Hello?

One of the things I wasn't prepared for was how much less time I would get with Lori, quality or otherwise. I thought "hey, this will bring us closer." We'll hang out and play with the baby instead of watching TV or playing on the computer. Well, instead, I've found we have less time for everything, most importantly, just hanging out together.

We carpool most days, so we get to spend more time together than probably many new parents. I wanted to tell her about this great article I read today, but right as I started, the baby started screaming, so there was no point in even trying to talk. When we got home, I thought I would just put Rachel down for a nap because she seemed really tired. Well, she screamed at that, too. I thought we'd let her cry it out and then she'd nap and I could talk to Lori. But Lori went in there and sat with her. I don't begrudge the baby the time if she needs it, but sharing's not fun.

Lions, Tigers and Meerkats, Oh My!

Rachel, Googlified

Link above. I uploaded this short clip in April and I guess Google Video went live today with submitted videos, because heeeeeeeeere's Rachel!

What's changed?

A pre-engaged colleague today asked me what it's like being the dad of a daughter and if I thought it would be different than being the dad of a boy, and if I found myself being overprotective. When I told her, she said I really needed to write it down.

I told her that no matter whether the child is a boy or a girl, you will discover a love inside yourself for this child that is bigger and stronger than the love you have for anyone else, be it even your spouse or your own parents.

You have watched this child from the beginning. From a point in time when some (heartless, ignorant people) would argue that life has not even yet begun. You have known this child their entire life. When you got married, you didn't know everything about the person you married. I don't mean that they kept secrets, but they had a life before you. You love the person, who they were, who they are becoming and the life you have together. But with a child, you know everything. You may not get to spend 24 hours a day with them, but you've gotten to see them become. You've gotten to see them completely bald and naked, covered in blood and slime screaming with brand new lungs and then it's just gotten better and more amazing since then.

Those that are not changed by their children should not have children.

Lastly, I don't think you can be overprotective. Every step along the way, I've thought "Just as soon as Rachel is a month old... Just as soon as Rachel is six months old... Just as soon as Rachel is a year old... I'll be able to worry less." But if it's not SIDs, it's terrorists taking a school hostage, or the commute home every night, or school friends offering to sell her drugs (no, that hasn't happened yet.) I will not stop worrying about this precious life as long as I have breath. But I cannot let the worry take over my life. All I can do is enjoy her, thank God that He's chosen to share her with us and pray that He'll keep her safe.

Happy Birthday, Little One!

A year late...

I heard this song a few years ago, before I even met Lori and thought it was a pretty neat song. I heard it recently on LaunchCast and it made me get all teary-eyed, even though we've had a chance to experience the miracle of Rachel first-hand for almost a year now. If this song (not the lyrics flat on a page, but the actual song) doesn't make you cry, you haven't had a child yet.

"Thing's We've Handed Down" by Marc Cohn

Don't know much about you
Don't know who you are
We've been doing fine without you
But, we could only go so far
Don't know why you chose us
Were you watching from above
Is there someone there that knows us
Said we'd give you all our love

Will you laugh just like your mother
Will you sigh like your old man
Will some things skip a generation
Like I've heard they often can
Are you a poet or a dancer
A devil or a clown
Or a strange new combination of
The things we've handed down

I wonder who you'll look like
Will your hair fall down and curl
Will you be a mama's boy
Or daddy's little girl
Will you be a sad reminder
Of what's been lost along the way
Maybe you can help me find her
In the things you do and say

And these things that we have given you
They are not so easily found
But you can thank us later
For the things we've handed down

You may not always be so grateful
For the way that you were made
Some feature of your father's
That you'd gladly sell or trade
And one day you may look at us
And say that you were cursed
But over time that line has been
Extremely well rehearsed
By our fathers, and their fathers
In some old and distant town
From places no one here remembers
Come the things we've handed down

From a rocker to his daughter

This is a harder type of music than I'm used to, but it's a nice song.

"Sweet Zoe Jane" by Staind

Well I want you to notice
To notice when I'm not around
And I know that your eyes see straight through me
And speak to me without a sound

[CHORUS]
I want to hold you
Protect you from all of the things I've already endured
I want to show you
Show you all of the things that this life has in store for you
I'll always love you
The way that a father should love his daughter

When I walked out this morning
I cried as I walked to the door
I cried about how long I'd be away for
I cried about leaving you all alone

[CHORUS]
I want to hold you
Protect you from all of the things I've already endured
I want to show you
Show you all of the things that this life has in store for you
I'll always love you
The way that a father should love his daughter

Sweet Zoe Jane....
Sweet Zoe Jane.....

So I wanted to say this
Cuz I wouldn't know where to begin
To explain to you what I have been through
To explain where your daddy has been

[CHORUS]
I want to hold you
Protect you from all of the things I've already endured
I want to show you
Show you all of the things that this life has in store for you
I'll always love you
The way that a father should love his daughter

Sweet Zoe Jane......
Sweet Zoe Jane.......

What's In a Name?

Baby Center released top names for about twelve countries. Pretty interesting how international most names are, with the exception of Norway (7 of their top 10 were unique to their country, among those surveyed.) The most international name was Sophie/Sofia and the only country not to have a name unique to itself among the list? Australia.

Abigail (US)
Aimee (N.Ireland)
Alba (Spain)
Amy (Ireland, N.Ireland, Scotland)
Andrea (Spain)
Anna/Anne/Ana (Austria, Germany, Spain)
Aino (Finland)
Aoife (Ireland)
Aurora (Finland)
Charlotte (Australia, NZ, UK)
Chloe/Chloë (Australia, Ireland, N.Ireland, Scotland, UK)
Ciara (Ireland)
Claudia (Spain)
Ella (Australia, NZ)
Ellie (N.Ireland, UK, Scotland)
Elina (Finland)
Emma (Australia, Ireland, N.Ireland, NZ, Norway, Scotland US)
Emilia (Finland)
Emily/Emilie (Australia, NZ, Norway, UK, US)
Erin (Scotland)
Georgia (NZ)
Grace (NZ)
Hailey (US)
Hannah (Austria, NZ, US)
Ida (Norway)
Ingrid (Norway)
Isabella (Australia, US)
Jessica (Australia, NZ, UK)
Johanna (Finland, Germany)
Julia (Austria, Finland)
Julie (Norway)
Katariina/Katharina (Austria, Finland, Germany)
Katie (Ireland, N.Ireland, Scotland, UK)
Kaitlyn (US)
Laura (Austria, Germany, Spain)
Lauren (Scotland)
Lea/Leah (Germany, Ireland)
Lena (Austria, Germany)
Leonie (Austria, Germany)
Lisa (Austria)
Lucia (Spain)
Lucy (Scotland, UK)
Madison (US)
Malin (Norway)
Maria (Finland, Germany, Norway, Spain)
Marie (Germany)
Marta (Spain)
Megan (UK)
Niamh (N.Ireland)
Nora (Norway)
Olivia (Australia, Finland, NZ, UK, US)
Paula (Spain)
Rachel (Ireland, N.Ireland, Scotland)
Sara/Sarah (Australia, Austria, Ireland, N.Ireland, Spain, US)
Sofia/Sophie (Australia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, N.Ireland, NZ, Scotland, UK)
Thea (Norway)
Tuva (Norway)
Vanessa (Austria)

Bankable

She and I went to Wells Fargo over the weekend and created a bank account for her. But, sadly, there were no little stuffed horses left.

If you're thinking "Great... put the kid on the grid," sorry, it's too late. Her father opened an account for her at his bank as soon as we had her social security number and she was included on our taxes a few months ago.

Child Tylenol recalled over label confusion

MSNBC.COM -- Confusing labelling causes Tylenol to recall products. Medicine itself is perfectly fine. If you have Children's Tylenol in pill form, if there are two pills in a single blister pod, each pill contains the full dosage.

Starving Babies

I don't normally put out pleas for other people's money, as I know everyone works hard and that most people give when they can to the needs that speak to them. But I read this article the other day on Yahoo! news, and it broke my heart. The story talks about women and children in the Sudan who are eating leaves to try to survive, because the region is having its worst food shortage in 7 years due to failed rains and a surge in cattle raiding. It describes a 4-year-old boy who collapsed out of hunger, laying naked on the ground, struggling to breathe. His mother hasn't been able to get him to even eat the leaves.

The U.N. World Food Programme is appealing for additional funds, as they've received $78 million out of $302 million needed to feed 3.2 million people in the regions that were hardest hit. If you'd like to give a little (or a lot) to help meet the need, you can donate online at this website:

http://www.wfp.org/how_to_help/donate_online/online.asp?section=4&sub_section=5

You can choose to specifically donate to the Sudan, to WFP's greatest needs, or to other options.

Thanks for reading this. Herein ends the PSA.

No no no no no!

"No" is a word that Rachel has learned, in a big way. As she becomes more mobile, she's hearing it more often. I'm not into the philosophy that it's a bad thing for a child to hear the word "no" and that you should only use positive talk with them. I think that's bunk. Kids need to know that there are boundaries and that it's acceptable for their parents to tell them they can't do or have or say whatever they feel like. I do think they need to hear a lot of positive reinforcement, too, so I always thank her when she's obedient or gives me something or does other nice things.

Anyway, I went to wipe her nose this weekend, and I got a "no!" We also heard that word a number of times at the dinner table last night. We met up with friends at a restaurant, and Rachel wanted everything on the table. She's got a surprisingly long reach for a baby. She'd point at the things she wanted and knew she wouldn't get and would say "no." She even pointed at a knife and said that, and I don't think we've ever had occasion to tell her no when it comes to knives, so I'm not sure how she made that association.

It's so cool to hear her putting emphasis on words and using them properly. She's completely understanding concepts and learning new ones that we don't even necessarily try to teach her. Of course, the flip side of that coin is that we need to be even more careful about what we say and do around her. We don't want to be parents that say "do what we say, not what we do," so we really want to make sure we're setting good examples for her. No pressure there.

Knowing Too Much...

MSNBC.COM -- Advances in genetic research may make it possible to one day test for things like autism. But at what cost? Our friends' genetic test came back suggesting the child they were carrying might have downs syndrome. It was a false positive, but this stuff starts to get scary. The article wonders whether such testing could be to our own detriment.