking care of a four month old girl solo for two weeks until I return to work on Aug 15.

Men have been doing this for generations. Although many have succeeded, many have also fallen in the line of duty on their domestic battle fields.  In my life I've seen my share of challenges and have come out on top: I've walked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, I've climbed to 19,000 feet in Mexico, I've trekked across the globe from Peru, Morocco, Mongolia, and Kyrgyzstan! Livi's only 25in long, I mean how hard can it be? I can handle her.... right? (I can see you all shaking your heads now with a resounding NO.)  FDR said it best: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!" I refuse to be defeated!

Well, Day 1 into my 15-day challenge was OK. It went a bit like this: feed, change, play, nap, repeat (this was all for Livi, not me). Next thing you know it was 5pm and mom was back home. Not bad... but we'll see how this goes.  I'm reminded of Shakespeare's Macbeth where he wrote, "Something wicked this ways comes."

Over the past decade or so Hollywood has depicted the SAHD role on the big screen. First Eddie Murphy got into it with Daddy Daycare in 2003.

And then Vin Diesel got into the mix a few years later....

And although not just about fatherhood, NBC's newest comedy starting soon called Up All Night  does have those dire daddy moments and looks like it is going to be a hilarious true-to-life portrayal of new parenting. Almost plays like a documentary...

But these all pale in comparison to the 80s cult classic comedy Mr. Mom. Michael Keaton pulled it off perfectly.

The torch has now been passed to me, and I will do my best to keep the fire alive, like so many of my "brothers in arms" have done before me. Armed with a Bjorn, baby wipes, and an arsenal of nipples, I head to the front lines. And like Thomas Paine I'll be chronicling my thoughts, musings, and reflections and of course, counting the minutes until mommy's return.

How can something this cute be a challenge?

Summer daze

Well, another month has almost come and gone since my last entry. My excuse this time was my health - been sick these past few weeks with some stomach funk. Still not feeling great, but I started acupuncture today so hopefully a little eastern medicine will do the trick. It has put a bit of a damper on our summer, but we've managed to have a series of "firsts," doing a few fun things together as a family. Here's a quick re-cap...

Since we last left our heroine Livi, we were about to head on her first flight to see relatives in Anaheim for the first time. The trip was great; Livi was solid on the flight (meaning she passed out), all her relatives loved her in particular her 94 year old great grandfather, and we went to an Angels game. Not a bad 3 days in SoCal.

Three generations (and me)

When we got back, we discovered that our 1996 Subaru had seen its last days. It had a great run: 2 trips cross-country, a trip north of the border to Canada and south of the border to Baja, a trip to Utah, and lots of runs to beaches, mountains, and all spots in between. Many good memories. She will be missed...

On the road in South Dakota (2006). Perhaps one of the only surfboards in the state at the time.

The torch has been passed on to the next road trippin' vehicle. We searched around for a bit, considered the Honda Element, but in the end we settled on another Subaru ten years younger than our last one (my third one, Livi's second one).

We decided to break in our new ride with our first family road trip. The journey was timed with Susan's birthday as well. We did 2 nights camping and one night in a swanky B&B. With all the stuff we packed for Livi you'd think we were going for 3 months! How can someone so small need so much?

Our adventure took us north, waaaaaay north, almost into Oregon. Hard to believe that you can drive 6 hours north or south of the Bay Area and still be in California! It is a completely different part of the state up there, home to all things large: towering redwoods, Bigfoot, and huge marijuana plantations. Livi was a traveling trooper once again; she did great on the long car rides. As soon as we got to camp though, she let her bowels loose in a record breaking way. Right after the incident she broke out in hysterical laughter, as if to say "This is what you guys get for keeping me in a car all day. Boo yah!" She loved her first night camping, got her all cozy in the tent between mom and dad. She slept like a baby (I guess that is because she is one.)

What type of grass do you think they feed their beef in Humboldt County?

Night 1: her first night in a tent!

Livi also had her first encounter with elk

Working on their tans, lounging on the beach.

Livi and dad chillin'. Moments after this was taken, an elk went for our picnic lunch. Livi, mom, and I had to take it out with our bare hands. Some quality family bonding. Mmmm, elk jerky....

From there we made our way south through "The Avenue of the Giants," a crazy, narrow road that parallels 101 (or if your from Southern California, THE 101) and winds you through some behemoth trees. We felt like we were on the set of some car commercial.

Little people in a big tree

Avenue of the Giants. No sign of Bigfoot, but we were keeping a close eye out for him/her

Night 2: And yes, that is a rice cooker. Never leave home without it! We tried to plug it into our car but no luck :(

After a few nights in the woods, we went big for Susan's birthday and spent our last night at the Brewery Gulch Inn in Mendocino. It was pretty sweet: good views, good food, and good folks.

The view from our room

We'd go back just for the bacon! It was out-of-this-world!

Happy birthday mommy! You're the best-est!

And finally, on the way home we drove through lovely Anderson Valley, stopping by one of their many vineyards...

Novarro Winery. Mmmm, zins....

All in all it was a wonderful trip full of firsts, the first of many adventures ahead. Speaking of adventures, tomorrow I get my top wisdom teeth out! Wish me luck....

The sprint drill

Sorry for slacking on the posts these past few weeks. Been hectic with the end of school year, graduation, meetings, etc. But Spring has turned to Summer, and with that comes some time off for me, so hopefully I can get back in the swing of things. To catch up I'm going to have to do a quick sprint drill of the past month or so using photos and a few words here and there.

Before that though, something I've been reminded of lately - language is fluid, dynamic, and ever changing. What means one thing one day could mean something completely different the next. Context is everything. For example, the term "burning a CD" at one point meant to actually take a certificate of deposit (remember those?) and light it on fire. Then it meant to make a copy of a compact disc (some younger readers out there may be Google-ing "compact disc" right now to figure out what on earth it is/was). All this is to say that as times change so too does language. My run in with this has been with sayings or idioms that I used to use one way, now have become literal for me. For instance...

1. When I tell Livi, "Don't be such a cry baby!" or "Act your age!"
2. When my wife tells me "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."
3. The term "spitting image"
4. When I "drop the baby off at the doorstep," that is in fact what I am doing
5. One I suspect will apply later on is, "Like taking candy from a baby," probably when Livi gets some teeth.

Phrases I hope never become literal for me:

1. "Hit me baby one more time."
2. "The dingo at my baby" (not sure what that is suppose to mean, but I just hope it never happens).
3. "Baby boomer" (not sure why, but the possible literal meanings of this term conjures up scary images for me).

OK, enough of that nonsense and on to more nonsense. And now for the greatest hits from the past month or so (drum roll please......)

Bad hair day (or bad chin day. Take your pick)

Rough day at the office. "Ugh, these parents can be so difficult sometimes."

Bring your baby to work day

Livi and mom at my first photo show. "Daddy, I like this one. Let's buy it!" Done.

Oh no he didn't! Oh yes I did. Daddy has fun with a new app. You know you'll be seeing more from this. Just wait....

Mommy's first raw seafood since the start of pregnancy! Mmmmm, oysters....

Livi is growing. The scotch bottle doesn't lie!

Livi then: roughly 8lbs and about 21in tall (circa April 2011)

 

Livi now: 12 lbs 10oz and 24in tall! (taken June 2011)

My first Father's Day! The best gift ever (and my new favorite holiday)

Livi's first Pride Parade! Yay NY! If it can make it there, it will make it anywhere, right? Come on Cali, we can do it!

And the grand finale. Hiccups....

That's a few of the highlights. Throw in lots of laughs, some crying here and there (usually around 7pm by both Livi and her dad), listening to Red Sox games, walks in the park, and some more laughs, and you are pretty much up to speed with things.