Growing up Geek...

Word!

That's not a typo, I am a geek.  As my little girl gets older I find myself getting more and more excited about sharing some of the favorite geek things I enjoy and have enjoyed throughout my life.

Thanks to entertaining references and callbacks to some of my favorite geek things in podcasts like The Nerdist and shows like Psych, Community, and the BBC's The IT Crowd I have realized it's OK to let it all out once in a while.

Now, I am a parent, a geek parent, and I feel it is important to expose my child to all those shows/movies/things I found fascinating and nerdy growing up....Here are a few of my favorite things that I cannot wait to share with my daughter:

1. The Karate Kid & Back to the Future::: 80s movies at their very best...Now that Ralph Macchio is going to be on Dancing With the Stars I might actually watch the show a little this season.  The Karate Kid always insights fond memories of childhood.    My daughter will also learn the ways of Mr. Miyagi and Dr. Emmett Brown..And then there's this for Karate Kid fans everywhere...
   
   
2. 8-Bit video games:::Thank you NES for hours of hours of easily attainable fun while I was growing up.  I didn't need to memorize complicated spin moves using 12 different buttons, I couldn't realistic blood splatter with every shot, my conquered enemies blinked a few times and just disappeared, and there were never complex movie sequences to disrupt my turtle shell crushing exploits...Long live Super Mario Brothers...For 8-bit fans check this out.
   
   
3. The Goonies & The Princess Bride:::I can recite each of these movies from beginning to end, and you can be sure that if I ever find a treasure map in my best friend's attic or my wife is attacked by an opportunistic R.O.U.S I will be ready.
   
   
4. Dr. Who:::When I was a kid I stayed up way too late on Saturday nights to watch the low-fi adventures of this wily Time Lord.  It wasn't until earlier this year that I decided to sit down and watch the reboot of one of my favorite childhood shows.  Let me tell you, my favorite Time Lord is back and better than ever.  I've spent most of my revisiting with the latest Dr. incarnation Matt Smith, but I've found and enjoyed episode with other more recent Doctors played by Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.  Easily one of the best shows on television and great for any child's imagination.
   
   
5. Steve Martin:::There are comics and there are geniuses, Mr. Martin is both.  He is a writer, actor, comedian, musician.  I discovered him on Saturday Night Live, and didn't realize (until much later) the full scope of his genius.  Comedy is difficult and there are few people that can perfect it across mediums as Steve Martin has done...
   
   
6. Stephen King & J.K. Rowling:::I could have easily just said Books here, but not all books are great...I enjoy books that offer adventure, epic journeys, and great characters.  It may seem odd that I've placed these particular authors on the same line, but King (The Dark Tower) and Rowling (Harry Potter) have a unique ability to tell a harrowing story that allows the reader to become completely immersed in the tale.  I hope my daughter loves to read and discovers it much sooner than I did.  I am continually excited that she loves books now, but I look forward to experiencing those true written adventures with her as she gets older.

I could go on and on, but I have to approach this delicately so she doesn't realize right away that her father is a geek...I mean over time she'll pick it up and let me know I'm sure, but there is no need to spoon feed her the ammo to use later.

Toddler as a Second Language

Stop and smell the flowers.

In high school I was forced to take a foreign language. You know, the obligatory 2 years of gibberish to fulfill an arbitrary number of credits in order to graduate. In those two years, I did not retained much, and my only fond memories are of the 'International Food Day' we had at the end of the year. We got to gorge ourselves on homemade crepes, tacos, bratwurst and other food from the typical high school language offerings.

Despite my complete lack of mastery of a foreign language it seems that somewhere deep inside I have have the capacity for learning new an interesting forms of communication after all. I can honestly and confidently say that I am almost fluent one of the most complex and interesting languages in our society: Toddler Talk.

Every word out of my daughter's mouth needs some level of translation. It is very important for all involved parties to be quick in that translation as any delay could set off a incident on level of the Bay of Pigs.

Sure, everyone can understand the easy ones like 'No' & 'Mine', but when the conversation gets deeper you have to be quick on your feet. An entire meal can be won or lost based on whether you think she saying she wants to eat the pancakes you made her, she wants you to eat the pancakes you made her, or she doesn't want pancakes at all...If I guess wrong those pancakes are going to be all over the floor, my lap, and (thanks to the consistency of syrup) the wall. Whenever you approach Toddler-Speak your confidence should be extremely high, or you'll end up doing a lot of unnecessary cleaning and head scratching.

Look it's not easy for anyone to learn a new language, and as far as I know Rosetta Stone has yet to offer a Toddler Curriculum in their best selling language software. But practice makes perfect and the more my wife, mother-in-law, or some other innocent bystander asks "What'd she say?" The more confident I become in my response...

There were, of course,some sketchy days in the beginning like when she first saw that Peacock at the zoo. Her Toddler-Speak version of 'Peacock' left out the very important beginning of the word. People would look at her with that 'did she just say that' look that people get and then they'd look at me quizzically hoping that I'd have a reasonable explanation.

Fortunately, with my extensive practice I can easily put most people at ease. However, my powers of translation seem to only work for a very specific dialect known only to my daughter. When at the home of other friends with toddlers I'm often as lost as the rest of the world in translating. They say that English is one of the most difficult languages to master, but I disagree. I believe the most difficult language is Toddler.

Where there's a Will there's a 21 month old.

It's funny (or at least I think it is) that there is always one parent that seems to constantly play the backup. I often feel like a good tribute band, sure I'm entertaining when the famous band is on a world tour (or not currently at home), but when their back in town I'm a guy who just can't compete with the real entertainment.

In the early months of our little girl's life the 'playing favorites' took a difficult toll on me. I gave her everything I had and could barely get anything in return. Thankfully, at 21 months she's come around quite a bit. There are still times when she needs her mommy more than me and I've learned two things from this:

1. It's OK. My wife and I are a great team. We work well together and I think (even though we're still new to the game) we're doing a pretty good job with our little one.

2. Sometimes, if it's my wife that my daughter is clinging to it means I get to sit down for a few minutes and take a breath.

It's hard to admit that sometimes you just need a break, but at 21 months this girl is a whirlwind. She bounces around the house from the minute she wakes up until the minute she goes to sleep and I'd be lying if I said it was easy to match that energy. It is fun to see her explore her world, but there are only so many times that I can drink a fake glass of tea. I mean there's no sugar and it's not even warm.

My daughter has a will of her own and everyday we're starting to see more and more of it. It's still early in the game, but I have a feeling that this little girl will have that same determination and strength that I so admire in my wife. We're starting to set more boundaries so that this new found strength and determination doesn't get out of hand, but with each attempted task I find myself amazed by her...Sometimes I don't want to tell her 'NO' just to see what she'll do next.

I've gotten lazy with the blog and I think that has been a major mistake. I miss writing, especially here, as it brings me closer to fatherhood. It's easy to go through the motions of being a dad, but I always want to be engaged in her life because each day she amazes me and I would hate to miss out on any of it.

Fatherhood Friday: Mealtime Maladies

I know I've mentioned before that I love food...It is the biggest reason I continue to struggle with my weight. I grew up in a house with a picky mother and because of that I thought I was picky for a very long time. Once I was old enough to spread my wings, I found out that most food is good. The revelation led me to another, if most food is good, I should eat as much as I can for as long as I can to make up for the food embargo I suffered through as a kid.

Before you stop reading I promise it's not another "I'm fat so here's what I'm doing about it' post like my last one. This one is a call for help. I am the father of a picky daughter. For months she ate whatever we put in front of her, but now it's all on her terms and if she doesn't want something she creates an impenetrable force field of flailing arms, lock jaw, and head swings that defies logic.

She eats an amazing breakfast. It's definitely her favorite meal of the day, but lunch and dinner rarely go smoothly. We've tried everything: vegetables in all manner of styles, fruits in every color and flavor, proteins that would make a five star chef applaud (OK so that last one was an exaggeration, but I do put the effort in), purees squeezed into the tightest of recipes, and we end up with nothing.

She will readily eat Lima beans, peas, berries, & yogurt but anything else is a struggle. So I ask you, how do I get this girl to enjoy food without developing the unholy attachment I had to it? I just want lunch or dinner each day to go well...It's a struggle and it's exhausting.

So please, if you have tips leave them in the comments...I will take every one of them seriously.


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Fatherhood Friday: Run, Fatboy, Run...

At the end of June 2010, my pants were too tight, I had to buy a larger size shirts, my knee started bothering me again, and I was tired...Too tired. I knew I had been gaining weight for sometime but I sort of ignored it because I was in the throws of my first year as a father. It was a very good year, I've had so much fun watching my daughter grow and going on adventures with her and my wife. That said, I got fat and I had to do something about it.

Me before...

The plan was simple lose about 40-45lbs by the holiday season, get back into those smaller pants, and work on getting my fitness back up. The only way that I have ever been successful losing weight in the past was on Weight Watchers. Now, when I followed the program before, my wife would go to the meetings and I would steal her books and tips so that I didn't have to pay. But this time, I thought maybe I could actually stick to it better if I my wallet were held accountable too. So off to the meetings I went.

I started following the program religiously, I tracked my points, I exercised, and I the weight started to come off. I've done really well and I am 34lbs lighter now than I was when I started. Sure watching what I eat has helped (my problem has always been portion control), but the biggest thing that I've done is become a full time runner.

For the first month I hated every minute I was out there plodding along my neighborhood streets. However, one morning in late August, as I pushed my daughter in her stroller around town, I actually have begun to enjoy the runs. It's fun to watch my daughter look at all the trees, talking and pointing along the way. She does get a little bored on longer runs, but generally we have a good time out there...We've put a lot of miles on that stroller.

Me so far...

My running started out as a slow 2 mile loop, but in the last month I've worked my way up to 5 miles at a decent pace. I'm working full time again so I really only get to run with my daughter on the weekends, but I've come to enjoy running at night after she's asleep.

My main goal in all of this is to be healthier for my family. It's hard to set a good example when you never leave the couch or eat food that are terrible for you (I save all the junk until after my daughter is in bed). I hope this time I can keep the weight off, not just for me, but for my wife and little girl. I want to be strong and healthy if it means I never eat at McDonald's again, I can live with that.


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Wordless Wednesday:::Beachin' it up

We just put her in the sand and she runs forever...


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Fatherhood Friday::::Bless me Fathers for I have sinned...

It's been 67 days since my last post. I've broken the cardinal rule of blogging, which is to actually blog. Do I have an excuse? Sure...But you don't want to hear it, or (at this point in the desert of infrequent bloggers) read it. But I'll post anyway...

I could sit here and tell you all the fun things my daughter has been doing since my last post, things like: Walking, climbing, throwing food, laughing, playing, saying the funniest things, and hopefully enjoying her daily discoveries. I could do that, but I won't because I have a problem. This post will be a catharsis.

I'm a first time father with no real experience in parenting. Sure prior to the birth of our little girl I did the babysitting nieces & nephews thing, but at the end of the night I always went home. As much fun as it was to run around with them it pales in comparison to running around with your own. Parenthood is the hardest yet most rewarding job I've ever had.

My problem? Well my daughter doesn't seem to be as much a fan of me as I am of her. Sure when it's just the two of us she tolerates me, but when my wife is around I can barely even change her diaper without her crying and kicking all over the place. In the beginning I just let it all go. I figured it would pass and we'd be best buddies, but it seems to be getting worse and it's bothering me.

I would joke that I'm the second string quarterback and that I'd drop to 3rd string when my mother-in-law was around. It was funny at first but not anymore. What hurts the most is that I try so hard for very little in return.

Don't get me wrong it's not all heartbreak and frustration in our house. I do love to chase her around and watch her navigate the world. I just wish she'd involve me a little more.


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