02.28.08
Lukey Pukey, Charlie Farty
Weird health issues going on here at the Walsh house hold. First, I had a bump on my body. The bump was about the size of a grape and I had no clue what it was. Just when I was about to schedule a doctor appointment the bump shifted position, about 2 inches. Next day the bump was smaller and now it is almost gone. Perhaps, an alien was forming in my body but it just couldn’t handle the stud body of Selfwalker. Second, Charlie has had a virus the last three days. I first found this out when I put my hand in a puddle of his puke. Charlie was crying Monday morning so I went to put his pacifier back in his mouth. As I was blindly looking for it in the early hour, my palm went straight into a soupy sludge. YUCK! Immediately, I turned on the light which only caused Charlie to roll around in the puke. DOUBLE YUCK! Then last night Charlie showed us just how runny his runs can be. The runs had leaked out of his diaper, soaking into his sheets. As April zipped down his jammys, the runs oozed from the zipper. By the way, the smell was very impressive. Charlie is almost back to normal health, but now April is feeling weak. So, I’m trying to keep my hands clean and kisses to a minimal; that and burning incense to get rid of the cornucopia of wicked smells. Heal on…
02.21.08
Over or Under
Here are three over and under statements for you to guess:
- Over or Under, March 14: Charlie will be walking
- Over or Under, June: Luke will cut his hair, which has not been touched by scissor since Sept 19,
- Over or Under, March 1: April will buy some new clothes
My guesses are over, over, and over. Send me or make a comment about your own over and under that I could guess.
02.10.08
Making sense of change
This past week we had some unusual high temperatures. For about three days the high rose to the sixties. I caught a bit of spring fever. I am very eager to spending more time outside, such as camping and taking Charlie for strolls around the neighborhood. Maybe by the summer he will be able to walk well enough that we can begin having some good times at the local playground. I already see that year two for Charlie will be a complete change for me. Just last year at this time, Charlie would sit motionless in a bouncy seat and now, as I type this, he is crawling around winging toys around. My friend jokingly-truthfully told me, “Bring on the back-talking, sassy, and always crazy year two!” I have already witnessed a smidgen of this. Charlie has begun to be more vocal and emotional when events don’t go his way. Just being a observer to change is one my greatest wonders of Life. Examining why and why not humans change, how or how not humans adapt to change, and when humans accept or don’t accept change. In my life, there seems to be a fine line between myself actually changing and moving along with the changes in my environment. I guess the difference in these situations is jumping head first into the change versus attempting to be completely prepared for the change.
Or in other words, going with the flow versus learning everything that could happen in the flow and then going with the flow.
In nature, change can be random. A animal is just as likely to grow a thick coat of fur as it would grow no hair when living in the Arctic. However, the animal with the thick fur has a greater chance to survive, thus being able to pass on the genes of “grow thick fur” to the next generation. In Charlie’s year two, overall there will be many changes for Daddy Selfwalker. Some of which I will be prepared, some of which I will have to go with the flow, and some of which I’ll randomly figure out. Change on…
02.09.08
Photo and Video Update
Now that Charlie is one, I have been going through all of his pictures and videos. There are plenty of nice memories in the collection. To make them a bit more special I have been creating a photo album, which has over 200 pictures, making a slide show of his pictures, and creating a video of his first year. I have uploaded a low quality version of the video on YouTube. Click here to watch it, for those who read this in email format. Those reading this on my blog you can watch it below. Spending the time on these projects has been fun and it has allowed me to spend some time appreciating how much change can happen in a year. More about the wonder of change in the next post. Till then grab some popcorn and check out the video.
02.02.08
Groundhog Day
Nice and sunny here in Lenoir, NC. We are going to spend our Groundhog Day by going on a hike along a river and then enjoy a afternoon lunch. Just last Saturday we had Charlie’s birthday party. I think one of the advantages of having people over is that it motivates me to clean up the house. So before the big shin dig we cleaned up our crib, and it felt so good to have a sparkling casa. Charlie received many great presents: cute outfits, toys, stuff animals, and books. Then we gave him a cake. The look on his face, after we sang Happy Birthday to him, was priceless. I had to cram his hands into the cake in order to give him the idea that he could eat the huge chunk of sugar before him. He went to town on the cake. It did not take him long to eat more then half. About 30 minutes later we passed out in bed. Not sure if it was because of party tiring him out or his first sugar crash. I have videos of it all and I intend to make a video out of it soon.Now that Charlie is a one year toddler I feel more of a Daddy, than just a parent taking care of a baby. That along with the rubber duckies slip guards that are suctioned to the floor of my shower are clear indicators of me entering a tremendous journey of Daddyhood.
