Post Christmas

The lack of posts is a direct reflection to the lack of free time dad has had over the past week. Monday was Christmas. Tuesday was spent buying paint and hardware to repaint our kitchen cabinets. Wednesday was spent painting those cabinets. Thursday dad worked in the office. Friday was finishing the painting of the cabinets plus running errands. Of course the whole time spending any spare second I had playing with Charlotte and giving her as much loving attention as possible. And of course my wife as well. Obviously that left very little time to update the blog. I am such a bad blogger. Its sounds pretty simple. But those who know me know that the painting/kitchen project was not as simple as it seemed.

Two trips to Lowes, one trip to Home Depot and I still have hinges that dont fit and cabinets missing handles to open them. Not to mention paint in whats left of my hair, paint on my hands, elbows, and fingernails, and my clothes (painting clothes luckily). I still have one set of cabinet doors that need paint and need to be put up. It never ends. It was so bad that Wednesday night when going to bed Shelby said you have been working all day and it looks like you got nothing done. Thanks dear.

So my goal is to have it all completed by Sunday. Im not sure how but it will happen.

Mom ordered a pair of size 3 shoes for Charlotte over the internet. They are a little too big. Too big for her to walk in them very well. She looks like Jo Jo the clown, looking down at the big shoes, stumbling on her feet. Bumping into things. Tonight she gave up walking and went back to crawling. Poor kid.

Charlotte loves being scared by dad. We began playing a game wednesday night. Charlotte would go into the kitchen with mom. Then dad would hide around either the right or the left corner. As soon as she walked into the hall she would turn to the left (if that is where he was the last time). Dad would be on the right. Then jump up and scream BOOOO!!! She would jump, laugh, then run back to mom. While her back was turned dad would switch sides. Of course Charlotte would look in the same spot dad was the last time. Again he would jump out at her, scream BOOOO, she would jump, scream, and run back to mom laughing. This is what happened to her hair after an hour of playing this game.


PS. Update Sunday - It's now 6am Sunday December 31st. The painting is done. The cabinet hardware is finished. The doors are all on. Dad even got ambitious last night and put in the new sink! We got a little snow yesterday so we pulled Charlotte around the neighborhood in her infant sled. She loved it!!

....and now some pictures

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas to everyone. Its easy to get so caught up in rushing around to buy gifts and to get everything decorated. Unfortunately I think most of us really lose sight of the "real Christmas". I think sometimes we all really need to be reminded of the true spirit of Christmas. Its not about the size of your house, the number of gifts you purchase, its about the size of your heart and the amount of compassion you have for others. I have to admit I get caught up in the whole holiday just like everyone else. Then I see something and it hits me. How lucky I am to have everything that we have. We have a house. We have food. We have gifts. We have faith. There are so many people that have lost everything. Homes. Family. Jobs. Faith. Its easy to lose the last one when you have lost everything else.

How many times have we all dropped down on our knees and "prayed to God" for something. Or did use usual bargaining with God. "God please let me just get through the day and I will be a better person." Or God please make it better and I Will go to church every Sunday. How many times have we all done that and not lived up to our end of the bargain? We are all guilty of it. When Shelby was told she had pollups in her Gallbladder and it needed to be removed, I prayed that night. Prayed to God they were something more serious. I prayed please don't take my wife from me. Please don't take Charlottes mother away from her. I promised I would go to church every week.

When the biopsy came back we found out Shelby was fine. We were both relieved. I thanked God again for listening to me. For answering my prayers. Of course I never lived up to my end of the bargain but it didn't matter at that point. My faith in Him was restored.

Those of you that know me know that I am not a religious person. The science background in me fights with religion on a regular basis. Do I believe in Creationism? No. Do I believe I have to go to church every Sunday to be saved? No. Redardless do I believe in Jesus? Yes. What I do believe in is that you have to have faith. No matter what your religion. Sometime you have to be non-PC and express your believes and faith so that others may also understand and have the same faith.

So while everyone is enjoying all of their gifts this Christmas please take a moment to look around at what you have. Remember those that have nothing and take a minute to be thankful to God for giving you understanding and compassion this Christmas. Take a moment to be humbled, to drop to your knees and pray. If it weren't for Him, we wouldn't be celebrating this amazing holiday.

Merry Christmas.

Visit to Boston

My sister and her boyfriend and my niece have been visiting in Boston since last weekend. They all came over Wednesday night after skiing for the day at Pats Peak. She drove all the way from South Carolina just to go skiing and eat lobster. Yes my sister is insane when it comes to steamers. So we all decided to go to the Lobster Boat in Merrimack NH. Not a upscale restaurant, but children friendly and they do have the best seafood in the area. Julie managed to wolf down about 3 pounds of steamers plus a lobster. Caitey also ate a giant bowl full of steamers. Between the two of them they did some pretty serious damage.


Thursday dad played hoockey (not really he used a vacation day) to go to Boston with everyone. The goal was to hit the Childrens Museum. Of course we got lost, ended up parking in the wrong garage, then walked to the childrens museum. Once inside we realized they are in the middle of a major renovation. In order to lessen the amount of chaos we split up in the museum. Charlotte mom and dad played in the infant area which was very cool. Everything was padded and soft and Charlotte was able to run around free without mom and dad freaking out she was going to fall, smack her head on a corner, and have to rush her to the hospital. Instead when she fell she would just roll around on the padding. Julie, Caitey and Ken went off of their own to explore.

After about an hour or two we were done. Mom and dad were starving, Charlotte starting to get fussy. We decided to drive to Fanieul Hall to grab some lunch and Quincy Market. Of course the week before Christmas this was probably not the smartest idea. Finding parking was horrible. Traffic was horrible. We spent nearly an hour just driving 3 miles. We should have walked. What was supposed to be us grabbing a quick bite to eat turned into a production with low sugar level mom and dad. Luckily we ate and rebounded before we completely freaked out.

Christmas Message

I cant take credit for the below post. I stole it from Michael Graham, a talk show host here in Boston. He summed up the holiday spirit nicely and I thought I would share. More posts tomorrow:





It is...the only gift you will get this Christmas. And it is the only one you will give.



It is why a pair of socks wrapped in green paper sounds so much like a dinosaur when shaken by a small boy.



It is a middle-aged man, teeth gritted and face darkly red, trying to remain nonchalant as a nubile young sales lady holds up two lacy undergarments and asks him to guess which one will fit his wife.



It is what makes him answer: "The small one."



It is the vaccination protecting a child's belief in Santa from the sound of familiar voices in the attic on Christmas Eve.



It is the meaning of the word "Nintendo" in a 7-year-old's bedtime prayer.



It is why the street person's hunger makes him sad instead of angry. And why the five-dollar bill you hurriedly shove into his shaking hand will be spent on a single Big Mac and a 12-pack of Milwaukee's Best.



It is the only reason a married man shaves before coming to bed. It is what makes his wife believe he's just trying to improve his personal hygiene.



It is the sudden, listening stillness of a woman's kitchen at Christmastime when she hears the screen door latch, even though he hasn't come home in years.



It's what turns the dollar-store, slave-labor, nylon-haired knock-off into a Ballerina Barbie when touched by her 6-year-old fingers. It's what makes her father blink back a tear and silently promise to give her a real Christmas next year.




It is why he can't remember making the same promise when she was five.



It is why we can't imagine Christmas dinner without Gramma, and why Gramma sometimes looks up with a start when she hears her name. It's why she thought, just for a moment, that it was her mother calling.



It is why she isn't sure that it wasn't.



It is the sole motivator for your sister to ever touch an oven. Ever. Especially after what happened last year.



It is the reason you really, honestly thought you were going to eat that piece of fruitcake when you cut it.




And when she has put your children to bed, stuffed the last bit of wrapping paper into a closet, taken the potpourri off the stove, turned out all the lights in your house and finally falls onto the sofa next to you — as you sit quietly with her before the glistening tree — it is the only thing that can convince you that she might love you half as much as you love her.



It is why she does.



It is the reason women weep. It is the reason men fail. It is why every child, at least once in his life, has wanted to cry at Christmas.



It is as precious as a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. It is as painful as a flesh-torn hand and a thorn-crowned head. It is the reason for both.



And if every Santa song and earnest prayer, every sincere gift and imagined wrong, every Christmas dinner and New Year's toast, every unanswered invitation and unwelcome guest, every office party kiss and happy child's hug — if every human moment of the entire holiday season could be stripped of its tinsel and pretense and price tag and reduced to its truest essence, we would find it there, the only gift ever given at Christmas, the same gift, passed from hand to hand.



It is...hope.



It is Christmas.

Alas A Post!

Over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house we went for Christmas. Mom arrived Wednesday. Dad Thursday. We figured we needed two cars to pack up all of the loot that Santa was bringing us. We were right. But more on that later.

Friday morning the whole crew went out for a wonderful breakfast at the Cider Mill. It was empty with the exception of us. We had a great time and a very nice meal, thank you Tiffany and Ian. After breakfast, us guys went riding on the dirt bikes. Mom was very specific that dad had to be back by 2pm to take over babysitting duties. When dad called at 1:30 on a trail somewhere in New York State explaining to mom he wanted to extend his curfue, she agree but was not happy. They headed home together rather then having dad face the wrath of mom alone. :)

The whole trip Miss Charlotte was not sleeping very well. Naps were virtually non-existant. Night time sleeping turned into waking up hourly starting at 11pm. It was so bad dad and mom rotated nights sleeping with her. During the day Charlotte seemed ok despite the lack of sleep. She loved playing with Liam. She also finally started to sign to us. We had been trying forever to get her to use sign language with no luck until this trip when she would take her two hands and touch fingertips to fingertips together, the sign for "more". Probably not a great word to teach her but it was a start. If dad could only get her to sign "You are the most handsome and intelligent man in the world" he would be happy. For now he will settle with the word "more".

Friday night was our Christmas eve. Pat and Larry Ross came over for dinner. Dad helped stir the pots while Nanny cooked a tenderloin wrapped in Bacon (wink wink). Abigail and Oliver got Oh My Dog! dog perfume/cologne from them. They now smell so good. Thank you Pat and Larry! Then it was off to bed to wake up to on Christmas morning to a livingroom full of presents!

Charlotte loved opening her gifts. She was so excited to see them all under the tree. It took almost six hours to open all of the gifts (with a break for breakfast). Charlotte loved all of them but really loves the pink Disney princess car. And of course she still loves to eat the wrapping paper...and her favorite toy is the Goat that sings "The Lonely Goatherd" from the Sound of Music. Yes dad had never seen the movie, nor does he care to, but he knows the words to the song now. Every day we listen to it. At least 3 or 4 or 10 times in a row.

Saturday evening Nannys family came over for Christmas dinner. There were more kids running around then I have ever seen outside of a school function. Yes even more kids then at Kelly and Daves chistening. Aunt Becky and Uncle Bill I don't know how you do it. I have a hard time keeping track of one child and two dogs...let alone 10 children. It might be more....I had a hard time counting since they were moving around so much. I think Hannah had more than one brownie (I counted three). PS. Did anyone make it to bed in your house? We had fun and Charlotte loved seeing everyone.

Sunday we packed up the cars and headed home. On top of Charlotte getting tons of gifts....mom and dad were also taken care of. We are both very thankful for the generosity of Nanny and Grandpa Mr and Mrs. Claus. Thank you very much for a wonderful weekend and for a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas in Vermont

Charlotte and Mom headed to Vermont today to begin the Christmas festivites. Dad will be joining them tomorrow night. This weekend will be "Christmas in Vermont". Gifts will be exchanged with Tiffany, Ian, and Liam, and of course Nanny and Grampa. It's still not feeling very much like Christmas. I don't know if it's because we are so preoccupied with Charlotte or it's because its been warm and there is no snow. It just seems like we aren't ready for Christmas to be here yet. Maybe we should push it to late January?

Party Girl

Charlotte celebrated her third 1st birthday party on Saturday. She is beginning to think she should be having parties every weekend. This is probably not good behavior to instill in a daughter. I just picture her now in high school. Mom and dad leave for a night and a full kegger is raging at our household. Drunk high school kids throwing up in the bathtub. The football team doing funnels of beer from the 2nd floor down to the first. The home coming queen upstairs with her hair caught in the bathroom door. Her friend having to cut it off to get it out of the door. All because Charlotte wants Jake to like her. I can just see her now saying, "Dongers here for five hours, and he's got somebody. I live here my whole life, I'm like a disease."

If at this point you have no idea what I am talking about...thats ok. It just means you are old. I'm sorry but you are. Hey it happens to all of us including Charlotte. If you did "get it" please leave a comment so we know you understand our sense of humor.

We want to thank everyone for coming to Charlottes party. If you didn't get invited that's because of a few reasons:
1. We don't know who you are so we couldn't possibly invite you. Thanks for stopping by the blog. Next time send us an email or leave a few comments for us.
2. We would have loved to invite everyone but we didn't want people to feel obligated to come to a 1 year olds birthday party. Lets face it. It's not that exciting unless you are the parents.
3. Mom's cake was so good dad wanted to keep as much of it for himself as possible.
4. Jack Daniels is really not a great kids gift.
5. You have too many children.
6. We wanted to give people time to save for really good gifts the second year.

Here are a few pictures. Mom made the frosting for the cake herself. It was very very delicious (but note the mess).

An open letter to my daughter on her birthday

Its hard to believe twelve months ago you were born. Its hard to believe because it seems like yesterday, yet at the same time it was forever ago. Your mom and I knew what day you were going to be born, but didn't share our secret with anyone. You were breached meaning you were sitting upright in moms belly instead of upside down. The only way to truly get you out safely was by cesarean section. We gladly took the safest option.

Last night 12 months ago your mom and I barely slept. We were too excited to see you, to find out if you were a boy or a girl, to make sure you were safe and healthy to even think about sleeping. Little did we know it would be the beginning of many sleepless nights for months to come.

The morning of your birth we went to the hospital early. On the way we called your grandparents to tell them we were having a baby. We checked mom in and headed to the room to prep for surgery. We were so excited but also nervous. I tried to stay as calm as possible for your mom. Meanwhile I was so afraid about her undergoing surgery. Worried something might go wrong. I knew if she saw me worry, she would be afraid. So I did my best to be as comforting and reassuring as possible.

Mom hates needles and getting IV's. It was dark in the room and the nurse was new. She kept missing moms vein. She was getting upset but finally they had success. I was so nervous I didn't know what to do. My mind racing your mom told me to turn on the tv and sit. I did. I have no idea what was on or what I said.
Then they came in to take mom into surgery. I had on my surgical mask and bonnet. I waited for the doctors to get mom situated, then I was called into the room. I brought a cd player and I played Enya, hoping it would relax you and your mother. At 8:26 am you were born. When they got you out of mom's belly....I was the one who announced your sex. It's a GIRL! I exclaimed.

The nurses and doctors immediately took you over to the warming table to clean you off and weigh you. They took your Apgar scores to evaluate your level of alertness and blood flow. I thought something was wrong because they were all around you. but they swaddled you and put you in my arms. I brought you over to mom so she could see you. She started crying because she was so happy to see you. Because your temperature was low they took you to the newborn unit to warm you up. I was so worried. I stayed with mom until they told me I could see you. When I went to see you you were getting a bath and crying. They wrapped you up and handed you over to me. You stopped crying. I brought you to your mom. She finally held you. After everyone left the room it was just you, me, and mom. I started crying. I was so happy you were OK and completely overwhelmed by the feeling of having you in my life. It the first time I have ever cried with happiness in my life. I was a dad and so proud of having you join our family.

A year ago you were born and you changed my life forever. I will do my best to be a good father to you. I tried to do my best this year and hopefully I did OK. Only time will tell. Its so easy to look back and see things I want to change but I cant. Looking back I wish I could do some of it over for you. I wish I didn't lose my patience when you were crying and I couldn't comfort you. I will never forget the Saturday night when you were 2 months old. Your mom and I had plans to go to dinner and you had a fever. You were crying and crying. I tried for an hour to get you to sleep just rocking you back and forth.It didn't work. You keep screaming. I wish I would have just enjoyed trying to sooth you instead of wanting to hand you over to mom. I'm sorry I got upset and yelled at your mother to come take you.


I am sorry I worked so much. I hope you understand that I had to in order to try and give you and your mom a good life. Understand that if I have to be away and not with you it is only because I am trying to provide for you. If I had to work four jobs to ensure you had everything you wanted I would. I will do my best to be there for every recital, every sporting event,and certainly every birthday. Know that there is not a moment of my day that goes by when I am not thinking of you and missing you.


Your mom wishes she didn't break her foot 4 months after you were born. She couldn't walk without crutches for weeks. She wanted so badly to just walk you around in your stroller all over the neighborhood. She wanted to take you places. She wanted to carry you around in her arms as much as she could. We did our best but we are sorry missed that time.

I wish I could keep you little forever. I know there will come a day that I have to ground you. Understand its only because I love you and because I am trying to teach you a lesson in life. Please don't tell me you hate me for it. I know you wont mean it but I think it would break my heart. I am going to do my best to protect you and guide you to make good choices. One day you will make your own decisions. I only hope you remember what I teach you and try to do the things that will make me proud.

It's been a year and I am grateful for every single day I have with you. With everything that has happened this year I have learned that life can change in an instant. We do our best to appreciate all of the moments with you. That is one of the reasons for this blog. We want to remember every detail, every phase of you as you grow up. I want you to know me as a person as well as a father. We want you to know us and know how much we love you and how much we appreciate you in our lives. You have transformed two people into loving parents and we thank you for that. We are looking forward to another year with you. Happy Birthday Charlotte. We love you.

Who you are

This year you have grown so much and changed from day to day. The best way to tell you who you are is to tell you about the things that make you....YOU.

You love to ride on dads shoulders. Ever since you could hold your head up dad would put you on his shoulders and walk you around. You would smile, drool on his head and giggle. You would wave at mom smiling, so proud at how high in the air you were.

You are a actress and have been since you were born. You cry on cue when you want something or are not getting the attention you feel you deserve. If you want to be held and when we put your down, you will cry as if you are hurt. The second we pick you up you will smile as if saying "Haaaa!! You fell for it again." Little do you know we enjoy holding you in our arms.

You love to wake up bright and early and get into bed with us. As soon as you are in bed you will crawl over to mom and stand and laugh and scream to wake her up. If she turns her head away from you you will pull her hair. You will crawl all over her, throwing your head around into the pillows smiling and laughing. The only way you will stop is for us turn on the television or to give you a bottle. This usually buys us another 30 minutes of peace. We sacrifice the morning news to the Wiggles, or Barney or Jo Jo.

You love playing games. You will sit in the bathroom and close the door so dad cant get in. I will knock on the door until you open it. Then you slam it shut until I do it again. Over and over until I walk away. Then you cry using your amazing acting powers and I come pick you up. You smile and then waive at your mom. She doesnt fall for your acting powers as much as dad does. I have a feeling I am in for a lifetime of acting.

You hate leftovers. One night you will love eating chicken. The next day you wont touch it. Rather you will play with it in your hands for a second. Look at it studying it...then toss it over the side of your seat for the dogs to eat. The same goes for steak, any vegatable, and fruit. The only exception is Cheerios which you can eat with every meal, every day. Dad used to trick you into eating your food by playing airplane with the spoon and making Zooom Zooom sounds. You would smile then in the food would go. You figured that one out quick and now just turn your head from side to side to prevent food you dont want from touching your lips. You like moms meatloaf. That makes her very happy. Keep it up kid and you will win her over forever. Remember this when you are 16 and want to borrow the car. Tell your mom how much you love her meatloaf. It will work.

You hate being told "no". You will push us on this one. You will go near the fireplace and we will tell you No. You will do 1 of 2 things. You with either turn around and cry (acting again)....or you will stop and touch it again until we say no. Repeat step above.

You are a girl with many faces. You can scowl one minute and laugh hysterically the next. Your smile can end even the most heated argument. Your laugh is infectious. You love being chased and tickled. Dad will say, "Im going to get you!" and you start screaming and laughing knowing I am going to catch you to tickle you. I cant help doing it over and over again just to hear you laugh.

You love the dogs. You will point at them and say DUUG. You will play with their toys and walk around the house with them in your mouth. We have long since gave up on trying to seperate dog toys from children toys. At this point they are one in the same. You love the blue dog chew toy and pink ball. Hey more power to you. You love to watch the dogs jump up on the bed in the morning and love to kiss Abigail. They are your best friends and you treat them like they are your brother and sister.

Christmas Tree Adventure

Saturday was to be dedicated to getting our Christmas tree. Not just any old tree on the side of the road...but a "get out the chainsaw and go cut your own" kind. Envision the Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post with the family cutting down a Christmas tree then bringing it home to decorate. Hot cocoa, fresh baked christmas cookies, Bing Crosby playing in the background as we all gather 'round the tree. Maybe one year that will but us, but not yet.

Friday night Mom went to a Christmas party with the town's "mom group". Dad expected her home by 10 maybe 11pm. Nope. She swayed homed around 1am. Enter 6am Saturday morning. Charlotte crying in her room ready to start her day. Dad got up to get her and take her downstairs so mom could rest up (mom didnt move an inch). By 10am mom was finally up but had a touch of the Holiday Party Flu that seems to afflict so many people this time of year. After Charlottes nap we were finally able to head out to go pick out a tree. We all piled in the car (dogs included). Dad brought his chainsaw (just incase it was a big one). We drove down bumpy dirt roads in the back woods of New Hampshire. Mom yelling at dad for driving to fast (the curves were making her feel sick...sure mom). We finally made it to the Christmas tree farm. Three small fields of what looked like already decorated Christmas trees. Damn taggers. All of the trees over 5 feet tall were tagged with ribbons, garland, name tags, whatever crap people could find. Dad wondered looking, hoping to find a suitable tree to bring home. None. He contemplated taking the tag off someones tree, but realized this would be really bad Karma and very un-Chrimstmas-like. So he got back in the car and drove with mom to find another place. Luckily he didn't have to drive far.

Enter cut your own tree place number two. This was even smaller and what seemed to be someones back yard. However as we pulled up to the lot we could see lots of trees and only a few tags!! We were off! Dad grabbed the dogs, mom grabbed Charlotte and we started walking. And walking. And walking. Finally Charlotte found one. She pointed and started smiling. This was our tree. It was the right height, full but enough bare spots for ornaments, and fresh. Dad using his buff muscles cut the tree down in record time. He also carried it himself back to the car. He is very strong.

The ride home Charlotte cried. It is very difficult to enjoy listening to Christmas music with a child screaming in the background. Mom was still fighting the Christmas party flu. The dogs were freaking out because of the sound of the tree on the roof of the car. It seemed like a long ride home.

But we made it. Dad got the tree up. He got the lights on. Then it was the girls turn to do the rest. Mom graciously put the new plastic shatter-proof ornaments on the tree. Charlotte kept trying to eat the lights. Mom was not very happy that she couldn't put her favorite fragile glass that shatters into a million tiny peices so your daughter can cut her fingers and mouth ornaments on the tree. It still looks nice, but is lacking the "ornament history" that we enjoy so much. Charlotte even picked up an ornament and tried to put it on the tree herself. She is getting so big.

So here it is folks. The tree and the decorations that mom put up before she had to go back to bed to sleep off her hangover flu.