Daddy Tree: Tiny Footsteps

Every time we return from a trip, whether it be one as a family of three or one to the grandparents, Willow seems to have grown just a little. Take our trip to my mom's house in Georgetown, Ky., over Memorial Day weekend. Willow spent many, many hours playing with cousins Rett and Bristol, 5 and 3, respectively. She also spent some time in the lake, time at family feasts and time chasing my sister's dog, Bailey. When we returned Monday night, the change in Willow was quite noticeable. She stood a bit taller. She walked a bit bolder. She played a bit more, er, playfully. She jibbered and jabbered and smiled and laughed and pointed a bit more big girlish. I'm sure it has more to do with her spending all that time with her older cousins than with harassing poor, old Bailey. But whatever the cause, the results are unmistakable. Our baby has stepped into full-blown toddlerhood (and Mommy can't do a thing about it!). And today she's been an absolute angel. I've b...

Willow, Che and I are heading up to Georgetown for Memorial Day weekend and to celebrate her birthday with her Mimis, Papaws, aunts, uncles and cousins up there. The weekend also will give Che much needed rest and relaxation from the grueling few weeks she's put in at work. The folks up in Kentucky haven't seen Willow since she discovered she can get up and walk around to her heart's content (she even ran a few paces this morning at the park, trying to get a very reluctant goose). Willow is going to turn the house upside-down, and she's going to terrorize the ducks out back, I can guarantee you that. But I'm sure the big highlight of the weekend (other than the toys and clothes bestowed upon our yearling) is going to be Willow's time with her cousins Rett and Bristol. Rett's a fiver now, and Bristol has calmed down from the ferociousness of her terrible twos, which is to say she's a sweetheart. Bristol is the closest in age of Willow's cousins; th...

All along, I've said I have the plum job in our family. I am a stay-at-home dad, which I know and many of you know is a tough job in its own right, but as long as I am a stay-at-home dad, I'll never say it's a tougher job than that of my wife, no matter what job she has. And I know from experience she has a very tough job now; she's a low-level manager. That, my friends, is a tough, tough job to have. I won't go on and on about why being a low-level manager is hard, so here's a summary: You get crap from everyone below you in the chain of command, and you get crap from everyone above you on that same chain (and somehow all the crap that's not in the chain of command somehow finds its way to your desk). And if you find yourself in the predicament my wife is in, working 12-13 hours a day with more than two hours commute each day, that pile of crap is an awfully hard pile of crap to shovel through, especially with no compensation for the extra hours or the co...

Willow was the only tot to show up at Monday afternoon's Gymboree Play & Learn class. She took full advantage. Willow had the whole gym to herself. Last week I had a little head cold that prevented me from taking Little Miss Willow to her Wednesday afternoon play date at Gymbo's Place. I made it up to her by taking her to a class on Monday, but no other kids showed up (they must have all been sick even if I didn't give them the bug). Undeterred, Willow took advantage of the situation, claiming the entire Gymboree gymnasium to herself. There were no other buggers around to interfere with her play. Nosireebob, Gymbo. Willow bounced on the trampoline, which is usually overrun by little rugrats. She walked across the bridge. She crawled through the tunnel. She climbed the wedge. She dribbled the balls (and made a few baskets too on the tot-sized goal). Little Miss Willow had some big-time fun. And I did too. Usually I pocket my camera phone because I'm ...

As Cherish whispered to me last night after the lights went out, "This weekend was perfect." And it was. We didn't do a whole heck of a lot, or a lot of busy, chore and errand-type stuff, but we did do a lot as far as family goes, just the three of us. Friday night was perfect because it was one of those Fridays that came at the end of an especially tough week (and yes, Cherish and I had tough weeks last week). Cherish and I finally got to catch our breaths Friday night. I don't recall much of what we did, but I do know we had time to kick back and relax. And Cherish got some much-needed Mommy Time with Willow. We watched a couple of favorite TV shows too. On Saturday we ventured out only once, to pick up odds and ends at Walmart. We spent the rest of the day at home, spending almost all of that time playing with Willow. And on Sunday, we danced and sang and had an impromptu book gleaning upstairs. And we filled the kiddie pool and took a dip with Willow. And we r...

Because I had the crud last week, I had to "call in sick" to a day at Gymbo's. Sad for Willow, I know, but I couldn't take my illness to a play room filled with tots. But a silver lining exists. Willow and I get to go to Gymbo's TWICE this week, once this afternoon and once Wednesday afternoon. Willow is going to have so much fun! And starting in June, Willow and I will be able to go to Gymbo's three or four times a week if we want; it's some sort of summer celebration they're having that we can go to unlimited classes. I doubt we'll go that many times because it is a bit a haul to get there, but we might pop in and see Gymbo an extra time or two each week.

 Willow models next to her Cozy Coup, and she shows how she likes to get in backward. Willow has a new set of wheels. Her grandparents, Granny and Pop, couldn't wait for her 16th birthday to set her up with this sweet ride. Behold the Cozy Coupe, brought to you by automaker giant Little Tikes, the company that also happened to make the swing we have hanging in the backyard. This, folks, is the car of the future, a one-seater that can really get around, and it's a gas-sipper (given that Daddy sips any gas on any of the days he pushes it around the house time and time again). And let's not forget about safety; this little car is so safe a "little tike" can take the driver's seat. Then there's these little factoids about the Coupe: The iconic Cozy Coupe has been inducted in Cleveland's Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum. More than 10 million Cozy Coupes have sold in the past three decades. Last year's sales reached 457,000 Coupes, besting th...

For the first time in the Willow-Cherish-Brian household, somebody caught a cold. And it wasn't the little one. I first noticed the cold overcoming me on Monday. That's when I knew it was a real cold. I had problems sniffling and sneezing Saturday and Sunday nights, but I attributed those to allergies, which all allergy sufferers do, even if they have bronchitis ("Bronchitis? Nah, it's just allergies ... HACKHACKHACKHACK!!!"). As with most colds (for me anyway), once I noticed it was coming, it really bull-rushed me, pummeling over me and knocking me to the floor, where I seemingly stayed plastered for the better part of two days. The cold, really, was quite minor. It's Wednesday afternoon, and I'm practically recovered, just enduring an odd cough here and there. And as far as I can tell, Willow hasn't caught the cold. At least she's showing no symptoms yet. Neither is Cherish. So here's hoping that cold has exited the household for good. ...

Willow and I ventured to the doctor's office this morning for her annual checkup (I suppose this is her first one, officially). Everything checked out. Our girl is in tip-top shape. So here we are, one year later, counting our blessings that Willow never got sick in her first year, except for a one-day bout with diarrhea (nasty stuff that was). Willow measured in at 30 3/4 inches tall, 22 pounds and with a head 18 inches around. For those of you keeping score at home, she is very tall, measuring in the 95th percentile; bigger than most kids her age, weighing in at the 75th percentile and has a normal-sized head (I think she's kind of big-headed, but maybe that's just me). Doc also was happy with all of Willow's development, her walking and talking and pointing and smiling and all that stuff. Willow got three shots and a prick on the finger. She cried a little for the first two shots, which I honestly don't recall what they were for. She really cried out for the...

My daughter turns 1 today. She's been in my life for a year, and as I've shared with many of you already, this has been the best year of my life (just ahead of the five years of marriage I've shared with my wife, she likes to remind me, and the 37 years of life I owe to my angel mother; I can never forget the women in my life because they have forged who I am and who I will be). And in the year I've been graced with Willow, I've learned a tremendous amount from my daughter. Without Willow I wouldn't know: That I should light up with joy whenever I see a dog or horse or bird. Such creatures are a marvel, and I owe them my good mood and admiration. That I should point at something and tell others to look. That I should shake with excitement when I see something that excites me. This is worth celebrating, folks. That I should celebrate my happiness with the world. That I should rejoice when a stranger approaches me (especially an ugly old man) because ever...

Willow and I will be off to see Gymbo this morning. This is my most exciting day of the week because I know Willow has so much fun at Gymbo's. Today, we'll head to the park after seeing Gymbo. I've packed a picnic and snack for our jaunt to the park. I'm going to let Willow walk around the gym for a while today then walk around in the field at Centennial Park. I'm sure she see some Dougs, ducks and dogs along the way.

Willow got a kick out of having her very own sandwich for lunch today. We're only five days from Willow's first birthday, and oh what she has learned in the last couple of weeks. She's starting to look and act like a 1-year-old. Willow's biggest accomplishment is she's taken off walking. I mean "taken off" as in a rocket ship heading to space. In a matter of weeks (it really seems like days), she's gone from creeping around furniture to almost running through the house (she's not running yet, but I bet it won't be long). She never crawls anymore, and I don't think she's crawled at all today. She and I even walked, hand in hand, a bit on the greenway (Willow kept wanting to veer off into the rough part off the path while sourpuss Daddy wanted to stay on the path). Here's some other things she's been up to (Warning: Cherish is in denial about Willow growing up, so tread lightly when you're around her; keep reminding yo...

Today I lived two new experiences: I experienced the fact that sometimes my 11-month-old daughter is smarter than me. I experienced the humility of a parent whose kid caused chaos in a public place. Willow and I went to Kroger early this morning, around 8:30 a.m., to do our grocery shopping. We make big and small trips to Kroger, the big ones are to restock our refrigerator and pantry, the smaller ones are to get milk and bread when we run out. I much prefer the small trips. I hate the big trips (because I'm quite pathetic at keeping track of Willow, the coupons, Willow's toys, the old people, the sales and the shopping list). I always screw up on the big trips by forgetting to get a staple food, missing a coupon or sale or rudely running over an old person. Quite rude, that. Also, I take an extremely long time trying to keep up with everything, much longer than it would take you to shop at Kroger, I guarantee you. Today was a big trip. Actually, it was the biggest one I...

Willow walks over to the ducks and offers them her Ducky. Willow has a thing for ducks and puppies. Anytime she sees one of those critters, she starts shaking with excitement. I mean that literally. She starts shaking. Now that she's walking, she likes to approach them too. I haven't let her go toward dogs just yet, but I'll put her down in front of a gaggle of ducks, and off she waddles. The ducks at the park must be keen to tots because they don't let her get close to them. I've seen them get close and personal to grown-ups, but I think they probably know better with kids, especially the really young, grabby ones, like Willow. Today Willow got to see the ducks twice before and after our stroll on the greenway. She was equally excited both times, even the second time when she was shaking off her stroller slumber. We'll get to see the ducks at the park plenty, and I'm sure Willow will be just as excited as the years roll by. Kids, kids, kids T...

This morning, Willow wound up in the middle of a hide-and-seek game, and she didn't want to be left behind as the other kids zipped up the steps of the playground gym. Willow hasn't really encountered steps before, so I was surprised when I notice she was climbing them pretty easily, if slowly. The kids soon disappeared to the other side of the gym, but Willow worked dilligently to get up those steps. She made it to the top. Of course, I was so excited to watch her climb the steps I missed an opportunity to record the whole climb. I captured the last bit, though. Witness.

 Willow watches the other kids at the playground play hide and seek. The boy on the right befriended Willow, for a time. Willow starts to climb up after the kids. She wasn't fast enough, but she made a good showing considering it was her first time up steps. Willow and I are going to the park in the morning now. This is a big change from before, when we were doing our household work in the morning, such as writing this blog, then going to the park in the afternoon. Afternoon park trips were fine during the colder months when temperatures were warmer in the afternoon (and when Willow was napping pretty heartily in the morning). But the seasons have changed, and so has Willow. The afternoons have gotten too hot (and parents aren't taking their kids to the park), and Willow isn't napping as much in the morning as she used to. So this morning, as soon as Cherish headed to work and I got some of my lesser chores finished, Willow and I ...

Willow helps Daddy re-sort the laundry piles. Also notice how she helps keep the tables clean. Willow helped me make the bed this morning. You know as well as I do that she didn't really do anything, but she was there at the side of the bed, huge smile on her face, helping as best she could (which meant she patted the comforter a time or two). Willow is our big helper. And she knows it. And Cherish and I know it, so we keep her busy. Willow helps with the laundry (by re-sorting Daddy's piles, which are always all wrong). Willow helps unload the dishwasher (she likes to take dishes from the rack and putting them on the kitchen floor). Willow helps water the plants (she likes to make sure the soil is nice and wet). Willow helps compost (she mostly supervises this activity). Willow helps Cherish get ready in the morning (by pulling rags from under the sink and unrolling the toilet paper roll ... it should be free and flowing!). Willow helps me write this blog (she li...

Here's a nod to Jan Hamon Eggum, one of my dear friends from my hometown and sister of one of my all-time best friends, Mark. I posted on here yesterday a call for help solving a small (HUGE) problem we had with Willow squirming, crying and trying to turn over on the changing table. Jan answered with this solution: "I'm not sure this will help, but mine did the same thing at about the same age. Let Willow pick between two outfits and diapers. It makes them feel like they have a choice. Also explain everything you are doing. It helped me." Cherish and I have incorporated this routine into our diaper and clothes changing, and it has worked well. Willow loves picking diapers (and changing her mind again and again) and she loves hearing Mommy and Daddy explain things to her (especially quiet old Dad). Thanks, Jan!

I sit with the laptop before me a beaten man. I am exhausted. I am bruised. I am beaten. I feel as if I've wrestled an alligator. Starting on Monday and continuing into today, Willow has shown a new behavior. Let me correct myself: She unveiled this behavior a few months ago, but it lasted only a week, so Cherish and I thought we had corrected the problem. Nevertheless, it's back. Willow is fighting us with all she's worth when we try to change her diaper or her clothes. Once we place her on the changing table, she starts sobbing and trying to grab the sides of the table to turn over and stand up. Sometimes she starts crying when we approach her bedroom door. Nothing calms her. When she exhibited this behavior a few months ago, we corrected it by giving her a baby doll, toy or piece of clothing to occupy her why we changed her. This doesn't work anymore. Instead, she throws the toy to the floor and tries to flip over. And she's strong. I've tried chang...