THOMnottom – Page 6 – Back and bloggier than ever

10 things from my really boring life

The topic of Livejournal has popped up a couple times on the social network du jour. More specifically the topic of “Does anyone still use Livejournal?” has popped up. Of course I was never much into the service to begin with. Aside from the occasional annoying meme or “anyone free?” post, my account was merely to view all the juicy details of my friends’ sordid lives. Not surprisingly it’s pretty useless these days…

Recently it came to my attention that the private feeds I used to keep track of you all had stopped working – largely because I accidentally deleted them. Not only did it take me months to realize, but once I logged back in there was almost nothing to read. No offense to those of you still writing there, but maybe 2 or 3 people had written anything in the last 6 months with most accounts blank for the year.

So it’s time for me to cut ties with that sinking ship. The only posts that really mattered were imported years ago, but I did notice one labelled “10 things from my really boring life” that seemed to fit the typically boring content over here:

Helped an old lady cross a street in NYC.
Stabbed a good friend…
Gotten so drunk my dad had to drive from train station to train station before he found me wandering around a deserted parking lot at the end of the line.
Built a large window-sized structure completely out of Snapple bottles.
Skied through clouds.
Had my car totaled by a police officer.
Been hit by a lawyer when I almost did something stupid in court.
Built a dorm room that became a regular stop on campus tours.
Got a guitar string from a famous musician (Roger Miller) and helped someone get one from another (Chris Cornell).
Sued Apple… oh wait, that was a different Thomas Slattery… How about almost been killed at a concert?

Fascinating life I led, eh? Not that there’s much to add over 5 years later…

She’s warming up to me

As has been pointed out many times in the past, Kayleigh is a mama’s girl. It’s kind of hard to compete with all of the time she spends with The Woman, so I figured it was best to just give up and hope for a boy next time around.

Kidding! I’m only kidding. You know he’d be a mama’s boy anyway…

Lately The Moppet has seemingly taken more of a shine to her old man. Beyond merely accepting me as a substitute for when the preferred personnel is unavailable, she actually appears to desire my company on occasion. First it began with some late mornings. Sleeping in past 8:30 left me with no option but to head off without a hug or kiss or even a demand that I leave the room and get Mommy. Much to my surprise, once awake she asked where I was and wasn’t I joining in all of the festivities.

And here I thought she didn’t even know I existed.

Today the expansion of my role continued, thanks to a half day at work so The Woman could flex her bread winning ways. Who would have guessed that the girl who popularized the phrase “No, mommy will do it” would express joy that I came home early. She even let me hold her after her failed nap, despite The Woman being readily available.

Just to emphasize how buddy-buddy she was acting, the night concluded with a father/daughter dinner at Whole Food listening to a jazz duo. Sure, she was totally bonkers from the lack of a nap, but I had a blast chasing her around the store and dancing with her in front of the crowd. They were clearly jealous of our moves. I’m hoping this becomes our “thing” – a way for us to bond while simultaneously combating the overexposure to Billy Joel courtesy of her mother. Sooner or later she’s got to pick up something more from me then screaming “holy cow” at the TV whenever certain sporting events are on.

Supra Genius

I’m sitting here in front of my computer with some “spare” time thanks to my new morning routine (it’s only sort of working, but much better than before, thank you very much) and can’t think of a single thing to actually write about. So I start diving into the drafts to see if any unfinished thoughts can get themselves finished. And the first one to tickle my fancy is date… JULY OF 2009?!?! Brilliant. Sprucing it up for now would entail a complete rewrite, so I’ll just start with what was here already:

I never want to become the kind of parent that completely blows every little thing their child does out of the water. The kind that insists that their precious baby is the most beautiful or the most athletic or the most intelligent. But the fact that Kayleigh is the most beautiful baby girl makes that a little hard to do. And now I’ve got to deal with the fact that she’s just too frickin’ smart for a 1 year old.

Let’s preface this by saying that all babies are smart. Really smart. Seriously. Just ask any parent. We’re amazed at the level of genius they reach that allows them to pick up a straw and not poke their own eye out. They master the hand-eye coordination necessary to throw their toys without smacking themselves in the face and they deserve mounds of praise. Hell, parents go crazy when they manage to poop – something

Kayleigh hasn’t been that interested in the whole mobility thing. At about a week past her first birthday she’s just now getting frustrated with not being able to reach items on her own. Instead she’s been focused on more intellectual pursuits – such as which words will bend Mommy and Daddy to her will. She’s also learned how to turn and wait for the appropriate praise upon completion of a task as difficult as pointing out a circle. As I said, she’s becoming quite the intellectual.

Her brain has just started moving at a ridiculous pace lately. One day a couple weeks ago I’m watching her play with a wooden puzzle – this typically involves her taking out all of the pieces and tossing them over her shoulder. This time, however, she suddenly decides to start putting them back. In the right place! She matches the blue circle piece with the blues circle hole and the orange square piece with the orange square hole. DO YOU KNOW HOW CRAZY DIFFICULT THAT IS?!?!

Okay, it’s not like she did the whole thing or does it on a regular basis, but these are the minor activities that send parents over the edge. And I totally get that now.

It’s kind of a shame I didn’t just pot it as is. That was a pretty solid entry. My point was that watching babies do things isn’t that exciting – but watching a baby grow up is. Crawling, walking, talking, etc. – pretty much all babies get around to doing this. But that doesn’t change how awesome it is to watch one figure it out.

I remember in those innocent days of my 20s having no clue want parenthood was about listening to people ask questions like “Is he playing peek-a-boo yet?” All I could think was who cares? He’s probably not playing tic-tac-toe either, is that really a big deal? And then one morning on the changing table Kayleigh pulled a cloth over her head and pulled it down to play peek-a-b00 and suddenly… HOLY CRAP, MY BABY’S A GENIUS!

It all came together that these little milestones really show off how newborns, babies and toddlers learn. Realizing that for the first time she was deliberating trying to hide meant way more than simply a new game in her repertoire. It was a demonstration of her understanding the world around her and how it works.

So this post may seem a tad ill-timed considering Kayleigh is now a “fully functional” toddler. But those moments still come. Whether it’s figuring out how to put together a jigsaw puzzle or realizing why we want her to sit on the potty (seriously, peeing elicited a response you might think would be reserved for pony rides or a shower of puppies), there’s still plenty more to discover.

And also, my girl really is a freakin’ genius. But I’ll talk about that later…

Wake me up before you…

I used to be a morning person. Alright, to be fair I was an anytime person. The Woman has said that I’m the only person she knows that you can wake up in the middle of the night and expect to be completely functional and rational within 2 minutes. Some call it a gift, I call it… useful.

But while I could easily stay up until 2 and still be bright eyed and bushy tailed at 7 am for years, that came screeching to a halt at the most inconvenient time. A few months before the little moppet was born sleep started to become an issue for me. And then she was born. And, I don’t know if you know this, but newborns can cause trouble for your sleep habits. My night times went from only needing 5 hours or so to needing 8 hours to only getting 3 hours. Kids sure are inconvenient.

I don’t feel like rehashing the whole sleep progression thing again. Kayleigh has become an excellent nighttime sleeper these days, and that means that we get to sleep in past 7 am 99% of mornings. Of course not much further than that, mind you, since my internal alarm clock is now pretty much permanently wired for 7:15. Initially we were so afraid of this new morning routine not lasting that we packed our evenings with as much TV watching, Internet surfing, time wasting activities we could muster. That started a very bad habit of staying up later than was good simply to maximize the adult time – but without really doing anything beyond clearing the DVR.

So now I’m thinking that I need to re-wire myself back to being a morning person. It’s time for me to get up before Kayleigh and actually accomplish things. When she wakes up I should be sitting at my computer writing and listening to music while already showered, shaved and fed. For this to work some boundaries need to be put in place. Stop watching the umpteenth rerun of Scrubs simply because it’s on TV. Don’t try to start typing up a post at 11:30 with eyelids already drooping. And for goodness sakes, give Angry Birds a rest already!

Seriously, those green pigs can wait ’til tomorrow.

Your moment of (Kayleigh) zen #2

The last one should have been Kayleigh zen #1. Maybe I’ll get around to renaming it. But most of my video efforts should be focused on removing the awful sound of my voice from everything…

Portrait of the young girl as an artist

It’s difficult for parents not to project every little activity a toddler enjoys into her future life. Humming along to a song on the radio? Future singer. Kicking a ball across the yard? Future soccer player. Petting a cat? Future veterinarian. Painting a picture? Future artist.

My little girl loves to paint. She loves to color. She loves to stamp ink. She loves music and singing and dancing. Are any of these the future that lay ahead of her? I don’t know. But it seems to me that they will play a part – even if just a small one. And that’s enough to make me smile. If the little scrawls and doodles that adorn our walls at home and even my office are launchpads for nothing more than weekend watercolors in her backyard while taking a break from the daily 9-5, I will still gladly hang up the results.

There is much beauty and creativity in this child and she will learn to express it in whatever terms are best for her.

But sometimes it’s too easy to get wrapped up in 20 years from now. Beyond projecting adulthood endeavors from such simple childhood fun, parents have a tendency to search out their own aspirations in their little ones. While I will happily encourage her to pursue any dreams that come her way, I’ll make sure not to mistake mine for hers.

In the meantime, it’s lovely to simply watch her begin this self discovery – hopefully just part of a very long journey.

Your moment of (baby) zen #13

I don’t blame you if you don’t watch the whole video – but I’m not about to start editing. For the record, the book is Wiring Simplified.

Kitty Kayleigh

I’m not big on Halloween. Those who have seen my pretend costumes (me from 10 years ago, Professor Mosby, etc.) on the rare occasion that I attend such a party know first hand. But it’s hard to ignore just how adorable babies and toddlers look all dressed up as monkeys, cats or even bananas.

Kayleigh now regularly asks to put on this getup to become Kitty Kayleigh. Who am I to say no? Personally I don’t see the need for some silly holiday. Why can’t she dress like this everyday?

Historic Halladay

I know, not only am I writing about sports but doing so at least a day late. Lame. Regardless of my lameosity and the fact that Lineu… Luncem… that kid from San Fran pitched an almost equally amazing game last night, I just had to point out how awesome Halladay’s performance for my Phillies on Wednesday was. In case you shudder at the notion that people still follow baseball or hide your head in the sand whenever sports in general are mentioned, let me break it down for you:

After spending 12 years going no where with the mediocre Blue Jays, Roy Halladay requested to be traded to the Phils so that he might finally get to feel what it was like to pitch in October. Over the course of the season he dominates just about everybody and ends up at or near the top of every major pitching statistic while helping to lead his new team to their third straight division title en route to an almost guaranteed second Cy Young for himself. Oh, he also managed to pitch the 20th perfect game in Major League history, too. Finally the time comes for him to make his postseason debut and what does he do?

Throws the second no hitter in postseason history.

Damn.

If you have some time and even a passing interest in the game, do yourself a favor and watch the highlights and listen to the former players break down his pitching. Hearing their attempts to even describe what he was doing shows just how masterful and beautiful it was. Check out Ruiz’s heads up play from behind the plate that saved it all and the celebration that followed.

The Woman can confirm just how nuts I went – looking forward to more Scotch-worthy moments in the coming weeks. One down, ten to go!

Daddy’s little chick

Since The Woman had to work this evening, I had the pleasure of listening to Kayleigh on the monitor talk herself to sleep all by myself. Perhaps I should explain. Our new nighttime routine – our magical routine that does not involve 45 minutes or more of rocking after 30 minutes of diaper change negotiations – actually ends with Kayleigh still awake in the crib not screaming her head off while we head downstairs.

Amazing, isn’t it?

The little moppet has gotten over her wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth when it’s time to fall asleep. Well, not entirely. She may cry out a little using every trick she can muster to keep us around. And after it may be upwards of an hour before the talking and singing finally quiet. But the end result is that our entire evening is no longer devoted to ensuring a pain free transition to sleep – the process now unfolds rather naturally. Add that to a wake-up time of around 7:30 AM and life is good.

Of course Kayleigh still likes to toss a wrinkle into things now and then. I can’t really blame her for the cold she just caught, but the lack of blame doesn’t stop the snorting and coughing from waking us up. Thankfully tonight was another example of just how far things have come. About an hour or 2 after falling asleep the plaintive cries of “Daddy” came over the monitor – no doubt because I was the one to put her down, not a matter of preference. After hesitating for a minute or so, I finally ventured in.

Rather than being trapped for the next hour or so with multiple failed attempts at putting her back down as was once the norm, the procedure was fairly straightforward. Pick her up with a big hug, rebuff her attempts to go downstairs, let her lay herself back down, and then hold her hand for 30 seconds while she drifts off again. What a wonderful feeling that a little physical contact and some verbal reassurance is enough for me to comfort our little girl.