Better Than a Couple Hundred Words

Best Buds

Silly Face

1st Climb

Loves Hangin' Around

Playing House

Yes, 6 Months last week

Regression?

Babydaddy sucks!

cornucopian dad/babydaddy has been ridiculously busy to find time to blog about the babygirl or babyboy. no promises when regular posts will be posted.

we're all well, and making it each and every day.

You Got Bubbles?

Babygirl and Babydaddy shared a public family restroom at Target today. Babygirl did her business, and so did Babydaddy.

As Babygirl was looking at end result of the process, she asked "Daddy you got bubbles in your tinkle?" Babydaddy replied, "yup." She quickly responds, "that's so silly."

How does a dad a dad respond to that? It was a funny moment.

Babygirl as previously mentioned, likes to describe her poops.  Today Babygirl said that her poop was a "caterpillar with one arm."  Sometimes she likes to even tells Babymama and Babydaddy after she's done taking care of business, "I think my poop is moving.  See! it's moving."  Not sure if she thinks this is funny to her parents, or scares them, or simply thinks that each poop is alive.

Babygirl also likes to compliments toilets that flush by themselves, "good job, it flushed all by itself."

Can't even imagine what her bro, Babyboy is going to be like potty training and what not.

How is everyone else spending their Labor Day Weekend?

18 Months Long!

Babydaddy, has had very short stints with Babygirl, or Babyboy, or both at the same time.  It has either been for a couple of hours-maybe even a full 8 hrs, a series of days for a couple of hours, and a wknd here or there.

Babydaddy can not fathom what a 18month long paternity leave would be like.  As the author talked about the cultural changes in Sweeden as other dad's take long leaves to take care of their children, he also questions the social constructions of dudehood or masculinity.  Babydaddy can only assume that if he was the lone dad with the long paternity leave he would begin to feel self conscious around other men.  At the same time, babydaddy knows it would be one of the best usage of time to be with his own children, as well one of the most tiring of times.

As Babymama likes to point out, even though Babydaddy may be working a lot, the work in the office is so different than the physical nature, the emotional rollercoaster of full time parenting work at home.

Babydaddy salutes all the mom's who do so much each and everyday with very little acknowledgment of all the daily battles they won.

babyboy sleeping(photo taken in mid Aug)


babygirl giving someone the stink eye or totally enchanted?(photo taken in mid aug)

Things I Hope My Kids Will Not Do(in the future)

1. Write a book about growing up with their whacked out therapist dad or quote me like this guy to the whole world

2. Backlash from the kids about being bi-racial

3. Have a sense of entitlement

4. Waste resources

5. Hate each other beyond normal sibling rivalries/relationships
  

Pain cont. . .

Babydaddy had previously written about the pain that he endures at night from Babygirl.

Lately the antics have continued to get Babygirl to brush her teeth.  Often times Babydaddy has had to "call" our one of our family's many dentist friends re: the conflict we were having at home, and how "Doctor Jeff" would be disappointed to hear that Babygirl isn't brushing her teeth, or something to that effect.

During a moment of genius, Babygirl was asked if she wanted to brush her teeth upside down, which of course she said yes(Dad's when all else fails, anything upside is sure to be a winner. Like going to bed upside down.  Haven't tried eating veggies upside down, but I'm sure it's possible, astronauts do it right?).  Babygirl's joy for upside down teeth brushing was short lived, but it's still one of the many options that get offered.

Sometime we just have to sing the brush your teeth song from daycare to get her to brush.  Sometimes Babygirl wants to be collaborative and asks that Babydaddy and her both hold the handle and brush her teeth together.  Sometime they just agree to independently brush their own teeth at the same time.

Yesterday, Babygirl got a new Dora toothbrush, which has turned into a novelty item in the house.  At least oral hygiene is on her mind, but it hasn't made that much of a difference.


Hangin' out poolside!

Generation X Dad?

Babydaddy falls into the category of not really being a true Generation X-er, but definitely missed that cut off.  Is he a child of the 80's or 90's.  Of course more of his formative years were a part of the 90's, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the appreciation of all things 80's, especially from '85 and beyond.

This article, Gen-X Parents "R" Us, is a comprehensive look at how marketers/ad companies have targeted the Gen X parents.  Some of it was definitely things Babydaddy could related to, and yes he thinks it's fairly normal that each generation tries to compensate for things that were unfulfilled or wrong that their parents did.  Of course the tendency is for the next generation to act in the extreme opposite of their own childhood, which creates it's own multi-generational issues.  So what do parents do?

Babydaddy believe in this informed society we live in and where we can analyze and document the changes of times, it's important to find the balance btwn the past and present.  Does babydaddy wish he had a Jordans while growing up, definitely.  Does that mean babyboy needs his Jordans for preschool? NO.  Babydaddy had a mix of handy me downs, and very few "cool" clothes, does that mean that every outfit that Babygirl wears needs to come from HM kids? NO.  As the article states, many in our generation have added simple luxuries into our lives that we believe are non-negotiables, such as premium organic coffee, furniture from Crate and Barrel, Coach purse, Ed Hardy t-shirts, smartphones w/data plans, etc., and the hope is that as parents various innocuous luxury items will be a part of the child rearing life.  Such as child and parent will always resort back to Nickelodeon as the goto channel for entertainment, or New Balance will be the default shoe of choice due to comfort, Sesame characters, or your child will be a member of Red Sox Nation.

Babydaddy and Babymama are equally guilty of our fair share of luxury items, basic cable w/HD+ DVR, granite counter tops, etc.  At the same time Babydaddy feels that btwn Babymama and him,  they can find the balance where Babygirl and Babyboy aren't totally enslaved to Madison Ave and corporate branding, and overly indulging in capitalism.

Have any parents noticed various consumer traps they've fallen into.  Has anyone decided to buy a Toyota Sienna cuz the hipster parents on the commercials make it look acceptable?

one of Babydaddy's fav images/toys of the 80's

Chuck T-eezies!

Babydaddy definitely bought 4 pairs of Converse all stars (hi-tops) before Babygirl was even born, and before Babydaddy knew that the baby was going to be a boy a girl.

Babydaddy bought 2 pairs in turquoise and 2 pairs in black, all in different sizes(they were on sale). Babygirl looked bad ass in the black, and just looked cute in turquoise.

Although hi-tops and laces are impractical for toddlers, Babymama and Babydaddy have a love for the classic Converse All Stars, and own several pairs.

How excited was Babydaddy to see these Dr. Seuss themed Converse? Babydaddy was always aware that you could design your own but have yet to take the financial plunge in designing his own or Babyboy or Babygirl's uniquely designed canvas shoes.

Come fall Babygirl will fit right into her 3rd pair of converse, and by next summer Babyboy will be fitting into his 1st hand-me-down pair of shoes from BigSister.  On a side note, Babydaddy has been jonesing for a new pair of All Stars, any thoughts on what color he should get next?

Pain in the. . .

Not sure when Babydaddy valued the idea of negotiating as a skill that people should have. It comes up frequently at work btwn a child and parent(s), and somewhere Babydaddy decided that Babygirl should also learn the values of negotiating effectively.

In the midst of trying to get Babygirl to practice regular nightly oral hygiene, Babydaddy had the clever proposition of, "You can brush my teeth, if I can brush your teeth." Since then brushing teeth at night has been pretty successful.

Babygirl gets all of her teeth brushed while swallowing minty flouride, and each night Babydaddy gets to endure a 2.5 year old jabbing the back of his mouth and cheeks with a toothbrush. Despite the pain and screams of "oww," Babygirl thinks it's hilarious.

Despite the pains in Babydady's mouth, teeth are getting brushed, and just like all negotiations, one has to give a little to get a little.


1 year ago, Babygirl was able to be talked into standing on Babydaddy's hand, not so much these day. It was a fun trick while it lasted. Still negotiating the terms of bringing the trick back out this summer.

Stall Tactics

Since Babygirl has become a big sister, the good sleeper she is disappeared. Also add that Babymama and Babydaddy made her say goodbye to her binkie, that has also disrupted our good sleeper.

Here are the most common ways Babygirl will try to prolong sleepytime.

"I have to go potty"- How could you deny a toddler who wants to use her potty instead of pissing on the bed or in her pull up? The solution is to let her go to the potty. Sometimes she actually goes, sometimes she forces the smallest puddle of urine to prove her point that she had to go. Often she just sits and stalls.

"My bottom is itchy"- This is often not true, but on occasion she could be sporting a diaper rash, or what not. The solution is usually to apply some cream.

"I'm not feeling well" or "I need a washcloth"- Babygirl was sick a couple of wknds ago, and due to her fever she would often get a wash cloth to just keep her temp down and what not. She also heard from us that she wasn't feeling well. The solution is to usually get a slightly damp wash cloth for her and to reassure that she's okay and just needs to sleep if she's not feeling well.

"I need a song"- Sometimes Babymama and Babydaddy will sing her a song, sometimes babygirl demands a song. The solution is to just sing a song.

"Lay down with me"- Good thing Babygirl just took over the guestbed, and sleeps on the queen size bed. So often times Babymama and Babydaddy will lay down with her to read her stories, or to just help her settle down. The solution is to lay down with her until she's feeling calm.

"I need_____"- The blank can range from "blue eyed baby," "cotton candy bear," "toy story ticket," "magic wand," etc. The solution is to hunt down the random object as fast as possible, which really could be on any 2 levels of our condo.

"I need ice water"- In transitioning Babygirl from the milk bottle at night, we switched to the luxury item of "ice water." Ever since then, Babygirl asks for "ice water" before falling asleep each night. The solution is to fetch ice water. Babygirl may be the highest utilizer of the ice maker in our freezer in the whole family.

"I feel scared"- Not sure where she got this from. Not even sure Babygirl knows what "scared" means, but she knows that it gets a response from adults. The solution is to just respond to her and soothe.

I'm sure there are some more classic stall tactics, but these seem to be the most popular ones.

eh, father's day

Happy belated Father's Day to all. Hopefully ya'lls were better than Babydaddy's. It was only 3 months ago, for Babydaddy's bday he was all sick and laid up in bed.

This time around Babydaddy was sick once again. This time it was serious, and required trip to ER. Babydaddy had pneumonia. Actually 2nd time in his young life, boo!

To make matters worse, Babygirl was sick all wknd long. Nothing worse that being sick and taking care of a sick child.

Babymama is truly the champ and a hero in the house, holding down the household while chasing 2 kids all by herself, while Babydaddy was recuperating. God bless that Babymama.


ma familia!

(de)Efficiency?

Woke up today, and everything was not gray(a pun on the opening line of Guster song).

Woke up at 7:30ish, 15mins after my alarm 1st went off.

Brushed teeth, took a shower. Thought about Baygirl's lunch options for today.

Went upstairs, started coffee, and started making PB+J (Babydaddy's standard lunch) and pita, cheese and tzatziki for Babygirl. Also made some raisin toast for Babygirl's breakfast.

Due to not so gray day, went outside and watered an area of the lawn where Babydaddy is trying to grow grass.

Came back inside, woke up Babygirl. Despite her being 2.5y/o she's like a teen trying to get out of bed at times.

Babygirl refused to go to the potty this AM, and the oppositional/defiant behaviors began.

Started washing dishes before Babygirl demanded that she had to color this AM, and struck a deal with me if that Babydaddy traced her hand, she would eat some food. Surprisingly she kept to her word and began eating breakfast.

By this point Babymama was already up and started playing some music for Babygirl while she was eating breakfast. Shortly after wards she demanded watching Barney. She then began to scream and yell waking up Babyboy, which was definitely grounds for no Barney.

Continued washing dishes that collected over the last 1.5 days.

Getting Babygirl dressed is no easy chore, and this AM did not disappoint. Funny thing is that Babymama and Babydaddy picked out separate outfits for Babygirl that were pretty much identical in look/style. Eventually the offer was made if Babygirl got dressed she could watch Babyboost- that didn't work. Eventually Babygirl did not want to wear Babymama's outfit and demanded to wear purple, she was adamant there was a clean purple shirt. After looking at her drawer, she came back to wearing the original outfit that Babydaddy picked out.

The next chore was getting some sunscreen on her, as well as doing her hair. Babygirl demanded to play with the "shakers" aka medicine bottles. At this time it was 8:40 and she had to be out the door in 15 to get to daycare.

A couple bottles were given, and a single side pony tail was put together.

Somewhere during this time oatmeal was eaten and coffee was drunk by Babydaddy.

Helped babymama get Babygirl into the car, and off then went at 9AM.

Also during this AM, laundry was started, and wash was transferred to dryer. 35 pushups were also snuck in while babygirl was eating breakfast.

Here Babydaddy is working from home for the next hour or so. What a crazy 90mins!

Any tips for AM efficiency?


a sample of Babygirl's play with the "shakers"

Can dads and moms really be just friends?

Babydaddy found this article in Babble interesting. For most of Babydaddy's life he has had many platonic relationship with females through high school, college, and grad school. Things did change after marriage, but there continues to be a good group of women that Babydaddy keeps in touch with. Of course some of them are mothers, but most reside far away for playdates and regular stroller walks.

Babymama has a nice collection of mama friends, and I've met most of them. They are all very nice to me, but it's very clear that Babydaddy's presence upsets the balance of things. Babydaddy doesn't necessarily feel excluded, but they're not really his friends

Unsure if it's totally appropriate for Stay At Home Dads to be trolling for female friends, but the options are pretty limited when 90% of stay at home parent happens to be a woman. Babydaddy is not bitter, or even upset, but it can be lonely for us dads. Any thoughts dads?

"just hanging out"


awake+alert

And Then There Were Two. . .

Babygirl has been nothing but gentle and loving with her new baby bro. We're all adjusting, but we're all doing well.

More details/recap of life the past 2 weeks to follow shortly.

Last Dance

While Babymama is on high alert to pop out baby#2 at anytime, we all decided to run an errand this afternoon that included a trip to the ice cream shop to keep excitement levels in check.

As Babygirl sat on my lap and we shared some sorbet in a waffle cone, Babydaddy couldn't help but soak it all up. Babygirl was very focused on eating her cone, and also willing shared with Babydaddy. Even though Babygirl ate more sorbet than Babydaddy, we had a nice memorable moment.

Babydaddy couldn't help but get all sentimental with the thought this could be one of last non routine moments btwn us before #2 arrives and the chaos begins.

All in all Babygirl has been quite emotional, perhaps due to impending life altering changes, as well as normal developmental stages of "terrible two's." Babygirl has really turned up the nurturing factor- needing to sleep with many more stuffed animals, and needing to take more objects with her when leaving home, and all of sudden, "no thanks, thank you, and please" are just part of the norm. Even in tantrums it's hard to really get upset when there's good manners.

So perhaps this was Babydaddy's and Babygirl's "last dance," but in reality there's so many more first's than last's ahead of all of us.



cam you tell Babygirl enjoys eating blueberry pancakes?

Questions

Babygirl is definitely inquisitive like babymama and is always wanting to know the details of things, especially the relationships btwn things.

For instance, Babygirl will commonly ask babymama, "What's Sally's mom's name?"

Other questions that are commonly asked:

"Who bought me this?"- is it clear that we live in a capitalistic society?

"Do you remember me?"- not sure if she needs the reassurance that she's stuck with babymama and babydadyy for life, or just mimicking Babymama when she asks her if she remembers someone or doing something.

"What that guy doing?"- or replace guy with car, man, etc. This question often comes up when Babygirl and Babydaddy are walking to the train station, and passing by people or parked cars.

"What's his/her name?"- this one occurs in passing, whether when we're on a bike ride or we're out for a run.

There are always the non questions that come up frequently.

"This is blue eyed baby's mom"- apparently Elmo is the mom of her baby doll.

"I see the moon"- could be any time of the day, she swears she see the "crescent moon."

"I see helicopter"- every non commercial plane apparently is a helicopter.

"pick-up truck"- taught her this the other week, and of course she loves to point them out.

"Cars every-where!"- often when we're out for a run, and the intersection is busy with cars.

"daddy, go to your kitchen!"- this is when she wants me not up in her grille, whether it's getting in the way of her TV watching, eating, or wants to play alone.

"I'm not a big girl, I'm a little girl."- typically said when you call her a big girl

"I'm getting bigger and stronger."- she prefers this statement, rather than growing up into a big girl.

Of course there are many more funny and cute things she says. She's definitely ready to be a big sister as best as a 2 year old could be prepared for.

"Accidents Happen"

Babygirl has been doing very well with the potty training. Everytime there's a sucessful output it's followed by "Yeah! I went TINKLE!" Sometimes this will be followed by, "I WANT PINK AND BLUE!" which refers to candy that she would receive as an incentive for going to the potty. Since she only likes pink an blue things, she only requests a pink and blue skittle(tropical flavors).

Babygirl typically doesn't make an announcement re: poop, just because she's still working on it. When the poop does end up in the potty versus her diapers when she's napping or sleeping, or simply in her underwear. She's very descriptive in what kind of poop it is, there's been "ice cream, rock, and macaroni poop."

When she's so enthralled in her activity like eating, or watching TV, or watching TV and eating, she may not make it to the potty in time. This typically lead to tears, where poor Babygirl is upset and ashamed that she couldn't make it to the potty. Of course Babymamma and Babydaddy just reassure her and clean up the mess. Shortly afterwards, Babygirl will say "accidents happen," in the cutest nonchalant voice that's part statement, and part apology.

Babymamma and Babydaddy have been blessed with not having to deal with massive poop explosions in the middle of the night that require stripping the crib while half asleep. Although, in the last week they've had to strip the bed in the AM two times due to Babygirl waking up and stating that the bed was wet.

Ya see, Babygirl takes a while to fall asleep, somtimes she'll thrash around, sometimes she'll sing songs, recite her ABC's, talk to her stuffed animals, etc. Her latest trick is to undue her sleeper and take off her diaper and fall asleep commando style(for some reason she keeps her top shirt on). Of course if Babymamma and Babydaddy are not aware of this before they go to sleep, that's when the AM tinkle happens in her crib instead of the potty.

Tonight Babymamma, had the idea to make Babygirl wear her sleeper Kriss Kross style, that's right. . .backwards. This way Babygirl will never be able to pull down the zipper on her sleeper and get undressed, keeping her diaper on, and crib dry, hooray!

Happy Easter ya'll!

Wasn't I Right. . .

. . .just call Babydaddy the Sartorialist, well maybe not yet. Earlier Babydaddy posted about how fashion fwd Babygirl was. Did anyone else catch the cover of Urbanoutfitters' spring catalog? They're basically wearing the same outfit, no?

Choosing a Pediatrician

Since Babydaddy works at a health center, and knows all of the pediatricians here, it was a no brainer, when it came to where Babygirl would get her medical care. Not only is it great that her doctor is my colleague, I also get full access to her medical records, which is a nice bonus.

Babydaddy is aware that choosing a pediatrician can be difficult, and perhaps the following link written by pediatrician may be of help in selecting a doctor.

http://thefastertimes.com/pediatrics/2010/03/04/picking-your-babys-doc-the-prenatal-visit/

Other than that Babymamma, Babygirl, and Babydaddy are down to single digits (9 weeks!) before we meet Baby#2!

Babygirl has been working on her lullabies for her sib.

Grammar

It's true English is not Babydaddy's first language, despite being born in an English speaking country. It's true Babydaddy scored higher in the math section of SAT's compared to the English section. It may also be true Babydaddy did not apply to grad schools that required GRE's.

Babydaddy is not very good at grammar, especially when he's totally into just letting thoughts and feelings fly out of his fingers for the blog, so grammar does take a backseat to just getting a new post up. Due to not posting frequently he even forgets there's a spell check button, but really what's needed is one of those grammar checking buttons or what Staples would refer to as an Easy Button that would just go ahead and correct all of my mistakes that drives Babymamma(who currently is teaching composition college students) bananas, and may or may not be one of the biggest critics of my poor command in written English grammar.

Babydaddy thoroughly apologizes for the lack of editing/proofreading that occurs in about every post. Hopefully Babydaddy will change, and make better efforts to not cause readers visual and mental anguish due to poorly written English.

*anyone looking for an editing job?

Sports

Babydaddy's goal is definitely to instill values in Babygirl that she's fully capable to compete with the boys at the playground, field or court. Time will tell how much she fights Babydaddy on this one, but Babydaddy still hopes that he'll be able to play ultimate frisbee with her on the same team.

Babydaddy isn't going to be like NFL dad who grooms his child to be a quarterback from the age 4. I do hope that she does enjoy sports, because quite frankly Babydaddy enjoys sports- enjoys participating in it, watching it, following it, etc. So far Babydaddy would say he's off to a good start.

When Babygirl was only an infant, Babydaddy would read Sports Illustrated/ESPN the Magazine articles to her while holding her. Obviously she just liked the rhythm of the words and continuity of auditory stimulation that was not babymusic. Soon she began to enjoy the photos, the colors, etc.

Babygirl became attached to balls- tennis balls, spikey ball, yoga ball, etc. It was only natural one day we all watched several minutes of an NFL game together. Babygirl loved how the ball would be thrown in the air, how other people would kick the ball, and of course how people all fall. Right around this time she was really into "Ring Around the Rosie," especially the "we all fall down" part. So many people "falling" on top of each other was definitely sure joy.

Shortly afterward Babygirl began to identify numbers and colors, so NFL/football took on a different level of interest- green fields, numbers on the fields, numbers on the uniforms, different colored helmets(Babygirl likes her bike helmet). Babygirl soon began to ask for "Elmo Football" as well.

At this point, despite NFL season being over, Babygirl will still ask for football, so we'll catch a minute or two on the NFL channel. She's also quick to point out all the football related ads in magazine and Sunday circulars. These days Babygirl will even put on her "helmet" a pink bucket while she wants to play catch with the football. Perhaps Babygirl will be a candidate for the NFL's Punt, Pass, and Kick competitions, heck maybe girls will be playing football with the boys when she's in high school.

Good thing there's such thing as the NFL channel, otherwise I don't know if she would understand if Babydaddy had to explain the off season and this idea of the need to get into baseball and spring training. Babygirl has been to a baseball game and recognizes the game, but it doesn't really captivate her attention like football, same thing with basketball. Babygirl recognizes that people shoot the ball into the hoop, but isn't really interested.

As winter and the Olympics have rolled in, babygirl has definitely taken a liking to ice skating, and will typically watch something, especially like in speed skating where you can cheer for someone in a colored uniform. Prior to the Olympics Babygirl and Babydaddy enjoyed watching Shaun White highlights from the X Games, and particularly enjoyed the idea that people could spin and be upside down at the same time.

So far Babydaddy is happy with the progression of her enjoyment of all sorts of sports, and hope that Babygirl will continue to take an interest in participating in sports (not necessarily in a crazy competitive, got to go to the Olympics type way) but just for the sheer enjoyment of sportsmanship, competing, and pushing various mental and physical limits.

Obviously Babydaddy is excited for Babygirl to pick up ultimate frisbee, skiing/snowboarding, rock climbing, adventure sports, etc., and can't wait to participate together as father/daughter.

"Elmo Football" Babygirl also enjoys doing the "1,2,3, hit exercise"




This is Babygirl's stinky face

poop

Babygirl repeatedly said the following today: "I want to eat poopies," while I was changing her diapers, and "I poop on daddy," while sitting on my lap as if I was her potty. Should I be concerned?


On another note, Babygirl continues to push the limits of how trendy she is. As most fashionable women, she's all about the oversized shirts, and not afraid of showing legs with or with out tights. Her pink pail doubles as her "football helmet," and as an all purpose retro purse for her "trips to the store," or "work."



In all honesty, Babygirl is starting to potty train so sometimes she's running around with her big girl "elmo underwear" on or simply just running around commando, which she thoroughly enjoys despite it being winter in a home whose thermostat settings are very conservative. I can't help thinking that sometimes she's dressed like all the college girls, perhaps this is something I should worry about more than poop.

Milestones

Due to lack of time and holidays, Babydaddy has so much to share, so this will be an abridged version of things perhaps to come in the near future.

Babygirl can now:
-levitate off the ground when she jumps(previously both feet would not leave the ground when she would say she was "jumping."

-imagination gone wild: she has a toy lizard which has a tongue that's a measuring tape, it was a hand me down toy for someone. Babygirl calls it her "puppy." After spending holidays with pampa and nana's dogs Stubby+Ella and "Uncle JoJo and Sha Sha's" dog Pennie, she too has a dog. She will yell "Pup-pee!, cahm here" when she's looking for the toy. She also very persistent with having Babymama and I "walk the dog" to the "dog park" or to the doorway so that it can go to the bathroom.

-babydoll(s) and George continue to be part of the various activities of her life, the big thing is "Everybody Eats," which is a recreation of Thanksgiving Day dinner with placemats, plates, plasticware, etc. Also now that she has her own "tea set," she's serving tea every afternoon and just about every hour.

-music has always been something she enjoys, any real piano or the various xylophones she has are all fun to bang on. Lately she's into drumming on paper plates with Babydaddy. Babydaddy took an African Handrumming class and learned that every human is a natural born drummer.

-sense of humor/manipulation: when she doesn't want to sleep she'll cry so that she can be rocked again or so that she can get another Christmas song out of us. Her ultimate trump card while crying with tears is to say "pooopie!" Babydaddy would fall for this take her to the changing table where, after undressing her, she's dry as any desert. At that point she'll let out a "ha, ha, ha"(in a very sinister way) and also say things like "I all-star?"

she has also begun to experiment with her cute eyes, and is on her way to mastering the Bambi look. The other day babygirl comes up to me, uses a higher pitched, sweet sounding voice, gives me the big eye look and then immediately looks down and asks if she can watch "Big Burd"(aka: Follow that Bird dvd. Of course since Babydaddy is so mean, I said "no," and re-directed her.

-Vocab/words: Babygirl is just talking up a storm these days, repeating phrases and words that you don't think she would repeat, and beginning to try to say things out of context, which is always funny.

There are probably many more things that Babydaddy is forgetting, more to come later.

On a side note here's a plug for a dad who's also a pediatrician who writes some good stuff: Pediatrics

Babygirl and her grandma