Father's Day. A New Perspective.

So, yesterday was Father's Day and it was my first as a biological parent. It was definitely a great day to reflect on the past year and the changes I've seen in Elliot. He is now crawling around like a pro, pulling himself up on everything and getting into all sorts of mischief. He is also learning signs and even starting to learn new words & sounds. In fact mom just taught him "uh oh". We have also learned that he LOVES food even the things we like to eat. The other day Jill fed him red pepper hummus and he couldn't get enough. Unfortunately along with all the fun & good first come the firsts you never want to experience. A couple weeks ago we had to take Elliot to the ER because of high fevers and rapid breathing. It was so frustrating as a father to not be able to provide any relief for his pain & discomfort. Luckily it wasn't anything too serious (a double ear infection) and he was soon on the road to recovery. But the other firsts help me to forget the painful ones. Like the time Jill told me he was patting the area I sleep in and was saying "da da da da". Or how every day when I come home from work he will not let me do anything else until I hold him and love on him.

I would not be a good father if I didn't also talk about Simon and how things have changed with him. Simon has sensory issues and we have learned better how to deal with them. One of the casualties of this condition is not being able to go to movies in theaters. Simon is afraid that the movies are too loud even if we put ear plugs in his ears. With Cars 2 coming out this month Simon is now ready to go try the movie theater again. Another discovery we have made is that he monthly suffering of joint pains, in his legs, headaches & stomach aches are a genetic disorder so it should be something we can manage. For a long time the doctors could not come up with anything and that left us feeling confused and concerned. Now we at least have confirmation we are not going crazy. Hopefully with this knowledge we can treat the symptoms and have an idea of when to expect them to happen. Finally another sign of progress is how he is riding a two wheel bike with training wheels. Before we could not get him to even consider riding a two wheel bike. Now everyday when he comes home from school it's all he wants to do. I am lucky to be a part of Simon's life and experience his growth. A sign that he is happy to have me in his life is when Jill told me Simon wants to call me "daddy" now. I could have died happy after she told me that and it melts my heart to hear him refer to me as "daddy".

I am so blessed to be a part of the fraternity that is fatherhood. It has helped me to grow in so many ways. I get to see things through the perspective of a child again. I am certainly more selfless since I have to put the needs of my children above my own wants. And I especially get to be a part of unconditional love. So now that I have experience my first Father's Day as a biological father I am so greatful for the firsts I have experience with Elliot and Simon and look forward to the many more firsts we will experience.

The Reluctant Blogger: Trains, Ferries and Taxis... Otherwise Known as Ou...

The Reluctant Blogger: Trains, Ferries and Taxis... Otherwise Known as Ou...: "I have a four year old boy. And what do four year old boys love? TRAINS! I've been promising Simon a trip on a real train ..."

New Title

That's right. I am no longer a stay-at-home dad. As of January 7th I once again joined the ranks of the employed. Now I am just a regular dad. Having a job to go to every day has definitely felt great and is going to help our current financial situation. The downside is now I only get to see the boys for about an hour or two before they go to bed. This has helped me appreciate two things. First, I look forward to holding Elliot and playing with Simon where sometimes in the past I would count down the minutes until bed time. Second, I can now sympathize with Jill and how it has been for her since she went back to work after her maternity leave. I also appreciate the fact she has stuck with me through this "year of discontent". It is one of the reasons I married her in the first place.

Now that I have my new title we have also had to change roles to help the family continue to run as smoothly as possible. Whereas before I took on most of the domestic duties we are sharing the responsibility. I'm glad that we understand that we are both working parents and just need to pitch in where we can. It has really helped this transition happen without too much stress. Oh wait. Was I supposed to walk the dog? Kidding!

I am definitely grateful for the time I have had to bond with Elliot during the past 5 months. This is an opportunity most fathers do not have. I will always cherish it. Watching him develop so quickly has helped me to realize the couple hours I have with him at night are important. I'm realizing that same thing with Simon as well. He has been talking a lot about letters & words lately and Jill told me that later today he was doing a great job sounding out words in a book! He'll be reading before we know it! I think that's the reward of being a parent. Being able to watch something you created grow from a little peanut into a little human being. I missed the early stages with Simon so it's fun to see that in Elliot.

During my life I have had many titles. Son. Student. Mister. Staff Accountant. Assistant Controller. Husband. I am just glad that I had a few months to be a stay-at-home dad.