When I realized that I'd adapted to parenthood . . .

This morning, I had a particularly astute observation. I did my normal thing, up at 5:00, walk the dogs, feed the dogs, workout, shower, dress for work. As I was getting dressed for work, Duffy mentioned that Coltrane hadn't pooped the previous day -- now, he's been sniffly, sleeping a lot, and not eating as much as normal -- all things leading to the fact that he was likely fighting off a cold, and the lack of poop wasn't particularly worrisome.

So, I go to work, and get a text from Duffy as I'm in the middle of a meeting -- big poopie diaper. I realized that I had actually graduated to "father" when these were not the first thoughts that went through my head:

1. Ewwww!


2. I'm glad I didn't have to change that one

My first thought was "what did it look like - is he exhibiting signs of illness?". And, then I realized that I'm actually thinking like a father, & not just a guy who suddenly has a kid in his life.

The Holidays

November and December of 2009 may have been the busiest months of our lives. Coltrane arrived at the beginning of November along with the news of Baby Batzer 2.0. Right after Thanksgiving Auntie Alex or Tee Tee got married to BJ (not Meathead. At least one of your nephews will respect you, BJ. Then again, is BJ a whole lot better? ;-) ) Then, of course, it was into full Christmas mode. CJ made out like a bandit. Seriously, it took me two days to get all the presents out of packaging and the clothes all washed. John got  a lot of clothes too along with a new XBox game to unwind with. My highlight gifts were a Kindle (so sweet), and the promise of costume made maternity clothes from Yiayia. Seriously, the clothing industry apparently believes that women under five foot, especially curvy ones, should go naked during pregnancy. And, as usually, we got to spend a lot of great time with family and friends. It was truly amazing to finally have our baby for the holidays. Nothing was missing this year. That was gift enough.