Our ‘baby,’ Grace, just had a birthday. If babies turn into toddlers at that magical age of two, for the first time in about seven and a half years we are ‘officially’ without a baby at our house. To be honest I’m not quite sure what to think about all this. While Kim is one to get nostalgic about these sort of ‘milestones and maybe shed a tear or two about how she’s lost her ‘babies,’ I can’t help but notice that slowly, slowly but surely, these kids are getting more and more expensive! I’m … [Read more...]
Stuff kids like (but parents hate)
Being the ‘hip’, ‘happening,’ ‘with-it,’ extremely cool parents we are, we enjoy life to the fullest and want to have fun. Indeed we purposefully seek out good times for us and for our children, although when this happens it’s usually our children who have the fun while we have… something else entirely. The fact of the matter is, kids and parents tend to have wildly differing opinions on just what ‘fun’ is, and it’s been this way at least since the 70’s when we were born. (Anthropologists … [Read more...]
How to teach a child to ride a bike
One of the greatest gratifications as a parent is teaching your children to do something they didn’t think they could do. Sometimes that extra ‘push’ can be too much, driven by the too-lofty expectations of well-meaning parents. But sometimes, when it’s something you KNOW they need to learn, that you know they will enjoy when they learn it, that push can be a good and necessary thing. Such is the case with that childhood rite-of-passage we all had to endure - learning to ride a bike. Last … [Read more...]
How To Keep Your Princesses From Turning Into Divas!
In addition to our firstborn son, my wife and I have not one, not two, but three beautiful little princesses. Needless to say, we consider ourselves quite blessed. Sure, some might disagree with that assessment, depending on their view of society’s very outdated, arcane, medieval, SEXIST policy of parents of girls paying for weddings (yeah I know – CRAZY isn’t it??). Personally, I believe that is one area (maybe the only one) where society needs to step into the 21st century. But I … [Read more...]
Making Memories
A happy childhood, remembered with fondness, is one of life’s greatest blessings. It is an anchor that will keep us grounded and secure in the knowledge that, despite the trials and tribulations that have and will come our way, the prism through which we saw life as a child is just a taste of, perhaps, what heaven will be like. Those of us who were blessed with happy childhoods don’t so much remember the bad times, but instead recall with nostalgia the wonder and awe with which we viewed the … [Read more...]