Teeth wielding bucket head

So we have a toddler now. She is the best thing I have ever done. That being said, her favorite thing is to hit me, her mom and the dog. She now has teeth. I had no idea the implications this might possibly bring. I never thought I would fear being bitten, but here we are. I should clarify, I strongly fear be bitten by random animals and the occasional stranger.

I went to work the other day and a crazy man came up to me and asked me for change, I gave him some and then came to a realization, I didn't want him to bite me either and it cost me $1.35. I am 99% sure he would not have bitten me but I consider that a good investment.

Birkley is now getting more teeth and Brittney has taught her to open her mouth on command so we can stick our fingers in and feel for new teeth. I am so thankful she is not malicious like I was/am when I stick my finger in that little needle trap. I just wonder how long it will be before my genes kick in, whether it be the malicious bite or the attention seeking chomp.

Most kids have a blanket or some stuffed animal they can't live without. Birkley has a plastic bucket she likes to wear as a hat. We took Birkley to get a happy meal one time and it came in a trick or treat pail. She immediately put it on her head, it was a perfect fit and was very cute. It became her "safety blanket." That 5 cent bucket has become her favorite treasure and she wears it constantly. It actually works well as a safety helmet.

I am still stuck with a cute little girl that sports a bucket on her head and is bound to bite me at some point and I would gladly pay anything to have her, even when she bites me.

Haveababyitsagirl

So they say a baby will change you, they are right. I don't like to listen to people but I have to give it to them, they are right. Pretty much all of you were right. Even the stupid sitcoms were right. Everyone was right that already had kids. It is hard to explain how incredibly it impacts your life. One day your wife is miserable and can't sleep and the next, you both cant sleep (dad still sleeps "better" than mom.)

I don't think we could have had a better baby. I know everyone says that, but I look forward to picking up the little spittle machine everyday and listening to her "sing" along to poker face. That is, pathetically enough, the highlight of my day (I sing too.)

I use to plan my after work goals around projects on the house, now my goal is to make B giggle. I would like to know if there is anything, other than hard drugs, that can make you completely forget about your day than making a baby giggle. There is nothing. My hypothesis is that baby spittle is like the mashed potato structure in Encounters of the third kind. Once you have a baby, you can think of nothing else.

If there is anything I love more than a spittling baby, its a sleeping baby. I guarantee there is nothing better than the moment your baby puts her head down on your shoulder. It is the best feeling you have ever had. (That sentence put my brain in a weird spin but I stand by it.) When that baby connects with you and giggles at you and then puts her head down on your shoulder, done. You are done, screwed, I'm not sure how you'd get out of this one. It's gonna be costly, no doubt about it.

Plate's Full

So we now have a gorgeous new baby. She is 4 1/2 months old and I can't imagine or remember what it was like with out her. Her name is Birkley (Birks for short.) There have plenty of projects on the house to keep us busy. We have friends and family spread from Spokane to Minnesota and down to Arizona that we would love to spend time with. At this point in our life, time is commodity that is hard to come by. I am sure it only gets harder to come by.

We visited my grandparents today. After hearing them talk about how fast time goes, I am starting to get it. We have all heard this from our parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and great grand parents. From my "research" this is what I have found:

-The older you are, the faster time goes

-The more kids you have, the faster time goes

-The happier you are, the faster time goes

-The busier you get, the faster time goes

This must be some kind of grand joke

Many people base happiness on a relation of time and prosperity (growing old and being wealthy.) For most of us, normal everyday life means working to achieve a goal. Time is arbitrarily attached to that goal, meaning we will be happy once we reach the goal of prosperity. This has to be a "soft" goal. I don't think anyone has ever reached their prosperity goal, there is always room to improve, especially if you are successful. Here comes the punch line surrounded by an oxymoron. If you are driven enough to go 100% toward your goal, you are missing on the family time. If you are driven to go 100% toward family time, you might miss any other "goal" you may have. The key, to me anyway, is to find the right formula. Family, of course comes first, but you need to have enough drive to reach the other goals to support the primary goal of the family. At this point my head itches. Good luck.

Hadababyitsagirl

We have a baby now and her name is Birkley. She is the best baby in the world so far, Britt and I both agree (Baily thinks she's alright.) The birth went great, I slept through most of the labor. Britt started at 2 am and told Jan and I to go back to bed. At 5 we took her to the hospital and the water broke when she stepped out of the car. At 5:45 she went to the waiting room and then to triage. There we found out she was fully dialated and Britt was rushed to the birthing room (too late for an epidural.) This was at about 6:15. At 7:13 Birkley was in our lives. We were ready to go home at noon. We had to wait till the next morning. It couldn't have gone any better.

Master Bedroom pics

FUN TIMES!!!

These are the pretty ladies I am doing this for

The Labor

The first load of 60 sheets

(This sucked to pack up!)

Taking down the 8 foot ceiling

Looking into what will be Britts closet and our new bathroom

Britt's new closet and our bathroom hallway

This is our future bedroom that I was using for a workroom

The mess from taking down the ceiling

New beefed up ceiling with the new soffit for over the bed

Old windows with new walls and electrical

New windows, paint, and bed stuff (and temp. ac)

Britt peeking at ceiling mess 

Looking at my closet and chimney during demo

chimney and closet framed                                                                        chimney painted

Nursery Pics Before and After

This says it all

This is a view looking at the door

going out into the hall.

              

                                                                

                                  

    Here is a picture looking at the closet

                   

 The old closet

The new closet

The Crib

The changing table

2 Pillows 2 People

So it was our final class, we don't have to go to the 4th class.  I remembered the blanket and pillows but apparently I am still a dip shit.  I did the math, 2 people 2 pillows and 1 blanket.  We share the blanket and we each get a pillow, I was wrong.  We were in the middle of a very important breathing exercise and the "trainer" pointed out to everyone in the group that I was sitting on a pillow.  That is when I looked around and saw every other good husband/coach sitting on the floor while their pregnant counterparts were sitting on one pillow and leaning back on the other pillow.  Everyone but the idiot husband got a good laugh (Britt couldn't stop laughing.)  I tried a witty response but only made a weird nervous grunt.  I tried to give Britt my pillow but it was too little too late and she didn't want it (or didn't want to make a bigger scene.)

We got our certificate of completion so I think we are clear to have Birkley.  I didn't have to finish a test or sign anything so I kind of think it was a sham, I hope we didn't pay anything.  I now know how to breathe fast and I hope it comes in handy.  I have a feeling when placenta hits the fan, I am going to hope I read a little more and worried a little less about my piss poor pillow etiquette, but at least I can breathe fast.

Now it's a waiting game with a bucket full of horormones.  Britt has actually been awesome with what she is going through.  100+ degrees, "fluffy" feet, the water intake of a horse, me as a coach, no car, and one freak'in pillow.  It's only 6 weeks away.  I did the math, that's only 6 saturdays and 6 sundays.  

We only have a couple things left to do.  We need to finish decorating the nursery, paint a couple doors in our room,  clean house, get my motorcycle done, get a family car, and buy my monkey (Baily won't fit in my sidecar.) 

I can't wait till it's all done so I can relax and get some sleep.