My First Father's Day

After such a rough night I had almost forgotten that today was Father's Day. My first Father's Day as a matter of fact. And, something I've been looking to for quite some time. I can't wait until Lilly (and any other children we decide to have) can celebrate this day with me. This year, Sonya was on her own since Lilly can't drive yet. I'm convinced that she probably could, if her feet could reach the pedals, but that's another story.

This morning I woke up, somewhat alarmed, because Lilly slept through the night. She hit the nine hour mark for the first time. It was incredible and boy do I feel rested. I decided while her and Sonya were still asleep to get on the ol' computer and do some writing. I find my creative juices are flowing best early in the morning. Anyway, shortly after, Sonya came down to wish me Happy Father's Day and she had a bag with her. Again, I had completely forgotten it was Father's Day because of the night we had, but she quickly reminded me and I gave her a smile. She handed me a card, first from her. It was awesome... the perfect "Sonya" card.

Then, she handed me one from Lilly. I don't have a scanner here so I'll have to explain it as best as I can. Here's what it says on the front: "How do you know a man is a hero? Ask him if he has a daughter." Good enough for me... that's all that I needed to read to make me feel proud. Then, I opened it and Sonya had written a bunch of things in there. I always read the original card first for some reason. Here's what Sonya wrote:

Chad,
Lilly obviously can't talk yet, so I will speak for her. I think I can guess what she would say...

Top 10 reasons on why YOU'RE the best dad in the world:

1. You got this beautiful house ready for my arrival.
2. You put together all my baby furniture with minimal cursing.
3. You stuck by mommy's side when I finally decided to come out.
4. You were one of the first to see me come into this world.
5. You held me in your arms even when you were scared to death.
6. You have changed a LOT of my dirty diapers.
7. You get up every single night with me.
8. You can make me laugh like no other.
9. You give me a choice, at three months old, on what character I want on my diaper.
10. Lastly, you are responsible for my good looks!

What a great idea... wish I would have thought of it when Mother's Day rolled around. Today is going to be a wonderful day. Sonya actually got me an iTunes gift card so that I could "purchase my own damn songs" (her words). She wouldn't buy me Britney Spears' "Womanizer" so I have to buy it myself now. She also arranged for my dad and I to play golf today. She EVEN setup the tee time. I tell ya, I lucked out and I don't know what I did to deserve it.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Enjoy it!

Rough Start... Smooth Ending

Friday night Sonya and I decided that we'd start to use the "cry-it-out" method. Now, I'm not sure if that's officially what it's called but if it isn't, it should be. We started discussing a routine earlier that day that included a bath, a story, a song (performed by yours truly) and a feeding. We've heard (and read) that the schedule / routine is EVERYTHING when you're trying to transition a baby to the crib and to sleep through the night.

So, here we are on Friday night dreading, and I mean DREADING, the thought of putting her in the crib and letting her cry herself to sleep. We put her down around 8:00 PM and said goodnight. When we heard her first cry, we started a timer for five minutes. At the end of those five minutes, we would go in and soothe her for one minute. Then, the next time, we'd wait ten minutes, then fifteen, and so on and so on. (if any of you out there are reading this and are thinking of trying this, know now that these small blocks of time each feel like an eternity).

The first night, Lilly feel asleep early in the fifteen minute block. I think it was around 8:35 or so when she finally conked out. Sonya and I were ecstatic and we felt things went WAY better than we had hoped.

Then came last night. We knew it was important to follow the EXACT same routine so that she could learn how to wind herself down and relax for bedtime. We thought it might be a little more difficult because she slept a LOT yesterday... and I mean a lot. But, we stuck to our guns and continued. We put her into her crib around 8:00 PM and she instantly fell asleep. We thought to ourselves, "it can't be this easy can it?". We danced around the house singing and laughing like we had had our night lives back. Of course, that consisted of a snack around 9:00 PM, a show on HGTV and bedtime at 10:00 PM. Yes, Sonya and I are quite the pair of night owls.

But alas, thanks to the people at Graco, our baby monitor explained to us that all was not well on the second floor. She started crying, and she was crying... hard. So, we started the five minute timer and prayed that she would fall back asleep. It didn't happen. We walked out and she immediately began crying again. Ten minutes later, we were back in there. Both of us extremely upset and feeling like we were the worst parents on the face of the earth. We set the timer for fifteen minutes thinking this is the spot where she tires herself out. Guess what... didn't happen. She cried the entire time. I remember covering my ears with a pillow to try and drown out the sound but it just wasn't happening. Fifteen minutes passed, and it was time to go in there. By this point her eyes were swelled with tears and she was panting trying to catch her breath. She calmed down when she saw us, but when we walked out again, the crying started once more. However, this time she fell asleep. I think it was about three minutes in of the twenty minute stretch. Sonya and I were exhausted from the stress. It really makes you feel like horrible, horrible people.

But, this morning when we went to get her out of bed (around 5:45 AM), she was obviously well rested and in a very good mood. She had forgotten everything that happened last night when we put her down. Thank God.

Singing... Who'd a Thunk It...

That's right... my little baby girl likes to hear singing. And the funny part is, she likes to hear MY singing. I know I know, I'm just tooting my own horn right? Wrong! For the past few nights I've been able to lull her into sleep mode with my voice. Kinda crazy if you think about it, because I've never been known as a singer. But, as far as Lilly's concerned, I'm a superstar.

What's that? You want to know what songs I sing to get her into the sleepy zone? Well, I'll tell you, but please don't try this at home as I cannot be held responsible for how this method works for you. As for my personal playlist, it's a mish-mash of sorts. Really, it's anything that comes into my head when I need it. There are some regulars, like "If Tomorrow Never Comes" by Garth Brooks, "The Way You Look Tonight" by the legendary Tony Bennett and "You're My Best Friend" by Queen (I highly recommend this one 'cause it's fun to sing).

Then, there are the obscure songs that you might think are a bit inappropriate for bedtime. And, I don't mean THAT kind of inappropriate. I mean songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody", another classic song by Queen, "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You", the UB40 version (Lilly isn't old enough yet to appreciate Elvis' work) and "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers. It's definitely a wide range, but that's what makes it interesting.

Earlier tonight we were trying to get her to sleep. Some nights it's a tough task and others it's a walk in the park. Tonight was so-so. She fights to stay awake. Sonya suggested I try singing to her, and as soon as I started she was looking for me. I was sitting on the floor as Sonya rocked her in the glider. It was really cool to see her do that. It makes me feel like I am doing something... and I can't get enough of it.

More to come...

A Busy Couple of Weeks

The past few weeks have been insanely busy. We took Lilly on her first trip to Louisiana. Sonya and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary. I turned the big 3-2. And this weekend we'll be celebrating my first Father's Day. I don't know what that will entail, but as long as its with Sonya and Lilly I don't really care.

Here's a photo from the day we traveled to LA. One of the best pictures we've gotten thus far in my opinion.

Lilly Giggles

Not much time to write at the minute, but Sonya and I captured this video a couple of nights ago. Hope you enjoy it!

Finally... an Update!

That's right ladies and gentlemen. This deadbeat father has finally found some time to brag about his daughter. A friend of mine on Facebook told me that my attention has been in the wrong place of late, so I've decided to take a step toward becoming a better father. It made me realize that there are some people out there who would really like to read about our little girl (who wouldn't?)... especially those who don't get to see her that often, if at all.

So, here's a fairly recent photo. I think it was taken about a week or so ago. We try to take pictures and video of her when we think of it but we're usually so engaged with her that the idea falls by the wayside.


This was taken when Sonya was putting Lilly through a small fashion show. We've been receiving outfits left and right from various people and Sonya wanted to get photos of each of them before she outgrew them. Which, is going to happen sooner than later because her growth rate is ridiculous.

Anyway, this past Monday Lilly was 10, that's right 10 weeks old. She's been sleeping really well and we've been really lucky. She's hit spans of 7 hours or so each night. Of course, when we put her down between 7:30AM and 8:00 AM that gets her up between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM. Still, we can't complain. From what I've heard from friends and family, we have it pretty easy.

She's also starting to communicate quite a bit. She is very vocal, especially in the weeeeee hours of the morning when I'm changing her diaper. It's great, makes me smile every time and I can't get enough of it.

It's Hard to Believe...

... that yesterday Lilly celebrated being 1-month old. I mean, where did those four weeks go? I guess it's true that once they're born, the time starts to fly by.

But through those four weeks we've really started to notice some changes. Not just physically like her appearance and movements, but in her personality. For example, if she's not happy, she doesn't necessarily cry, she grunts. If she's uncomfortable when you're holding her she'll let you know by bobbing her head and grunting a few times. It's actually pretty funny when it happens. She's also starting to notice things around the house. She's obsessed with the ceiling fan and mirror in our living room. She can stare at those two things for quite a long time.


Here's a recent picture of her. Pardon the clarity as I snapped it with my Blackberry. This is from when she was sleeping in Sonya's arms. She absolutely loves having her hands by her face when she's sleeping. Swaddling didn't work so well because she always fought to get her hands out. This photo explains why.