Dear Jackson,
Everyone says you never truly know love until you have a child. You hear that you can’t understand that until you see your child for the first time… When you hold him in your arms for the first time. I’m not so sure about that. 
For me love, I think, grows and changes every day. Love is something that is made to be constantly made and remade. The love you have for someone one day is changed every time you interact with that person, for good and for bad. Love is not a constant. Love is something that grows not only as you learn about the other person, but also it grows as you learn about yourself. 

I’m pretty sure that is exactly what having a kid is all about… Learning about each other… (Learning how much crap you can clean and how little sleep you can function on, but learning non-the-less). 

I’ve changed so much in two years. Two years out of 36 seems like a small fraction of time… But the profound effect that my son has had on me in two years makes it feel like I’m a completely different person than I was even two short years ago.  

I guess that’s exactly what I’m trying to say. My son has made me a better person. He has given me reason to live, he has made me want to be a better person. There are not many people in someone’s life who can make you feel that way. When you have someone like that it is impossible to not want to tell them. It’s impossible to not want more. 

That’s how love changes you. You are never ok with just being ok. When you feel true love it changes you. It makes you want more, it makes you want to change for the better, because you want to show that person the same love that they make you feel.  

Jackson, I’m not sure how I can ever show you how important you are to me. I know I’ll never be able to show you how much you have changed me. But I do know that I’ll spend the rest of my life doing the best I can to show you how much I love you.  

So on this day… Two years from the day I held you for the first time… I want you to know that I love you more now than I did then… And I’ll love you more tomorrow than I do today.  

Happy birthday Jackson.  

Love,

Dad

I remember writing the blog about Jax’ first day at school/daycare like it was yesterday.  (Click here to read that blog post).  It’s hard for me to process the fact that he “graduated” into the twos class. No more Miss Emily “Emmie” for Jax to hug every morning.  

Now he has to wash and dry his own hands, drink from a big boy cup and put himself down for a nap.  And he’s doing it. Is this how it’s going to be from now on… Milestone after milestone and then one day I’m writing about his high school graduation?  

Slow down kiddo… Relax and be a little kid for a while.  

   

    
    
 

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You’re off to Great Places!

You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself

Any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look ’em over with care.

About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”

With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,

You’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any

You’ll want to go down.

In that case, of course,

You’ll head straight out of town.

It’s opener there

In the wide open air.

Out there things can happen

And frequently do

To people as brainy

And footsy as you!

And when things start to happen,

Don’t worry. Don’t stew.

Just go right along.

You’ll start happening too.

OH!

THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

You’ll be on your way up!

You’ll be seeing great sights!

You’ll join the high fliers

Who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.

You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’ t

Because, sometimes, you won’t.

You’ll get mixed up, of course,
As you already know.

You’ll get mixed up

With many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

And remember that Life’s

A Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…

Be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

Or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,

You’re off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So…get on your way!

  Once upon a time… Long long ago there lived a very ordinary person.  He was not rich.  He was not what you would call high society. He wasn’t even much of a traveler.  Until one day he decided he needed to see more.  He felt there was more to life than bottles and diapers.  So he set out on what is now considered one of the most important life journeys known to man.  

This person… This young man, with out knowing it, would be witness to some of the most important events of the early 20th century. And it all started with a quick visit to his tailor.  If you’re going to be part of history, you need to look the part!

   
Once Jackson set out on his wirlwind tour of America he seemed to find himself around important people and part of events that would be remembered in the history books…

Abraham Lincoln’s carefully crafted Gettysburg Address was one of the greatest and most influential statements in national history.  It’s said that a very dapper young man changed the first line from 87 years ago to, “four score and seven years ago.”  No one is quite sure who or why it was changed, but Lincoln would for years credit an unknown young wordsmith for the first and most famous line of this often quoted speech.

 

Teddy Roosevelt is not just known for staring in the blockbuster movie Night at the Museum, he was also a champion for the outdoors.  Roosevelt is often considered the “conservationist president.” He went to the North Dakota Badlands, where many of his personal concerns first gave rise to his later environmental efforts. It is said he met a young well dressed man who refused to hunt bison and raised concern for the natural environment that was quickly being destroyed by settlers.  Roosevelt would refer to this young man who greatly influenced his believes on conservation.      

 
Samuel Clemens was known for being the “great American author” and also for spending quality time with his friends at his now famously preserved house in Hartford, CT.  It is said that one day he and a young man dressed in a navy blue suit holding a cane, could be heard yelling “Mark Twain I’m going to call you Mark Twain from now on.”  
 The great steam ship Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of rival White Star Line’s RMS Titanic after it struck an iceberg and sank with a loss of 1,512 lives on April 15, 1912. An extremely dangerous rescue mission, it is still unknown who exactly captained the Caroathia that night which led to the rescue of 705 survivors from the Titanic.  All that was recorded is that the captain was “dressed well and wore a monocle on his left eye.”  

 
Not all of the circumstances concerning the sale of Babe Ruth from the Red Sox to the Yankees are known, but former congressman Jacob Ruppert, the New York team’s principal owner, reportedly asked a Yankee fan one day what the team needed to be successful, a young well dressed fan replied, “Get Ruth from Boston.”  Days later that same fan was spotted w the Babe boarding a train to the Bronx.   

While rumors of a fifth Beatle have circulated for decades nothing has ever been confirmed. This image shows the mysterious musician that helped write such tunes as “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “Help!”  

 What a life!

Today was the third straight day home with the little guy.  

Daddy day care.

Boys time. 

Male bonding. 

And… I.AM.EXHAUSTED.

This kid straight wore me out.  I have no idea how he functions at such a high level for such a long time.  7:00am-8:30pm with no nap.  Just nonstop action. Inside… Outside… Upstairs… Downstairs… Did I say NO NAP?!!!

DAD = 😴💤💤💤 

Overheard this coming from Jax’ room earlier:

“Baa baa black sheep have you any words?”

“Little Miss Muffett sat on her tuffet eating her turds away.”

SMH… 

Still, gotta say that these new nursery rhymes had some flair… But just can’t compare to the original… Samuel L. might have the edge over Stephanie with the original nighttime reading. The dude brings the heat every time. It’s a borderline crime every audiobook isn’t narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, or Dikembe Mutombo. Gold every time.

Go the F*CK to Sleep

 Easter is always an interesting holiday. Us Catholics observe the rising of our savior Jesus… Yet somehow it’s celebrated by gigantic bunny that hops in your house and leaves chicken eggs everywhere.

Anyway… Jax enjoyed the day for the most part…  

That was until he realized the Easter bunny was having money trouble this year.  That face when you find the one he Easter egg with no money in it: 

 
Then all hell broke loose…   

Poor Drunk Bunny… Poor Jax…