I was reading this blog post the other day about the clothing options for little girls. Not that Janelle needs me promoting her blog what with my 33 readers, but damnit she is awesome. She often writes exactly what I've been thinking. And more often than not it is put more eloquently than I can ever hope to write.
But, as per usual, I digress.
I was reading the comments on this particular post. There were a lot I agreed with, and there were quite a few I didn't. But there were multiple commenters that went out of their way to point out how thankful they were to have boys.
Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have a son. I think it would so cool to have a little boy because it can be a totally different experience. I would love any sons I have as much as my daughters.
Since I've cleared that up, can I just say how ridiculous I found the supposed logic of these commenters?
You're thankful that you have boys because then you don't have to dress your daughter in clothing that you don't like?
Apparently you dodged a pretty major bullet there. Because we all know that being the parent of a daughter means dressing your kid a certain way. We all know you'd be beholden to put your kid in DIVA wear or overly sexualize her at an early age, right? Because apparently having a son is the equivalent of a biological hall pass and having a daughter is detention.
Either way you're the parent, and you get to make decisions on what your daughter wears when she isn't really old enough to make them herself. Funny thing is you also get to shape and mold this little human, so she'll (hopefully) respect herself enough to decide to wear appropriate clothing even when she has a choice.
I fear the bad influence of others that don't have my daughters' best interest in mind, but I'd fear those people grabbing hold of my sons too. I fear them succumbing to peer pressure and doing things they may not agree with simply to impress others. I also know that my wife and I are the biggest influences in their lives, and I hope that by the time they are faced with these people that are out to ruin or take advantage them that we have taught them their worth.
But I don't fear being their dad, and I don't feel a special burden just because they're girls. I'm thankful for having girls. I'm thankful that they exist at all. And I would never wish they were anyone besides who they are.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Daddy Daughter Days
Grace has been sick the last couple of days. It really only seems to affect her at night (we'll get to that later) because during the day she is in a great mood. You wouldn't think she was sick at all until she starts talking and it sounds like an arthritic old man.
Needless to say I'm counting down the seconds before Ana joins her as a little sicky. Because if one of them is sick both of them are sick. Its inevitable when Ana insists on taking away anything Grace has and puts it in her mouth. It really is almost like she wants to be sick like her sister.
We still found a way to have fun.
This is the first in my Safety First Series. Ana has been able to climb onto the fireplace for some time, but she stopped doing it when we took all the Christmas decorations down. Yesterday she decided she wanted to climb up there again. Obviously Grace didn't want to be left out, so she was up there within a minute or two. They got bored with it in about 5 minutes and were back to the floor again.
Safety First as we have baby races up the stairs. Ana took this round, but Grace was determined to get her the next time around.
Safety First as the girls look down from the top of the world (or the top of their world at least). Obviously I should be upstairs with them instead of downstairs taking a picture. The gate is closed. No big deal. Erin is afraid that they will get their heads stuck between the bars. I think she just remembers it happening on a Full House episode. I also honestly believe their noggins are too big to ever fit through.
They've been picking up speed recently going from walking to running in a flash. Grace also decided to wear a Christmas ribbon. Not kidding. She actually took it off a still unwrapped present and put it around her neck like a scarf. I guess she likes to dress up when she doesn't feel well to make her feel better.
Of course Ana wasn't content to let Grace wear the ribbon all day. She decided that it would look equally good on her, so she just took it. This led to many tears and tug-o-wars throughout the rest of the day as the girls fought for it.
In order to distract Ana from stealing from her sister, I let her play with my iPhone. It always serves as a good distraction to pop on the on forward-facing camera. She being vain like her father can't take her eyes off it. This is a picture she actually took.
The girls have started hanging out under the end tables next to the couch. Every so often I have to remind Ana that she shouldn't unplug the lamp or play with the outlet. But they seemed to enjoy hanging out in their secret fort.
As I mentioned above, the day spent with my sick little one was great. Bedtime was another story.
Erin had people over from her Moms of Multiples group last night for a Moms' Night Out (or more accurately a night in). So there were a lot of people downstairs and a lot of commotion to go along with it. This made bathtime and calming the girls down extra difficult because they wanted to hang out with all these people. They didn't want their bottles. They had no interest in listening to a bedtime story. And they certainly didn't want to go to sleep.
Grace cried and moaned while Ana jumped in her bed. Grace threw her blankets and pacifier on the floor in a form of non-violent protest. I tried to close the door to their room, but Ana could reach it from her crib and kept opening the door. It was an hour and a half before they finally passed out.
Grace was up again close to 11pm because apparently she wanted to watch The West Wing with us. She went back down relatively easy at that point.
But 3am is when the real fireworks flew. Grace woke up fussy and stuffed up. She cried and moaned and wouldn't calm down. This led to Ana waking up and screaming. We changed diapers. Nothing. We gave them bottles. Nada (in fact Grace threw up for good measure). I rocked Ana until she started to calm down. When one was back to sleep, my job was done. I had work in the morning after all, and I needed to get some sleep. I was out again by 4am. I couldn't tell you how long Erin stayed up, but they alarm going off at 6:30 felt like the blink of an eye.
So the day was once again good. The night? Not so much. Now I'm trying to avoid my zombie tendencies. Not like wanting to eat brains or anything, just drifting my way through an exhausted day.
Needless to say I'm counting down the seconds before Ana joins her as a little sicky. Because if one of them is sick both of them are sick. Its inevitable when Ana insists on taking away anything Grace has and puts it in her mouth. It really is almost like she wants to be sick like her sister.
We still found a way to have fun.
As I mentioned above, the day spent with my sick little one was great. Bedtime was another story.
Erin had people over from her Moms of Multiples group last night for a Moms' Night Out (or more accurately a night in). So there were a lot of people downstairs and a lot of commotion to go along with it. This made bathtime and calming the girls down extra difficult because they wanted to hang out with all these people. They didn't want their bottles. They had no interest in listening to a bedtime story. And they certainly didn't want to go to sleep.
Grace cried and moaned while Ana jumped in her bed. Grace threw her blankets and pacifier on the floor in a form of non-violent protest. I tried to close the door to their room, but Ana could reach it from her crib and kept opening the door. It was an hour and a half before they finally passed out.
Grace was up again close to 11pm because apparently she wanted to watch The West Wing with us. She went back down relatively easy at that point.
But 3am is when the real fireworks flew. Grace woke up fussy and stuffed up. She cried and moaned and wouldn't calm down. This led to Ana waking up and screaming. We changed diapers. Nothing. We gave them bottles. Nada (in fact Grace threw up for good measure). I rocked Ana until she started to calm down. When one was back to sleep, my job was done. I had work in the morning after all, and I needed to get some sleep. I was out again by 4am. I couldn't tell you how long Erin stayed up, but they alarm going off at 6:30 felt like the blink of an eye.
So the day was once again good. The night? Not so much. Now I'm trying to avoid my zombie tendencies. Not like wanting to eat brains or anything, just drifting my way through an exhausted day.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Twitter Machine Tuesday
I just want to clear up something from yesterday's post. Erin read it and defended herself that she intuitively almost always knows what the girls want or need. I agree with this. There is a connection that we both have with them that allows us to know what it takes to make them happy. The whole point was that we can't understand everything they "say" or want because they still can't express themselves well enough verbally.
I really wish I knew every thought in their head.
On to the Twitter Machine!
-Have you ever noticed rappers either talk about how shitty their life is or how much money they have?
-Can't we get a rapper that pays his mortgage on time and has a modest but diversified stock portfolio?
-Ricky Gervais was a little reserved on the Golden Globes, but his line about Colin Firth being racist was hilarious.
-I thought the captain always goes down with the ship #costaconcordia #rocktheboat
-Apparently the Golden Boy has greater powers than Jesus #tebow #tombrady
-That 49ers game was the best I've ever seen. And I'm not just saying that because it was recent.
-This from @erinsgirls: How can a silent movie win Best Screenplay? #wellplayed #theartist
-We're worried Ana may have her first ear infection. Not excited about that.
-How will I create fake facts on random Wikipedia pages tomorrow with them going dark? #SOPA
-Alcatraz bothers me because shouldn't people from the 60s be a little concerned about just appearing in the future?
-Paula Dean having diabetes is about as surprising as the Marlboro Man having lung cancer.
-Erin has a stuffed cow that moos and Grace adores it. She walks around our bedroom with it all the time. #loveher
-I'll just assume Brad Pitt was using a cane because he was crushed under his own handsomeness. #noresearchneeded
-Who says: "Napolean Dynamite cartoon? That's a great idea!"
-Obesity is really a problem in this country when Hostess filing Chpt 11 leads to countless Twinkie eulogies. #perspective
-Betty White's birthday was an actual TV show. There's a reason why NBCs ratings are terrible and America is stupid.
-Justified is back tonight. I freaking love that show.
-One month until the Giants' pitchers and catchers report. Gotta love baseball.
-Grace knows the word "ball" and she also knows how to throw one in her own way. She loves baseball too. #inherblood
-As always I couldn't agree more with Janelle on this.
-I've figured out what I'm getting Erin for her birthday and possibly for our anniversary #planningahead
-She of course wants me to tell her what it is.
-It's about time cold weather has moved into our area. At least before winter ended.
Hoping for lots of rain and snow the rest of this week. Hope everyone has a great one.
I really wish I knew every thought in their head.
On to the Twitter Machine!
-Have you ever noticed rappers either talk about how shitty their life is or how much money they have?
-Can't we get a rapper that pays his mortgage on time and has a modest but diversified stock portfolio?
-Ricky Gervais was a little reserved on the Golden Globes, but his line about Colin Firth being racist was hilarious.
-I thought the captain always goes down with the ship #costaconcordia #rocktheboat
-Apparently the Golden Boy has greater powers than Jesus #tebow #tombrady
-That 49ers game was the best I've ever seen. And I'm not just saying that because it was recent.
-This from @erinsgirls: How can a silent movie win Best Screenplay? #wellplayed #theartist
-We're worried Ana may have her first ear infection. Not excited about that.
-How will I create fake facts on random Wikipedia pages tomorrow with them going dark? #SOPA
-Alcatraz bothers me because shouldn't people from the 60s be a little concerned about just appearing in the future?
-Paula Dean having diabetes is about as surprising as the Marlboro Man having lung cancer.
-Erin has a stuffed cow that moos and Grace adores it. She walks around our bedroom with it all the time. #loveher
-I'll just assume Brad Pitt was using a cane because he was crushed under his own handsomeness. #noresearchneeded
-Who says: "Napolean Dynamite cartoon? That's a great idea!"
-Obesity is really a problem in this country when Hostess filing Chpt 11 leads to countless Twinkie eulogies. #perspective
-Betty White's birthday was an actual TV show. There's a reason why NBCs ratings are terrible and America is stupid.
-Justified is back tonight. I freaking love that show.
-One month until the Giants' pitchers and catchers report. Gotta love baseball.
-Grace knows the word "ball" and she also knows how to throw one in her own way. She loves baseball too. #inherblood
-As always I couldn't agree more with Janelle on this.
-I've figured out what I'm getting Erin for her birthday and possibly for our anniversary #planningahead
-She of course wants me to tell her what it is.
-It's about time cold weather has moved into our area. At least before winter ended.
Hoping for lots of rain and snow the rest of this week. Hope everyone has a great one.
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Mouths of Babes
Have you ever seen that episode of The Simpsons where Homer's brother Herb invents a machine that translates baby noises to English? I never thought much about it, but it really would be the best thing since sliced bread.
As an aside, what did we say was the best thing before sliced bread? And was sliced bread really so revolutionary that it became the gold standard by which we measure all other inventions? We really need to consider changing this to something that is more, you know, revolutionary and awesome. Although I do love me some sandwiches.
Anyway back to my original thought.
Now that my girls are making all sorts of noises and saying indecipherable "words" to us, I've grown to appreciate this fake invention even more and wish it actually existed.
You see Erin and I were either too lazy or too busy to really dive headlong into the whole teach the girls to sign thing to allow better communication. I'm going to go with a combination of lazy and busy and just leave it at that. Either way we haven't really mastered the ability to communicate back and forth with our children beyond the intuitive stuff like hungry, sleepy, dirty diaper, etc. So we don't understand their needs 100% of the time.
This has also led to some hilarious and adorable misunderstandings and them learning words that aren't necessarily accurate. For example, every animal is a "doggy" to them. After being told how pretty the Christmas tree lights were for the entire month of December, they now refer to every light they see as "pretty." They've started calling every man they see "daddy" which makes me feel a little less special. Although I would like to go up to a guy they call daddy and yell "You sonofabitch! You slept with my wife!" because that would be high comedy.
But there are still things they say or try to say that I don't understand. There is one recent example that has led to more questions than anything else. Ana is now saying "bubby" about nothing in particular.
Part of me wonders how she learned a Yiddish word. I wonder if she plans on becoming a power agent in Hollywood when she grows up and she's just getting the lingo down. Maybe she is trying to say "buddy" although that really isn't a word we use too often. So many questions because of this one little word.
I just want to know what is going on those little heads of theirs. If anyone out there has a Baby-to-English translator, let me know.
As an aside, what did we say was the best thing before sliced bread? And was sliced bread really so revolutionary that it became the gold standard by which we measure all other inventions? We really need to consider changing this to something that is more, you know, revolutionary and awesome. Although I do love me some sandwiches.
Anyway back to my original thought.
Now that my girls are making all sorts of noises and saying indecipherable "words" to us, I've grown to appreciate this fake invention even more and wish it actually existed.
You see Erin and I were either too lazy or too busy to really dive headlong into the whole teach the girls to sign thing to allow better communication. I'm going to go with a combination of lazy and busy and just leave it at that. Either way we haven't really mastered the ability to communicate back and forth with our children beyond the intuitive stuff like hungry, sleepy, dirty diaper, etc. So we don't understand their needs 100% of the time.
This has also led to some hilarious and adorable misunderstandings and them learning words that aren't necessarily accurate. For example, every animal is a "doggy" to them. After being told how pretty the Christmas tree lights were for the entire month of December, they now refer to every light they see as "pretty." They've started calling every man they see "daddy" which makes me feel a little less special. Although I would like to go up to a guy they call daddy and yell "You sonofabitch! You slept with my wife!" because that would be high comedy.
But there are still things they say or try to say that I don't understand. There is one recent example that has led to more questions than anything else. Ana is now saying "bubby" about nothing in particular.
Part of me wonders how she learned a Yiddish word. I wonder if she plans on becoming a power agent in Hollywood when she grows up and she's just getting the lingo down. Maybe she is trying to say "buddy" although that really isn't a word we use too often. So many questions because of this one little word.
I just want to know what is going on those little heads of theirs. If anyone out there has a Baby-to-English translator, let me know.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Daddy Daughter Days
Another Thursday with my daughters, and it really crystalizes why it's my favorite day of the week. I literally have uninterupted time with them all day (really uninterupted when they don't want to nap). I cherish these days.
One of Grace's favorite things is grabbing hats and trying to put them on. She was all about her bird hat today. It didn't last long as you can see by the hand coming in from the left because...
Ana decided that she wanted to wear the hat. And why wait for dad to find the other one when she could just yank it off her sister's head? Also she is looking more and more like her mom every day.
Something that the girls and I like to play is the blanket game. Basically it consists of me hiding under the blanket until they try to crawl underneath or pull it off me entirely. Erin gets frustrated by this because they just walk away when she hides under the blanket. This of course is a view from under the blanket.
This tent currently resides in our family room. We're teaching the girls all about roughing it so they can be ready for camping trips this summer.
I have no problem admitting that I'm not great at taking pictures. Mostly I have great subjects in my photographs (i.e. Ana and Grace). But I also don't claim to be some great photographer like so many of those moms out there. Sorry I'm not a faux-tographer like you. But even those uppity folks have to agree this is a pretty good picture. Even a broken watch is right twice a day. Also how cute are these kids? I'm not actually fishing for compliments here, I want to know a measurement that can actually identify just how damn adorable they are.
Seriously...love them.
Who needs coffee to wake up when you have Grace's smiles?
They will see us waving from such great heights...
This was the only moment Grace wasn't crying when I took them to the park. Glad to have caught it on camera. Apparently she is so over swings.
I admit that I'm exhausted at the end of just about every Thursday with watching them and cleaning up the house during every free moment. I just don't care because everything they do makes it worth it. Can't wait until next week.
I admit that I'm exhausted at the end of just about every Thursday with watching them and cleaning up the house during every free moment. I just don't care because everything they do makes it worth it. Can't wait until next week.
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