After writing Friday’s post, I hit publish, poured myself a glass of water splashed with grape juice, and then Nola walked from me to the refrigerator in five successive, successful steps. Apparently, I just needed to put her near-misses out into the electronic ether in order to give her the motivation to finally start walking.

Moments later, she took four steps to grab onto Marcy the dog’s jowls followed by five toddling steps to Constance, who missed the first two attempts while on a conference call. Thankfully, she was working from home and got to be there on the day our little girl started walking.

A lot has changed in the 10-plus months since Nola’s arrival and of all the milestones, this one was the coolest. Babies make it hard not to be cliche because, as much as you tell yourself that every baby walks and that every parent feels the same helium-filled swoon you felt the first time your baby walked, you still manage to feel like what just happened is the most important thing going on in the world despite tragic earthquakes, March Madness, ongoing war, and the Oscars. And it’s also impossible not to feel like your baby has done something truly monumental.

And you know what? That’s what makes it so damn great. It’s nothing but it’s everything.

I’m not one to brag, especially about something that happens so frequently and soon will become commonplace and ordinary in my own life. But for today, I would just like to take a second to brag about my smart, physically gifted daughter, Nola, who learned to walk last Friday.

Filed under: Daddy Things, Firsts, News from the Parent Front, Nola Eleanor | 4 Comments »

Nola’s attempts at walking have been very frequent, very nearly upright and often bruising. Now that she’s craving a faster method of transport than hands-and-knees motoring, her crawling has gotten quite rapid, too. Which means that every now and then she can’t keep up with herself and kersplats, face first, right into the floor.

We wanted to get some floor tiles for her play area in the living room, which is where the majority of her mind-boggling wipeouts occur. But seeing as we have a modestly sized condo, we couldn’t really put down primary colored blocks of ABCs and 123s without this work-at-home daddy losing his sanity one foam tile at a time.

After much research, Constance found something totally functional and awesome: foam tiles that match our floors.

Now, after a long day of peek-a-boo and force feeding Cheerios, I don’t even have to pick them up each day. And I don’t feel like I’m trapped in children’s limbo (I always imagined children’s limbo to look like a cross between a carnival, Victoria’s Secret, and a daycare).

Who says you can’t have a baby and keep your style, too? Not this dad. Not this dad at all.

Filed under: Baby Prep, Daddy Style, Daddy Things | 1 Comment »

Today marks the beginning of Constance’s 32nd year on this glorious planet and everyone who is lucky enough to know her knows how much better our world is with her in it. Perhaps the best part of getting older - or the best part of Constance getting older as it may be - is that every year that passes brings me closer to having known her for the majority of my life. It might seem arbitrary, but I get excited for the day when the scales tip in my favor.

She didn’t really want anything, so instead of trying to find something that she didn’t know she desired, instead I got her 32 each of 3 of her favorite things:

And tonight, we’ll cap it all off with 32 pieces of her favorite food:

I am so thankful to have Constance in my every day and to be lucky enough to share the family I’ve always wanted with the person who makes me better and happier than I ever imagined I could be. Thank you, Constance, for turning 32 and for sharing 12 of those years with me.

And now, without further ado, the icing on her proverbial birthday cake: the haiku-verse poem.

32 For You
What’s in a number?
You are not binary, love,
And you suck at math.

But you rock at love
Like Brett Michaels on TV
Only prettier.

Those are not wrinkles,
Those are lines of distinction.
Let’s eat some cake now.

Happy Birthday, Constance!

Filed under: Diversions, Husband & Wife | 6 Comments »

Considering the embarrassing length of time that has passed since my last blog post, things have mostly stayed the same in our lives. Yes, we now have a blue accent wall in our living room and our daughter is working on her fifth tooth. Yes, I have finished the first chapter in my For Dummies book and yes, I won a bronze medal in the Super G at the Vancouver Olympics (OK, that’s a lie).

Nonetheless, life looks pretty much the same as it did six weeks ago. And, after a lot of soul searching and some much-needed time away, I realized how much I like writing my blog. For a while, I wasn’t sure I did any more. Thinking about writing caused me more agida than the creative outlet. During that time, however, I also managed to get very sick, very run down, and very, very overwhelmed by the plate of responsibilities from which I dine every day.

And then, I got a wonderful email from Angela L. who reminded me why I started writing this blog in the first place.

Dear Matt,

Sincerely,
Angela L.

Angela, thank you. Thank you for kicking me in the ass in the nicest possible way. I really needed that. Thank you for taking the time to write me and make me feel ready to do this again. Thank you, thank you, thank you

I’m sorry for not being polite and announcing my break and, if there’s still anyone reading, thanks for being patient with me.

And, for today, I’m going to call it a day, but not before I recap our life in photos.

Filed under: Daddy Things | 12 Comments »

Nola is sitting in a patch of sunlight next to our bookcase in the living room. She has maneuvered one leg out of her sleeper and is bent over at the waist, sucking on her toes.

I’m copy editing garden and home-buying stories and my daughter is sucking the lint from between her toes.

Somebody, please, make me a kid again.

Filed under: Daddy Things, Diversions, Nola Eleanor | 5 Comments »

Food is going to be a constant source of consternation.

Actually, allow me to rephrase.

Food is going to be a constant source of nutrition (trying to keep it positive!) even if Nola signs an exclusivity contract with one type of cuisine at a time. For the last month it has been nothing but Cheerios and breast milk. She’s creating a bowl of cereal in her stomach one step at a time. Smooth, pureed foods have never been Nola’s cup of tea and, honestly, we’ve given up on that. Chunks of apple and banana have a 2% chance of being considered whereas the smooth versions have about as much chance of consumption as Rod Blagojevich has of winning Celebrity Apprentice.

If the amount that ended up on her face made its way into her stomach, we’d be in business.

Over the last three days, however, I’ve launched a full-time edible assault, providing Nola the opportunity to eat many new, wonderful things. So far she’s become a moderate fan of yogurt bites, whole-wheat bread and egg yolks. Yes, I know kids aren’t supposed to have eggs, but egg yolks are OK by our pediatrician as allergies tend to be to the whites. Chicken, beef and actual jar baby foods are a no-go.

Every time we go to the pediatrician, Nola is in the 75th percentile in height and the 25th percentile in weight, a look our pediatrician refers to as “the supermodel baby.” She’s still waking up hungry in the night and we’d like for that to stop someday. Which means upping the amount of solid foods she eats.

Our eating challenge is especially surprising when you consider how much we all love to eat on both sides of the family tree. My family used to cool our home in the summer by spending more time standing in front of the open fridge.

At least Nola seems to like that part …

Filed under: News from the Parent Front, Nola Eleanor, Thar She Grows | 7 Comments »

E-A-G-L-E-S.

How could they treat Nola so poorly? Especially in her first season as a fan. How unfortunate.

Filed under: Daddy Things, Firsts | 2 Comments »

Now that the holidays are at an end, I’m finding myself even more exhausted than during the big lead up. Nola’s first Christmas was quiet and sweet. We didn’t go crazy on gifts for anyone because, well, what’s the point. Saving money now, while Nola has no clear method to differentiate between Christmas and Arbor Day, only makes fiscal sense. And, as with most kids, she just wanted to eat the boxes and wrapping paper anyway.

Since the day after Christmas, however, she has turned into the neediest baby in town. Specifically, her needs are Cheerios and to be held constantly. Mostly by me. Which makes most things challenging. Just to have enough hands and tearless moments to update my blog after two very long weeks on hiatus, I’ve had to give her an iTunes gift card to gnaw on, the microphone that came with Garage Band for Wii and the pink faux laptop my parents gave her for Christmas.

Three teeth are coming in all at once and, unlike the coping mechanism she employed during previous dental pain (screaming), she’s working through the pain by holding onto the things that make her feel safe. And honestly, how could you not feel safe in the arms of a 6′4″, 210-pound man? Even I would be pacified by my arms if only I could figure out how to make it happen.

Constance and I could both use a massage right about now. And perhaps a third arm. Anybody got the hookup for either?

Filed under: Husband & Wife, Nola Eleanor | 5 Comments »

The snow was relentless, but Nola and I had places to go and people to see. Yesterday my office was holding a holiday lunch at a bar and grill about a mile from our condo and attendance was not going to be excused by bad weather. So we bundled ourselves up to the hilt and I loaded Nola into the all-terrain stroller and off we went, merrily through the snow, to have a pint and some tacos.

By the time we arrived, Nola had passed out, outfitted in her finest pink bear coat, wrapped in a polka dot blanket and protected from the elements by a breathable plastic cover of the stroller. She was as snug as a bug in a B.O.B. and I was an icicle.

Two minutes before the food arrived, after 45 minutes of waiting, Nola woke up. It was another in a long line of “Quantum Leap” moments that left her glaring with confusion at my colleagues around the table. It wasn’t long, however, before she warmed up to my boss, Mary.

Toward the end of the meal, I brought out the baggie of Cheerios - the only solid food Nola will eat. She has one tooth all the way through on the bottom front, and three more that have broken through the gums. It’s hard to believe she’s chewing whole Cheerios already, but I digress.

Mary was teaching Nola how to pick them up and eat them, leading by example. Every time Nola saw Mary eat one, Mary then sat one down in front of her, Nola picked it up on her first try and proceeded to stick it in her ear.

After five minutes of practice, however, we hit paydirt. Nola pickeed up her Cheerio and put it right into her mouth. Only, due to mass amounts of slobber, it got stuck between her fingers and then fell onto the floor.

As Mary took another Cheerio from the baggie, her arm collided with her pint of Christmas Ale and fell right into the baggie full of cereal. Not a drop hit the table - it filled up the bag as though flowing from the tap into the glass.

And then we had a baggie full of beer and Cheerios - a devilish breakfast that came to be under somewhat miraculous circumstances. The waitress probably thought we were drunk out of our minds and that it was our way of complaining about the less-than-stellar service.

But in fact, it was a Christmas miracle. A disgusting, hilarious Christmas miracle. Oh Santa - you have such a keen sense of humor.

Filed under: Daddy Things, Firsts, Nola Eleanor | 2 Comments »

My childhood best friend, Sarah, sent us an amazing care package over the weekend that included a birthday present for me (Clinique for Men!) as well as Christmas gifts for the three of us. The morning of my birthday started off in a not-so-fun fashion, so by the time I got home from work and a trip to the Apple store following a laptop meltdown, I was in need for happiness.

So we put on a Christmas movie and unwrapped presents from Sarah, as well as our wonderful friend on the West Coast, Joanna. Once a year, she sends me a taste of what I miss most about living in Los Angeles: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. One pound of delicious java and a box of tea. Did I mention that I love Joanna a lot?

Opening gifts really turned my day around. However, nothing added a little jolt to my day more than something Sarah bought for Nola last year, when Christmas with our baby was something we only thought about, but sent in this year’s package.

This isn’t quite what I had in mind when thinking about what our baby’s first Christmas would look like. In fact, this is way better than anything for which I could have hoped.

Next year I hope Sarah sends one in my size …

Filed under: Firsts, Husband & Wife, Nola Eleanor | 2 Comments »