Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The Sky is Falling

For our first Halloween Nora dressed as a little chicken. I picked the chicken outfit for 4 reasons, 1) he has a damn fine Chicken mask that has been used on many Halloweens the past 15 years, 2) my fantasy football team is named The Gerneral Tso's Chickens, 3) it had no tail so she could fit in a car seat, and 4) it was not pink. The first time she tried it on Nora wasn't so happy with it as you can see.













However, once she got used to it she seemed to like it. She wore her outfit to daycare and then to see Grandpa. Nora is obviously too young for candy so Mom and Dad helped out by taking some from Grandpa while he was distracted by the chicken.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Musings of a Proud Dad















If nothing else raising a child causes one to think about life. As I’ve watched other children in my life grow up I always focused on their physical development. I would notice them growing bigger, learning to walk, and watching them play (and swim). Seeing Eleanor start to recognize and really react to us it really occurred to me the vast amount of development that happens in the first few years of life and as she becomes an adult in society. I guess the totality of what Wendy and I get to witness has become apparent the last few weeks.

As Eleanor grows up she will not only learn to walk, talk, write, etc, but she will also develop a consciousness of her own. She will ask all the big questions about why we are here and her place in the world. Nora will have a chance to look at the stars in wonder. She will be able to question the existence of god(s) and come to her own conclusion if we are alone. She will form opinions about everything from art and music to politics. For a geeky sociologist to be able to observe her proceed in all areas of life is an amazing privilege. To realize that I have a prominent role in the development of her self is truly humbling. I guess I’m saying I like this dad gig.





Friday, October 26, 2007

First posts are usually insipid . . .

and this one will be no different. I'm a mid-thirties first time dad to a beautiful 3 month old girl, Nora. We already have a family blog for friends and family to keep up to date with our girl through the million or so pictures we have already taken. Due to the religiosity of both my wife's and my family I felt rather constrained to keep the posts all puppies and sunshine and not deal with the issues of being heathen parents. I don't know where this blog will go but I've been inspired by reading many other blogs of people in similar situations. So here we go . . .