UPDATE TO A PREVIOUS POST:
Remember when I was explaining how sad we were to drop Jax off for the night…
Well a 10:15AM wake up time has me like… “When is the Mima Resort and Spa taking reservations for next month?”
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Jackson vs Mom and Dad
Jackson went to see Santa again and mom and dad went to a dress up party. Who wins?
Date with Santa
In keeping with a Stony Hill (Bethel) tradition Jax got to meet Santa on the Stony Hill Fire Truck outside my parents house. He was making his last few rounds before heading back to the North Pole for final XMAS prep.
The kid wasn’t even phased. Can’t scare this little guy with a fat belly and white beard… Take that HoHoHo and save it for someone who is crying. Jax? He just wants a photo op.
It was pretty cute though. Jax was in awe! Just staring at him. It’s was a cool moment since it’s where I grew up. This was where I used to see Santa every Christmas as a kid.
Sleep Over with Mima and Grandpa Pete 💔
Readers Warning: I’m going to sound like a whiny first time parent.
I Feel horrible, just plain awful… We’re terrible parents… I mean our hearts are literally the same size as the Grinch’s!
We left our child… Don’t get me wrong…. We didn’t leave the kid in a kennel or anything. He staying with Mima and Grandpa Pete (my parents) but he’s still not with us nonetheless. He legitimately is gone.
The house is quiet, there’s no diapers to be changed, no oatmeal to be made… I’m actually not sure what to do with myself. Mom is already filling the the tub with enough bath salts to turn half the neighborhood into zombies, but I’m pretty sure I just heard her crying a little bit.
So how does this work? How long is a child allowed to sleep over someone else’s house before you actually are bad parents? I had to consult with the social worker at my school to check that it was normal to leave your seven month old for the night. She said it was OK. She also gave me this safe advise: “Kevin’s parents went to France and left him home alone and he turned out fine!” There’s a chance she also thinks there’s something wrong with me considering I went to her and had a serious sit down conversation about this situation. (Then again I’m sure she probably already thinks I’m nuts… So no big deal on hat end!)
I guess I’ll have to do my best to keep busy… Maybe even catch up on some
sle…. 💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤
What the Hell is Figgy Pudding?!!
I guess seven and a half months isn’t old enough to get the whole Christmas thing… but you have to start somewhere right? So I started thinking about the holiday itself, not the religious meaning or where Christmas actually began, but just the perspective of a baby who is still trying to figure out the world around him.
I can literally see his little brain working… his inner thoughts are asking: “Dad, why the hell did you plant a tree inside the house?” “Hey guys, did you know that you left some colored nightlights on outside?” “Mom, you know how your always complaining that the dryer eats all the socks… well I think I found the ones you’re looking for. They’re hanging up on the fireplace!”
You spend every waking minute talking to your baby. Teaching them about life, about nature and about how things work. Then all of a sudden, Christmas comes… things are turned upside down, people change… How do you explain this to someone who still puts anything in front of them in their mouth? Where do you begin? What do you say that can spell out what is going on in their own home? The thing is… I don’t think you can… I am going to go under the assumption that the first few Christmases are about the moms and the dads and especially about the grandmas and the grandpas (sounds like a 1970s band).
I am confident that Jax is loving all the extra things lying around the house that are (to him) edible… I know over the past few years the dogs sure have enjoyed eating hundreds of decorations and ornaments. Jackson is going to have to just deal with the fact that a big fat (healthy fat we like to say) is able to break into our house and walk around freely with no consequences. “No Jax the alarm does not work on Santa.” “No Jax Santa will not burn his buttcrack on the fire.” No Jackson, Santa will not be happy if you leave him a dirty diaper.”
400 words later and I haven’t even introduced Jax to the Abominable Snowman, Hermey, Buddy the Elf, or the Wet Bandits… or the fact that we dress up Buster and Max for XMAS too. This is going to be a long Christmas break….
A Few New Pictures Chronicling a Busy Day for the Little Guy
Busy day at Grandmas:
Busy reading (or pooping):
Busy eating and smiling and puking:
Busy minding everyone else’s business:
Busy loving momma:
A Self-Guided Tour of a Marriage with a Seven Month Old
I’d say this is pretty close to a normal weekday script the last few weeks
MONDAY-
530AM
WIFE: Do you have any plans today, or will you be right home after work?
ME: No plans, I’ll be home after busses leave. I’d like to try to get to the gym if I get out early enough.
330PM
ME: Completely forgot that we have an administrative meeting tonight. No gym.
WIFE: So you’re not going to be home on time…?
745PM
ME: I’m sorry…
WIFE: I’m exhausted I’m go to bed.
TUESDAY-
530AM
WIFE: Do you have any plans today, or will you be right home after work?
ME: No plans, I’ll be home after busses leave. Definitely going to the gym though after work.
330PM
ME: Completely forgot that we have open house tonight. No gym, going to leave right when it’s over.
WIFE: So you’re not going to be home on time…?
815PM
ME: I’m exhausted…
WIFE: YOU!??!!
WEDNESDAY-
630AM
ME: Shit… It’s 630?! I slept through the alarm?!!
WIFE: We didn’t set a alarm, we never do.
ME: Ohhh right, ok no gym. But definitely going tomorrow.
WIFE: Do you have any plans today, or will you be right home after work?
ME: No plans, I’ll be home after busses leave.
WIFE: Open your damn calendar and look at it before you answer me.
ME: Oops, staff meeting today… Must have missed that.
330PM
WIFE: Don’t forget I have my holiday party after work today. I’ll be home around 700
ME: So you’re not going to be home on time…?
WIFE: Not funny… joking or not… I’ll end you.
700PM
WIFE: How’d Jax do tonight?
ME: Great, we played with some of the Christmas decorations, Jax tried to eat one of the ornaments. You brought me left overs right?
WIFE: And on that note, I’m going to bed
THURSDAY-
645AM
WIFE: How long have you been up?
Me: I don’t even remember. What time did you go to sleep?
WIFE: I have no idea. Are you going to the gym today?
ME: HAHAHHAHAHHA
500PM
ME and WIFE: What’s for dinner?
ME: Chinese? Italian? Pizza?
Wife: I don’t know? Just decide by the time I’m done feeding Jax
530PM
WIFE: Did you decide?
ME: No
545PM
WIFE: Did you decide?
Me: Yea, peanut butter and jelly
FRIDAY-
630AM
WIFE: Are you still sleeping
ME: Yup, I’m quitting the gym
1200PM
ME: Hey, what’s the plan for dinner?
WIFE: Peanut butter and jelly?
ME: Perfect!
500PM
ME: I feel like we’ve gotten a lot accomplished this week…
WIFE: I know… I say we just put on PJs and watch a movie.
515PM:
ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Parents on Tuesday
What do you do when you get home from work at 8:00 and your son is already in bed? Well, besides sneaking into his room to give him a quick kiss and to tell him you love him… Apparently you create photo gifts no one wants!
…
And when all else fails you go to bed… FaceTime quote of the night: “Crap you guys are parents… In bed at 8:30?!!! SMH!” -Vic
Nice Little Monday Night
“What are you guys up to tonight?”
“Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Monday night, we’re going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, or just sit at home and do a puzzle, I don’t know, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time.”
Charity Work
Charity work is something that I wish I had more time for… shoot, spending more time with my son and wife is something I wish I had more time for. Being an educator is something that I spend the majority of time doing… yes I get paid for it, but its something that I can do to leave the world a better place. I feel good about myself and the work that I do when I go home at home at night, there’s always the wish that you could do more, but like the quote says: “A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different, because I was important in the life of a child.”
Every now and again the family and I like to give back beyond what we normally do. It never feels like a lot, and it definitely never feels like enough. Yet, somehow giving back is never easy. Someone is always too busy, or too tired or just not interested. I want Jax to be a caring person. I’d like to raise him to do his best for himself and for others and I know the best way to teach is to model. So Saturday morning Jax and I took a ride down to Danbury Ambulance’s Annual “Stuff an Ambulance” event (which collects non-perishable foods and donations for The Dorothy Day House, The Women’s Shelter and The Food Pantry in Danbury.)
Now listen, I know the kid has no idea what was going on… I know all he was looking for was something to chew on… but it’s the point that we do these things together. It’s being a family, who although not as much as we’d like, helps others. Either way, it was nice to be able to help people in need.
If you want to support Danbury Ambulance’s charity work you can contact me through the site or leave a comment on this page and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
Sorry Sons: Chronicles of a New Dad 