Happy Mother's Day...to me?

So this post is a little bit late... I wish I was able to spend this past Mother's Day with Linda and Evan, but unfortunately I had to work a 13 hour shift Sunday... Linda got her Mother's Day gifts a bit early from Evan & me...and Linda & I celebrated with a date-night Saturday with dinner & a movie.

It was somewhat amusing when I came into work last Sunday and was greeted by one coworker wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. I chuckled at the thought, knowing they refer to me as "Mr. Mom". Then a second coworker wished me the same thing a few hours later. Then at the end of my shift, a third coworker told me that she wished I had a great Mother's Day. By this point, it was a little annoying... I know they mean well, but I had no desire to steal Linda's thunder. She is Evan's mom. I am his dad. She loves him the way a mother loves her son. She wipes his tears, his butt, his nose, his mouth; she loves and nurtures him; she gave him life for Pete's sake! She pushed his 9 lbs 3 oz, 21 inch body and 12 inches round head out of somewhere I can't even imagine...all in 20 minutes and in 3 pushes. She deserves her Mother's Day wishes...not me!

During Evan's first year of life, it was impossible for us as a couple to get out and enjoy ourselves. I've come to find out this is necessity for new parents. We have promised each other that at least once a month, Linda & I will find a sitter and get out for a date-night. Last Saturday was our date night, and a Mother's Day celebration for Linda. We had gift certificates for dinner and a movie, so ate at On The Border and went to see "Water For Elephants". Good dinner, good movie (if you hadn't read the book recently like me - of course the book is much, much better)...it was nice to get out as just us.

Friday as I was out picking up groceries and waiting for an oil change at Walmart, Evan & I meandered around the store... We passed the floral area, and Evan pointed to some roses and exclaimed "Ga! Ga! Ga!" I took that to mean, "Momma needs those for Mother's Day!" I picked up a photo frame collage for Linda to take to work and a couple cards.

I do hope Linda had a good Mother's Day, even though we hardly got to spend the actual day together. I hope she knows how much she means to me and what an awesome mom she is to Evan.

Warrior Evan versus the Evil Dr. Sleep

Sorry, once again, for the prolonged delay between posts. I have that rare moment of tranquility right now. Evan in his bouncer - and not mad for being in there while I am in plain view - and Truman cleaning whatever remains of breakfast might be off of his hands.

Evan's first Christmas was all we could hope it would be. He was very good at family, church and with more family. You would think the three massive family gatherings in two days would have sent him over his threshold, but he was a very good little trooper. He showed off his mad crawling skills and newly found beginner's walking skills (he can walk when holding on to someone's hands).

I joked on Facebook that he got a 157 new toys. It's only a slight exaggeration. Some of the toys are a little too advanced for him and will be better suited when he gets a little older. So we have put those in a tub for now. His Aunt Noreen and Uncle Anthony bought him a blow up Penguin. The kind you can hit and it always pops back up. He was afraid of it at first, but seems to be doing well with it now. His favorite new toys are a new cell phone, a toy with a steering wheel that makes car noises and the "interactive zoo*."

*My public service announcement for the year - LISTEN to the sounds, songs and noises a toy makes before purchasing it. If you can't imagine being in the same room with those sounds going on OVER AND OVER AND OVER again, chances are the parents of the child you are buying it for also do not want to be stuck in a room with it. Granted, Brian and I get as much amusement out of it now as Evan does, making up alternative lyrics to some of the songs...

TOY SONG: "I'm a very friendly parrot, chatting out loud for all to hear."

LINDA's VERSION: "I'm a very scary parrot..." You all know my hatred/blind fear of birds. Let's face it. No parrot is friendly. Why teach a baby to approach something that could claw his face off and bite his fingers in two? Birds are SCARY!

TOY SONG: "I'm a big and tall giraffe, stretching so high I touch the sky!"

LINDA's VERSION: "I'm a big dumb tall giraffe..." It did actually sound like he said "dumb" instead of "and."

We also have dances for the songs. The one for the penguin goes "I'm a tiny little penguin, waddling here, waddling there." To which I waddle from side to side when listening to.

Evan is back to sleeping pretty well again, which is a relief since Brian and I have both been sick. He FIGHTS falling asleep, though. Yesterday, I incurred a wrath so great that it could have only come from someone related to me because Evan knew I was trying to get him to fall asleep and take a nap. He screamed bloody murder for a solid 45 minutes while I tried rocking him, jumping up and down, playing with him, walking around the house for him until my arms where about to fall off* and I just gave up and put him in his crib. He was asleep 5 minutes later.

*Evan was also sick this week and Brian took him to the doctor. He weighs 21 pounds, 3 ounces. Pick up a giant sack of potatoes and carry that around for a good 1/2 hour and see how your arms, shoulders and upper back feel. You also need to mechanize that sack of potatoes because Evan squirms, fights, wiggles and does everything in his power to try and get you to drop him (thank God I haven't done this!).

With naps, he also wakes up MAD. Like he's pissed that we would allow him to fall asleep. He wakes up screaming and it usually takes a good 2-3 minutes to let him know he's awake now and it's time to play.

Last night, I gave him his bottle. He was so tired he would lift his head up and then it would crash back down on my arm, but he still fought. As he lay in my arms in his room, he started this pathetic "AhhhhhUhahhhhhUhahhhhhh" moaning. It was as if he kept making noise, he couldn't fall asleep. To know if he is asleep you have to watch the hands. He keeps one up and as he drifts off, the hand comes down to rest on his tummy. It was like he had some kind of electric shock on his jammies that jolted him awake every time his hand came down.

Again, we fought. Again, it resulted in giving up and just putting him in his crib with him falling asleep before I got out of the room. I'm beginning to think that he just needs to be free to roll and flail about. If he can't move, he can't sleep. The other theory is that wrestling with me just wears him out so that when he does finally land on the crib mattress, he has no more energy to protest.

On occasion, he'll still try. He'll get up on all fours and crawl to the front of the crib, but it's like his neck can no longer support the weight of his head and he just collapses, rises, then collapses again in a deep sleep that will usually last for the next 11-12 hours. When he will rise for a new day of battling against the Evil Dr. Sleep. My poor little warrior just doesn't know that that's a battle he will lose every day.

In the photo below:

Evan is about to figure out the hazards of opening presents. This photo was snapped just before the box slid on the wood floor, causing little E to face plant. He was not happy. Brian took this photo and I was recording on the video camera. He face planted and I snapped the video camera shut and reached for the little boy, but Brian already had him. Regardless, we had a very Merry Christmas. One face plant in what, I'm sure will be thousands.

Evan examines the goods before opening up his presents... All of these are his.

Evan's First Halloween (and memories)

It really is true that a baby changes everything. Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, but this year was definitely different. When I was growing up it was always a fun and exciting day. This Halloween was no different. But over the years, as with any adults, holidays become more like just any other day...and they tend to lose the magic. Having Evan has changed that. This was the first year I carved pumpkins. It had been, I'm guessing, since 1995 when I carved the last one. I loved doing this as a kid.

My sis & I carving pumpkins - About 1980

I love the countdown to Halloween...all the scary movies that are on TV. Linda is not a fan, and refuses to watch these slasher flicks with me. I love scary movies! The other night, I had DVR's the original "Halloween", and began watching it. I had recorded it off AMC, so it was censored and had commercial breaks. I told Linda that, but she refused to watch it and went back to our room to watch TV. I can't wait for Evan be old enough to watch these with me. Linda has her reservations about him watching scary movies at a young age. However, my parents loved scary movies and didn't censor what we watched growing up. In fact, when we got our first VCR in the early-mid 1980s, the very first movie we watched as a family on that new fangled contraption was "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". It didn't scar me for life. We were a family that loved scary movies. I remember seeing "Poltergeist", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Jaws 3D", "Friday the 13th" and others in the movie theater with my family. Didn't bother me... I didn't have nightmares and didn't grow up to be a mass murderer. So we'll see how Evan does as he grows up.

When I was a kid though, my mom dressed me as a clown numerous years in a row for Halloween night, that is until I protested and got to choose my Halloween costume. She had made the clown outfit herself, therefore wanted to get good use out of it. Understandable, but I hate clowns to this day. Not only because for the first few years of my life I had to dress in that damn clown outfit, but also because I have a fear of the damn things. I blame the scene from "Poltergeist" for that. (My only adverse effect of watching that movie.) I promise that I won't do that to Evan.

My sis as a witch, me as the clown - About 1980

For Evan's first Halloween, we dressed him in a blue three-eyed, four-armed, pot-bellied monster thing. We dubbed the costume a "Mutated Cookie Monster". We headed up to our hometown, Excelsior, to trick-or-treat with our 4 year old nephew, Brayden, who went as Woody from "Toy Story". Linda's brother and sister-in-law still live in Excelsior, and in fact, in the same neighborhood that I grew up in.

Evan did great! Although he was gypped at a few houses, most people ogled over him and gave him treats. Granted, he won't be able to eat any of the candy, but Linda & I are divvy up the loot. I called dibs on the KitKats and Crunches. Linda's not so keen on that idea.

As we strolled around my childhood neighborhood, I had a feeling of nostalgia overcome me...it really was bittersweet. So much of the neighborhood I spent the first 20 years of my life in had changed. Old neighbors had moved on or passed away...some still remained. Growing up on Virginia Road and in that neighborhood was a trick-or-treaters dream come true in the 1980s. It was a young neighborhood then, and practically every house gave out candy and there was no need to hit any other neighborhood. But today, things had changed. So many houses were dark...either their residences empty (in today's economy) or weren't participating. The neighborhood had gotten old. Not a lot of young families living there anymore...especially on my old street.

I talked John & Steph (Linda's brother & sister) into heading down to my house. I was eager to see if whomever lived in my old house now would be giving out candy...but no such luck. I'm hoping next year. Even though my parents sold that house 6 years ago, it feels like decades ago. Lots has changed since then. That will always be my house. It's nothing special...just another cookie-cutter suburban house built in the 1970s. As much as I hated living there when I was the 'rebellious' teen...what I wouldn't give to see the inside of that house again.

I couldn't help myself but stare at my old house...and remember Halloweens-past...and all the other holidays and good memories I had there. I miss that house. Linda said it even made her reminiscent of the times spent in that house.

I hope Evan is as sentimental as me. I hope that one day I can point that house out to him and tell him that is where his dad grew up...and him feel the same fascination about that house as I did when my dad showed me the house he grew up in.

Evan's 1st Fourth of July

The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays, next to Christmas and New Year's Eve. As a kid, we'd always celebrate at home with our own fireworks display in the backyard. My parents would buy a few sparklers, snakes, tanks, those weird chicken things that would shoot out balls of fire from their ass (to give the appearance they were laying eggs) and screech like a chicken, some snappers, and for the grand finale mom & dad would buy a few fountains that showered out colored sparks... We always celebrated (modestly) at my house as a kid. We lived in a town that fireworks were illegal, but we did this in moderation. I remember one year when my dad bought a rocket. Not really knowing how far it'd go and the outcome of it, he set it off in the backyard. It shot probably about 200 feet in the air and exploded in a shower of sparks. Being maybe 9 or 10 years old at the time, I thought it was amazing. I still remember my dad wincing at the sight, afraid he disturbed our neighbors.

In years since, in my adulthood, I've been able to celebrate the 4th of July is some amazing locations...Boston, Washington DC, Philadelphia. After Linda graduated college, she went on a 20-city-20-week promotional tour for Better Homes & Gardens...setting up displays in different malls throughout the country. Since I work for an airline, whenever she was in a city that my airline flew to, I'd fly out to visit her for a few days and see the sights. On July 4, 2001, she was in Hartford, CT, and I flew out to see her. One of the guys on her tour was a local from Boston. He had a friend that lived in a Brownstone right on the waterfront of the Charles River. Each year, the Boston Pops puts on quite the show...also including several other musicians (that year was Cyndi Lauper)...and they set off a huge fireworks display set to patriotic music, with the grand finale set to Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture". We sat on top of this Brownstone apartment, above the massive crowds below and watched the amazing display. That had to be the best 4th of July I've ever had.

Jesse, Holly, Ellen, Nicole, Mark, Linda & me on top of the Brownstone apartment

One of my favorite pictures of Linda taken at an afternoon BBQ in Boston on July 4, 2001

Linda & me chilling on a hammock in a backyard in Boston.

The following year, Linda & I were visiting friends in Washington DC. While we didn't really see much of the fireworks over Capitol Hill, we were at a bar in Georgetown. We were a bit too far away from the display, but we were able to briefly see the display up the Potomac River. All I have to say about that trip is "lee-mone-ade"! (Inside joke that few will catch.)

Chad, Mike, Ellen, me, Deanna & Linda at Mo's Bar in Washington DC

Me at the Lincoln Memorial - July 5, 2002

A few years later, my company was opening up service to Philadelphia and asked for employees to volunteer to walk in their annual parade through the streets of Philly. I volunteered Linda & me, and we were able to stay in downtown Philly and see the sights. That night we watched the fireworks go off over the Philadelphia Museum of Art (the place where the "Rocky" stairs are...which I wanted to reenact but it was too damn hot).

Some of my coworkers and me getting ready to walk in the Philly parade - July 4, 2004

Me on the "Rocky" stairs - Philadelphia Museum of Art

Linda at the Liberty Bell

Walking in the parade down Benjamin Franklin Parkway toward the Philly Museum of Art

Linda & me with Ben Franklin

Last year, Linda & I celebrated at home in Kansas City with their cool fireworks display over the Missouri River.

I couldn't figure out how to flip this video right-side-up, but this is the fireworks display from last year. Just turn your head to the right.

So as you can see, we've celebrated and experienced Independence Day all over the country. Each 4th of July has it's own memories. This year, however, we had to celebrate a day early. Due to my work schedule (I had to work a double at that), we went over to a friend's house to grill out. We were out kinda late, and Evan did remarkably well! It was great to hang out on their deck...and Evan just chilled out in his travel swing! It was just a low-key, chill kinda 4th of July. But we did end the night with an interesting game of "I Never...". Is it weird that thirtysomethings were playing this? This is Evan's first, and I'm hoping that he will be able to celebrate in some cool locations throughout his life...

Evan & his dad

Mother & son

Evan's honorary Aunt Jen

Evan's honorary Aunt Abbie

Evan's honorary Aunt Darcy

Evan's idea of chilling out

It's funny though, how much your perspective changes after you have a child. Our neighborhood is in downtown Kansas City. It's a historic neighborhood that was built at the turn of the 1900s...so the houses are very close to one another. Well, on the actual 4th of July, we had a bunch of idiot neighbors setting off several fireworks...and not just the run-of-the-mill bottle rockets, but near professional grade loud boomers that shot in the air and showered sparks down. As soon as we put Evan down for the night, the neighbors started with these fireworks... I worried about it waking Evan up, however he did well. For once, Mother Nature worked in our favor...no more than 5 minutes after our neighborhood lit up with fireworks, we got several torrential downpours of rain. This worked for a bit, but our neighbors still wanted to celebrate and decided to wait...til 2:00am to set of their stash. Hoping next year will be a bit more active...Evan should be old enough to enjoy fireworks, somewhat.