Author: daustin23

Children are funny and mysterious no doubt. Ryan had his first visit to the cape’s famous tide pools and he seemed to enjoy himself. In the course of our visit, Jenn was teaching Ryan to put dirt in the pail with a shovel. I thought how cute and fun a game this would be but what was amazing was the concentration with which our little builder went to the task. It was as if mommy had given him his first building task and he was not going to let her down.

This is not a trait he got from me. I’m many things but dedicated to the completion of mundane tasks is not one of my best qualities. I’d ask Jenn if she thought the trait came from her genes but she’s busy filling a bucket with sand and can’t talk now.

Location:Sea St,Dennis Port,United States

Relaxing is not something I do willingly. The idea of relaxing is nice, even as I type there are a dozen or so people who seem to be doing a great job at it. Then, just now as I sip a well-made cup of coffee and type this entry as I look out over the ocean, I realized I am relaxing! Then, as I people watch I realize humans relax in many different ways. One man is doing laps, a few are sunning themselves in beach chairs, two older women are gossiping and one man is emptying trash (yeah that’s not relaxing). So, the next time someone tells you to relax, just say “I am.”
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Possibly the cutest thing you can see is one child teaching another.  It’s a good reminder that we can learn a lot from each other…as long as we all remember to keep our fingers clean.

I had a wonderful entry into my 31st year today. I woke this morning to an excruciatingly painful back ache which was a welcome distraction from my aging knees. I spent most of the morning with my little freeloader before starting work.

Jenn saved the day (as usual) by making an awesome lunch and followed by dinner at The Lighthouse, a very cool restaurant overlooking the Mohawk River. It was nice to relax while Monsieur Ryan stayed at home with grandma and grandpa.

With all that Jenn has done for me the greatest gift so far has been my little corn eater. I love them both very much.

I love my dog. I love my son. I love when I can interact with them both simultaneously. There are few joys greater than the wide-eyed amazement in a child’s eyes when their beloved canine friend goes full speed after a squirrel or a ball. Likewise, the sight of my four legged friend cuddled next to a sleeping little man is awesome (and no it’s not because he’s sleeping).

Today I decided I’d try something truly unique. In the style of an old western, I tied Maddie to Ryan’s little car and walked them both around our neighborhood. It was a beautiful night and i thought it would be easier to control my two mates. After a few minutes though I started to see pictures of the wide-eyed amazement in a father’s eyes as the dog took off after a squirrel. I untied Maddie and proudly thought that, on the eve of my 31st birthday, common sense won the day…. Sort of.

We had more news this week that Ryan has been diagnosed with infant asthma, a somewhat common illness which is aggravated by colds.  Guess who has a cold… again.

With all that’s happened the last year though there are no real concerns about this.  Again, we’re thankful to be surrounded by so many talented and smart medical professionals and Ryan seems to have embraced this new form of treatment. 

So Ryan has to wear a mask when he gets a cold.  With all the possibilities the little man has faced, this is nothing.

From the parenting isn’t easy files comes a story of a child who’s diabollicaly opposed to taking his various medicines.  The root goes back to a previous post which talks about why the medicine tastes so horrible and comes only in pill format, but I digress.  Like many things in parenting I’ve learned, the reason isn’t as important as the solution.

I think it was Mary Poppins or maybe Ms. Maria (either way it was some Julie Andrews character) that said, “a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.”  That’s a load of crap.  Pureed fruit, yogurt, pudding, pizza sauce, crackers, bread, brownies and even ice cream hasn’t worked.  I’m doubting sugar will work.  I wish there was a chance to reason and remind my little anklebiter that the medicine will actually make him feel better. I’ll continue to resort to begging, offering larger quantities of ice cream and the hope that the drug companies will get their act togeter.  Until then, the battles continue.

Many have asked why Jenn and I so affectionately refer to our son as “our little monster.” While I could tell you stories of tackling a half-naked child to put a diaper on his rear or of a grown man begging for his little tenant to eat another spoonful of food without spitting it across the room, I’ll let this picture of tonight’s dinner explain it all. And yes, that is cheese in his hair.

I just finished Shelby Foote’s “Stars in Their Courses” which is an epic summary of the Battle of Gettysburg. In it, Foote speaks of the courage shown by Union cavalry General John Buford who so aptly chose the ground on which the Northern victory was accomplished. Buford’s main part in the story is his elegant orders to his brigade commanders. “Keep a close watchful eye and defend the high ground or we’ll lose everything,” ordered the gruff commander.

It’s another great lesson of the Civil War. Keep a close eye on the things that are important to you. Ryan taught me another lesson tonight. Keep too close a watch and you’ll miss everything else going on around you.

Location:Sylvia Ln,Schenectady,United States

Jenn, Ryan and I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon with our friends Jen and Chris Danchetz and their daughter Claire.  It was a good chance to visit one of New York’s most revered and hallowed historical sites, Saratoga Race Track.  Horse racing is an interesting sport that mixes overly pretentious wealthy people with alcoholic “mortgage your house for the next bet” hicks and this all converges on one place in August, Saratoga.  (Pay no attention to the fact that the overly greedy, money grubbing NYRA extended the season into July to take advantage of the aforementioned hicks.)

For my family, going to Saratoga has been a tradition passed on from previous generations.  I look back fondly on the time my father has spent teaching me how to meticulously read a racing program and determine the chances of winning a carefully placed wager after a solid twenty minutes of analysis and discussion.  I took pride in my ability to wade through the data and choose a winner.  There’s almost a man’s man type mystique about reading a racing form that pits even the closest of friends against each other to determine a clear winner and the one sure bet at Saratoga is no one knows just what their losses for the day were but they can sure remember every penny of their winnings.

This long entry brings me to one sad, disturbing fact.  I’ve wasted 30 years of my life perfecting an imperfect science.  To bring this to a closing point, on Saturday I handicapped two races and spent $12 on those races.  I lost them both.  I let Claire and Ryan pick the other horses and won $110.10 (remember…every penny) including Claire’s $90 4-5 exacta pick.  If you want some incite on how they did it, check out this video.  This all reminds me that you shouldn’t spend so much time being a perfectionist because, in the end, an eighteen month old will show you a better way to do it.