Day 25

We were awoken by a combination of doorbell and dog bark around 9:45 this morning. Apparently it's important to ring the doorbell before aerating a customer's lawn; at least that's what I surmised while simultaneously decrusting my eyes and dressing my son.

By the time I completely gained consciousness, I realized that it was a pretty nice day outside. I decided there was no more fitting way to celebrate this than by heading to Philadelphia and sharing a real Philly Cheesesteak with my son. As you may recall, we had a cheesesteak at a Phillies game last week. However, this was just the generic ballpark variety version. That doesn't really count. Today he would make the most important decision in his young life: Pat's or Geno's.

He slept a little on the way, including passing by Pat's. As we approached Geno's (just a few hundred feet across an intersection), he began to make some noise. Clearly the choice had been made. 

I ordered "one Whiz with" (I'll succumb to their ordering criteria, but I refuse to drop the "h" from "with") and nearly forgot to get my change when I got my drink. I have always been more of a Jim's guy, but their service is awful. I doubt they would have called out to me to remind me to take my change, let alone call me "sir" like Geno's cashier did. My son enthusiastically accepted each small bite of the sandwich, alternating between it and his Cheerios. He wasn't nearly as fond of the lemonade that I was drinking, as he spit it up as quickly as he took a sip.

After finishing our lunch, we drove down 10th Street toward Citizens Bank Park. I had never taken this route before, and I imagine it would be a nightmare on gamedays. However, it is easily the most gorgeous way to approach CBP. 10th Street would allow one to drive straight across the field to home plate if there weren't walls in the way. The ballpark grows as the surrounding row homes dwindle, finally revealing a sea of brick, steal, and blue seats. I've been to that stadium literally hundreds of times in the past 8 years, and I never saw it so majestically as I did today.

We parked near the team store, and I carried my son across the street before allowing him to walk around on his own outside the stadium. Citizens Bank Way, the small street that separates the parking lot from the ballpark, was closed off for the upcoming playoff festivities, so I didn't have to worry about him running off the sidewalk. He walked around near the entrance for about 15 minutes, stopping to admire the statue of Mike Schmidt and perform for the workers setting up the nearby temporary merchandise tent.

I can only use my employee discount on days where there is no game. This policy changed this season, and it really, really sucks- especially for employees like me who are not required to work every game. We were never formally informed about it. I had to find out about it when I was at a game earlier this year with my son... celebrating his first birthday! We stood in line for several minutes, and when it was my turn, the cashier informed me of the "new" policy (that was being selectively enforced all season, according to coworkers). Apparently we can only buy things hours before the game begins or on days when there is no game at all. Since it is nearly impossible for me to get to games that early, my only choice is to drive down to the stadium on days when there is no game. However, this blog is about my son, so back to that.

As he walked around in the store, he kept trying to go to the outside portion where the registers are located. I couldn't figure out why until I relented and walked in with him. Ceiling fans. Of course! I gave him a few minutes to enjoy them, and then we did some shopping. I carried him upstairs to the Phanatic Attic children's area and was amazed as he figured out how to walk down the steps all by himself. Normally he reaches out for my hand as he attempts to descend steps, but today he used the metal mesh walls to balance himself as he walked. It was a major breakthrough, but it also means I have to be extra careful with him and steps now.

The Phillies had a "Rally Trolley" promotion today, which essentially was a bunch of team personel travelling around town in a trolley spreading good cheer and rally towels. The trolley's final stop was the stadium, and they happened to arrive just as we were checking out of the store. Radio announcer and former Phillies relief pitcher Larry Andersen was on the trolley and was kind enough to stop and take a picture with my son. It was surreal to hear "L.A." babytalk to my son and take such a genuine interest in him. He even suggested I take another photo when my son put his head down in the first. (Facebook friends can see that the picture was pretty terrible anyway. Oh well.)

We walked over and watched as my son's new friend was interviewed on the local sports talk radio station that was broadcasting nearby. One of the hosts, Glen Macnow, motioned for my son to come over and gave him a Phillies rally towel- the same rally towel that I had previously failed to procure at the final home game of the season! We thanked him and I tried to get him to wave it, but he was showing signs of sleepiness so we went on our way. There was just enough traffic to allow him to get in a decent nap before returning home to his eagerly waiting Mommy.

Days 23 and 24

Music class was relatively the same this week. My son has more interest in walking around than being part of the class, but he's not the only one. His "girlfriend" follows him around, and they seem quite content doing their own thing. He has begun consistently clapping at the end of each song or activity, and I think that is awesome. But there is no screaming, no crying, and no tantrums, so no complaints from Daddy.

After class we went to the Berkshire Mall. Our friends from the shoe store remembered my son as he walked by their store. He got some comments on his sweet Adidas Samba Classics at the GAP. He cheated on his girlfriend with an older woman at the famous "texting" fountain. He ate pizza from Famous #1 Ray's Original Pizzeria Plus (or whatever it's called). He made an old lady or two's day. He even found a fan in a twentysomething hair product kiosk worker. It's one thing if the guy was selling something he actually expected me to buy; this guy was definitely interested and said "he could watch him all day". Sure it's somewhat creepy, but I knew what he meant. The kid is cute.

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This morning I had my first taste of middle-of-the-night duty. He'd been sleeping through the night since my wife went back to work, and I've been thankful for that. At 3 o'clock this morning that all came to a screeching, er- screaming halt. It took roughly two hours to finally get him back to sleep, and then he woke up again for good "early" at 9. I used a combination or laying on the floor next to his crib, standing and rocking, sitting and rocking, and reasoning ("just go to sleep, already. you're exhausted! why can't you see that?"). I think it was the reasoning that did it.

Getting up early ended up being a good thing because it gave me to time to get in a run before lunch. There was a strange sunshower soon after we got home [followed by far too many rainbow pictures on Facebook - don't you people have jobs?!? ;-)], but my son was too busy enjoying most of a Wendy's hamburger and some grapes to notice.

For today's shower distraction, I tried a suggestion from my wife. Usually I put him in his crib and let him watch Yo Gabba Gabba!, but yesterday she noticed that he pointed and laughed at the puppies in the new Spooky Buddies commercial. We own the first four Buddies movies, so she thought he might be ready to watch and "appreciate" them. I figured he wouldn't truly understand the nuances of the franchise unless we started at the beginning, so I put in Air Buddies. He immediately identified, pointed and laughed at the puppies and didn't make any other sounds while I got undisgusting.

I had band practice in the afternoon, but Gram was relatively thrilled at the chance to watch him while we rehearsed. After I dropped him off at her house, I drove to school and was able to focus for the entire practice- that is, when I wasn't thinking about how weird it was to not have to keep an eye on him the entire time! Our big "gig" is in two days, so it was nice to be able to get so much work done.

Tomorrow is Friday, and we have no plans. We'll see what happens.

Days 21 and 22

After a busy week and weekend (including celebrating my parents' 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday), we took it easy on Monday. We did make a stop at the VF Outlet because they were having their big Majestic Tent Sale. I usually buy way more Phillies gear than I need (having already obtained way more Phillies gear than I need), but this time I only bought one item: a Phanatic puppet. I wouldn't even have bought that if my son hadn't picked it out himself. He already has a few Phanatics of varying size and material, but they aren't puppets. What's one more? (And surely more after that)

We also made a stop at the Toys Я Us outlet  where my son found one of his favorite toys from home: an electronic activity table. There were several of them on display, so he had a great time getting them all talking at once. He wasn't happy to leave the store, but we had to at least make an attempt to take a nap. He didn't.

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Today started with a 4 mile run. I only have 6 more training runs before running my second marathon on October 9th. It's been a neat experience sharing my training with my son. Someday I'll tell him all about it, and maybe he'll feign interest, but it will always mean a lot to me. Two years ago I didn't believe I could run 26.2 miles, and this year I couldn't have done it without him. Seriously, I couldn't. I'd probably be in serious trouble with Child Protective Services if I let him home alone for hours at a time. I'm kidding of course. I'd check in on him every lap or so. Still kidding.

We ate lunch at Ciabatta today, a local soup and sandwich shop. My son and I enjoyed the Pescara sandwich and then headed off to band practice. We left very early, as I was hoping he would take a nap on the way. He did. I gave him a full hour of sleep before I collected the required materials from the car and took him inside. Again he was in a great mood during rehearsal. I let him roam free for the second straight time, and all he wanted to do was pick up drumsticks and mallets. I had no problem with this. He once again helped me play a few songs. He can do that whenever he wants.

We ran into a few of my coworkers on the way into the building. They asked me if I miss them. While I do miss many of my coworkers, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. Except maybe early retirement with full pension and benefits. And a hot tub. Don't forget the hot tub.

Day 20

Fairgrounds Square Mall was once a magical place. I worked one of my first jobs there. I visited my future wife there long before we began dating. I spent countless quarters trying to get the high score on the Superman game at the arcade there. I ate far too many waffle fries and pizza pretzels there. Now, I hardly even go there. It's a wasteland. Empty storefronts and cell phone dealers outnumber the consistent tenants. People only park there to go to the semi-state-of-the-art movie theater. It doesn't even have a fountain. It's the "dirt mall".

Naturally, I thought my son might enjoy walking around there as there surely would be plenty of wide open spaces. I was right. Ramps, steps, and center court! What more could a toddler want? Lunch? Sure, we had lunch at a fresh new Subway (why someone would open a franchise there, I have no idea). Visual and aural stimulation? He "played" his first video game. Something to play with? You can always count on Spencer's Gifts for some kind of useful/ -less trinkets. New friends? He got to meet several puppies and kittens at the pet-store-that-used-to-be-a-card-shop. I'm not sure that he'll ask to go back, but all in all it was a fun trip to the dirt mall.

He fell asleep soon after we left, so I drove around town. We were near Albright College, and I remembered seeing some really cool homes there when I used to spend some time on campus. Some of the nicest houses in the city are near or on Hampden Boulevard. Driving through other parts of Reading, it's difficult to believe that these gorgeous homes are even in the same county, let alone the city limits. There are still plenty of great things in the city, but they often get overshadowed by the negatives. It was nice to be reminded.

These homes are at the foot of Mt. Penn, which is the home of the famous Reading Pagoda. I had the foresight to bring along my textbooks for my current class, so I figured we would park there while he slept so I could get some work done. I was able to complete an entire chapter before he woke up! That was more than I have read in a single sitting in a long time, so I was satisfied. He quietly appreciated the rainy drive back down Mt. Penn and back to a waiting Mommy.

Days 18 and 19

Two music classes in one week turned out to be no problem at all for my son. He enjoyed meeting all of his classmates in the regular class. This one is far more full than the one we attended on Monday. Within a few minutes of the class starting, my son found a female admirer. And her daughter. One couldn't keep her hands off of him; the other couldn't stop telling him how adorable he is. It will be interesting to see how this plays out throughout the semester (?).

We sang the same songs today that we did on Monday. My son hasn't memorized them yet. He'll get there. Right now his focus seems to be walking around the room since there's no doorknob for him to attack. He did manage to pick up a few of the instruments and clap at the appropriate time once or twice.

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Our favorite trail reopened today, at least enough of it for us to get our 5 miles in. The trail is still very wet and bumpy, but I'm just thankful that its closing was the biggest inconvenience I experienced due to the recent extreme weather. The bumps give my son a chance to sing a sustained note and listen to his voice vibrate, and that's just adorable.

We later had band practice at school, and I left him out of his "cage" for most of it. He just wandered around near the drums, even grabbing a stick and playing the ride cymbal at mostly appropriate times. At one point I just used my left hand and let him take care of the right: our first duet. I'll mark that down in the baby book later.

Today's extreme embarrassment of the day- One of my bandmates asked me about our experience at the Phillies game, and I was describing the day while taking one of the rack toms off of the kit (so my son could play with it). As I went to sit down and place the drum on the floor next to me, I quickly realized there was nothing on which to sit. I fell on my butt in slow motion, narrowly avoiding my son who had apparently pushed over the throne. I'm told he was laughing, and that makes it A-OK.

I had to work at the final Phillies (regular season) home game tonight, and it was completely ridiculous to drive all the way home and drop him off with my wife before driving right back the same direction. Therefore, I enlisted the help of my mom; we'll call her "Gram". Gram was eagerly waiting outside for us when we arrived, but my son was more interested in walking up the street. She caught up with him and happily dealt with his many changes of direction as I drove away. I'll see him tomorrow morning.

Day 17

I'm really not sure where to begin about today. I guess the easiest way to put it is it was one of those days that I am certain I will always remember. Today we went to the Phillies. It wasn't that it was our first game- he's been to roughly 10 of them, and I've saved all the tickets. It wasn't even the first time just the two of us went to game- that happened last week. It wasn't that it was an overly great game- they lost 4-3 in 10 innings. They didn't even play all the regular starters. It was just a great day.

My son woke up around 7, much to the chagrin of my wife who had to be at work early and therefore couldn't hang out to calm him down. He had no interest in going back to sleep after she left, but he fell asleep soon after we got in the car. We left about three hours before the game started. As I have driven back and forth from Philadelphia countless times in the past seven years, I know all too well how unpredictable traffic can be on the way. We arrived approximately an hour before the game started.

Since our ticket (only one needed until he turns 2) was in the Diamond Club, we had plenty to explore before the first pitch. My son had little to no interest in checking out the swank surroundings and instead chose to trot around in the handicapped section directly behind my seat. During the player introductions, he pointed out the Phanatic to me, much like he finds the animals before I do. He made a few friends along the way, some of whom were kind enough to pick up his sippy cup each time he dropped it out of my reach.

It was supposed to rain. It didn't. Since the Diamond Club also includes a large enclosed area with plenty of TVs and other things at which to look, I figured that we'd be fine either way. The sun even came out at one point. Truthfully, the weather wasn't really on my mind as my son and I shared experiences such as his first cheesesteak at a ballgame, his first time on Phanavision (this came right before the beginning of the bottom of the tenth inning; apparently we were on a second time, as we were earlier recognized walking around in another section of the ballpark), and his first time showing actual interest in what was going on in the game. Each time the crowd would cheer, he would stop what he was doing to turn around and look at the field. It's been an interesting progression since his first game last year to his first game this year and finally today: sleeping, screaming, and looking. I'm sure booing is right around the corner, maybe in time for the playoffs...

The score was 0-0 until the 7th inning, when the opposition hit a 3-run home run off of a guy who spent the majority of the season in AAA Lehigh Valley. We were walking around in the Hall of Fame Club, another less-exclusive but equally cool section of the park, when this happened. He needed a break from mostly standing next-to or between my legs, and an employee suggested we head up there. Soon after we got off of the elevator, my son was hugged/ attacked by a little girl who apparently does this to nearly everyone she sees. To her father, I say, "Good luck". While he was avoiding her, another little girl came up to us and "talked" with my son. At one point we had a little group of 4 toddlers that were blocking the thoroughfare with a combination of running, hugging, screaming, and playing. If I had been working, I would have hated it. Because I was "dadding", I loved it. We continued on through the HoFC, and my son came across two more little girls, and immediately went up to one of them with his arms outstretched as if to hug her. As far as I know, he had never done this before. He hugs family members and such, but never a stranger. Apparently he still has a little to learn, because the hug locked more like a choke. We'll be more careful next time.

When it appeared that he had "got his sillies out", we returned to our seat. No one ever showed up in the seats next to us, which made sitting much more comfortable than usual. Of course, the seats in the DC are extra wide and padded, so that didn't hurt either. We picked a good time to go back, it seemed, as the Phillies tied the game with a 3-run homer of their own soon after we sat back down. He smiled and even clapped a little as I spun around celebrating with the rest of the crowd. We stuck around and watched the rest of the game, sharing the requisite ice cream in a miniature batting helmet. After the final out, I asked an usher to take our picture, as I wanted to have a visual memory of the day. I look a lot more excited than he does, but that's to be understood as he was surely exhausted. He never lost his cool, though, and that was yet another positive part of the day.

He fell asleep again soon after we got in the car. Traffic was traffic, but I didn't much care. I smiled all the way home, having enjoyed a great day at the ballpark with my son.

Day 16

After missing our first edition of Kindermusik last week, I made sure that I triple-checked the time before I set my alarm for this morning. I was up in plenty of time- my son, not so much. Regardless, we arrived just in time for class to begin. While this was not our normal class (we'll meet with them on Wednesday, my brain permitting), I got a pretty good idea of what to expect. Counting the teacher and children, our class had 13 people in it. Our class had one male over the age of 3 in it. It was fun learning the songs, playing the instruments, and being the only barritone in the room. It was fun dancing and chasing my son around the room. He was quite fond of a particular doorknob on one side of the room and kept returning to it during the songs. Rather than pulling him away from it and possibly turning this into a negative experience, I let him spend a little bit of time over there before bringing him back to our small circle. I was a little bit concerned about how he will handle being in this particular version of the class, as it is for 18 months to 3 years and he is only 14 months old. Then I remembered that he's 14 months old, and it doesn't really matter as long as he's not screaming most of the time.

Everyone in our house was feeling a little under the weather this past weekend, so I really wanted to take it easy the rest of the day. That meant there would be no adventure today. However, as I earlier posted on Facebook, it was an "obnoxiously gorgeous" day today. We made a quick stop at home to pick up my stroller before heading out again to pick up and eat lunch.

Wawa has been good to us in the lunch department so far. It has everything my son enjoys, and there always seems to be one nearby when we need it. Today's menu was pretty standard: turkey hoagie, apple slices, and fruit punch. However, after burning nearly 3000 calories running 20 miles on Saturday, I felt I (we) deserved a cheese-stuffed soft pretzel. He didn't complain. I drove us to the Reading Public Museum, found a bench near the ducks, and we ate our lunch in no hurry whatsoever.

He's very aware of every animal around him. He sees dogs across the creek, and he begins to wave at them. I've tried to teach him to wave and say, "Hi puppy!" There is a clear difference between the way he addresses dogs and other animals. For example, the ducks were "duh", and dogs were definitely "puh". Of course, many other things around the house could be a "duh" or "puh", but I like to think he's learning something. After pushing him in the stroller for a while, I put his shoes on him and let him walk around. He took this opportunity to go leaf hunting- at one point he was holding 8 of them that he had picked up 1 at a time. That seemed to be the limit, as he would drop more than he could pick up after that. He was very proud of his collection and even brought one over for me to hold. Then he pulled it away.

As we continued on our circuitous route back to our car, we came across a man and a woman walking a dog (off leash). My son walked right up to the dog and began waving. The dog soon sneezed, and the sneeze, of course, is easily in my son's top three bodily functions. He giggled wildly and chased the dog around the couple's legs for a moment. He soon lost interest in the dog, as he discovered the steps near the exit of the planetarium. In a dramatic show of determination, he ascended the steps and triumphantly raised his arms over his head. Though I promised not to tell, this was actually his signal that he didn't know how to get down. Please don't hate me, kid.

We explored the park a little longer before returning home for an abbreviated naptime. He must have known Mommy was on her way.

Days 14 and 15

A few days ago, a friend asked me if I wanted a suite ticket for the first game of a Phillies doubleheader on Thursday. Knowing that I worked the second game, this would not be easy. However, I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity (for both of us), so I gladly obliged. My wife was kind enough to agree to pick up our son in King of Prussia after the game. I figured that him walking there would take far too long, so I drove him. I later learned that was a mistake. More on that later.

Our day began ominously, as Mr. Ten O'Clock woke up around 7:30- right as my wife was about to leave. He must have wanted to make sure we didn't miss Storytime like we missed Kindermusik. My wife picked him up and brought him into bed with me, but this did nothing to calm him down. This was the first time he was awake for her leaving for work, and I'm sure it wasn't easy for her to leave as he was screaming. Of course he stopped screaming right after she left. We got up and ready for Storytime.

The stories today were about Fall. My son made it through the entire first book before deciding he needed to be somewhere else in the library. We decided to skip craft time this week, but we stuck around for the snack. It was the first time my son experienced Teddy Grahams. Based on his reaction, it won't be the last. I think he has a crush on the one little girl in the class. He kept taking various objects over to her and dropping them on her chair. She picked each one up and handed it right back to him. Rinse and repeat. We signed up to bring in the snack for the final meeting. I think that's when he's going to make his move.

After a quick stop at home to let the dogs out and grab some milk, we headed to the game. We had to make a couple of stops first: we grabbed "our" ticket at my friend's dad's house and visited my grandmother. Thankfully, my son slept most of the way to the ballpark. He even gave me a moment to get everything together before we made the 3/4 mile walk from our employee parking lot (zOMG- abuse of privileges, don't tell!!). Because we were in a suite, I was able to use my stroller. Obviously, this made the walk much easier.

As we entered Citizens Bank Park at the Suite and Club Level Entrance on Pattison Avenue, we were given a Cliff Lee gym bag. This will likely become my new diaper bag. We took the elevator up to the aptly named Suite Level (this is where Daddy reports to work, too) and found my friend's grandfather, dad, sister, and nephew already there. My son was very excited to get out of the stroller and run around in the suite. We were extra glad to be inside, as it was a very windy and rainy day. It also gave him a chance to roam (relatively) free for most of the game and experience his first lunch of only ballpark food. Of course, in a suite this doesn't mean just hot dogs and soda. As I am in the final few weeks of marathon training, he had a little more freedom than I in the food and drink department. It was kind of difficult to see all that free soda, beer, and food and know that I couldn't really have all I wanted, but I survived. Someday, my blood pressure will thank me.

My son had fun playing with my friend's similarly aged nephew. At one point they both discovered the base of a "high-top" table and played a silly hybrid game of peek-a-boo and mirror, as seen on Facebook. He also enjoyed attempting to eat just about every crumb of food scattered around the floor. I liked one of these activities far more than the other.

The Phillies won the game (both games of the doubleheader, actually), but we had to leave in the 7th inning in order to give me a chance to take him to Mommy in KoP and get back in time to report for the second game. The 20ish mile trip took roughly 1 1/2 hours. After a quick hello and handoff, I turned the car around and headed once again for the ballpark. Another hour and a half later, I reported to work (2 innings late).

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We were both exhausted after such an eventful day, so we slept until our normal wakeup time. I'm happy to report that we did absolutely nothing but relax and be father and son. We both deserved it. We (all) made it through Mommy's first full week of work!

Day 13

Everything about today was great, expect that the 11:30 Kindermusik class that we had this morning was actually at 10:30! I felt so terrible. It was the first major mistake I've made in this experience. He was happy enough running around in the classroom, and we get to make up our class on Monday, but it was still so disappointing. Because we were in West (the good part) Reading, and it has a nice "Main Street" of sorts, we parked and visited several of the shops. We saw some puppies at Spoil Em Rotten, checked out some tunes (including a few albums that I had a hand in producing) at Vertigo Music, and scoped out some sneakers at A Running Start. However, my son's clear favorite stop was at Earth Rhythms, where they have three of his favorite things: drums, shakers, and ceiling fans. If we hadn't needed to have lunch, he would have stayed there all day (and I likely would have had to buy several broken drums)! We will definitely be going back there again.

Since it was such a nice day, we found the nearest restaurant that gave us the option to eat outside: Taste of Crepes. I'm not sure that I had ever eaten a crepe before, but I know that my son hadn't. I also ordered a strawberry smoothie for us to share. Though he made a very sour face after his initial bites and sips, he kept on asking for more. As usual, he made friends with all of the surrounding diners. We both enjoyed our lunch and nearly two hours on "The Avenue". After an abbreviated nap yesterday, I thought it was important to get home and give him a much better one today. Soon after his nap was over, Mommy returned home.

Tomorrow is going to be awesome.

Day 12

Trail running with a 14 month old takes some preparation. Of course there's the preparing bottles for both of us, diapering, dressing, feeding, rediapering, harnessing, driving, unharnessing, removing, unfolding, and harnessing. Along the way my son tends to remove one or more socks, so there's also sometimes the added fun of locating and replacing said sock(s). Even with all of that done, I still have to stretch. That's what we did yesterday before our run at Gring's Mill. I was just beginning the stretching portion of my day when a helpful, albeit unwelcome, voice from the car parked next to me said, "You do know that trail is closed, right?" No, I did not know that, Mr. Voice. I told him that I knew that certain areas of the trail were closed, but I knew nothing about this one. He told me there was a sign proclaiming it so at the entrance, but I must have missed it. Regardless, we had come this far, so at the very least I was going to see this supposed "closed" trail for myself.

It's a short walk downhill from the parking lot to the entrance to the trail. It didn't take long to see why we were not going to be using this trail today (or any day soon, for that matter). The trail is usually next to the Tulpehocken Creek. On this day, it was under it. I'm not talking about a random puddle or two or a few overrun sections- the trail was the creek.

On our way out of the park (after unharnessing, folding, stowing, and reharnessing), I finally saw the sign proclaiming the trail out of order- all 8 and 1/2 by 11 inches of it. Thanks, Parks Department. We returned home and proceeded to run around our neighborhood. Dryly.

After lunch and a shower, we had an uneventful band practice at school. We surprised one of my son's fans who teaches in the building, possibly making her day, and continued on our way. It was time for a very late nap, but along the way we stopped in THE BIG CITY to pick up medicine for one of our dogs. I figured his nap would last long enough for me to study a little bit and then take him home before working the field hockey game that evening. He did not agree. Soon after pulling into the Chick-Fil-A parking lot, he awoke. I ordered a sandwich for me and a piece of chicken for him, and we left for the nearby high school.

He got a chance to run around on our artificial track and field for a while before the girls began hitting balls all over the place. He also made a few friends along the way. As much as he loves looking at girls, it was great seeing the look on his face as he discovered that this event consisted of nothing but girls. He walked up to many of them, pointed at them, and moved on to others. Good boy. I cut up his chicken and fed it to him while he wandered around. He met all of the people with which I work at the games, and work began. Though I held him for the duration, there were plenty of volunteers to take over for me.

Soon Mommy arrived to take him home. The game got a whole lot less exciting after he left but thankfully did not go into overtime. This was even more important because we still had to take his monthly picture before he went to bed. I got home just in time, and the day had come to a close.

Day 11

This is the first full week of school. It's also about as busy as a week a fourteen month old could expect to have. After a weekend that included swimming class, minor league playoff baseball, and a baby triathlon (running around the house, riding in a bike trailer, and the aforementioned swimming), it will be interesting to see how he reacts to all we have planned.

Apparently my son was up a little earlier than I realized. When I got into his room this morning, I discovered several articles of clothing that had been laying next to his crib had been pulled into it, and the two stuffed animals that normally keep him company were thrown out of it. I kept everything just the way it was, knowing my wife would certainly appreciate his redecorating.

Today's adventure was lunch in the park. It was a beautiful day, so I figured we should spend it outside. We made a quick stop at Wawa for sandwiches and found a park bench on the edge of a small reflecting pool. I fed my son small pieces of turkey sandwich and apple slices as we watched people and wildlife around the pool. It was a very serene scene until a small dog wandered away from its human companion. My son pointed at the dog, several hundred feet away, as it induced a slow speed chase nearly all the way around the pool. Finally, the dog tired of being in complete control of its supposed master and relented. Good thing, too, as my son had lost interest. We cleaned up, packed up, and eased on down the park trail.

My son alerted me of the presence of each animal we saw along our way. We saw squirrels, various birds, ducks, geese, and dogs. He pointed at each, alternating between calling them "doog" and "puh". Amazingly, he was correct in each instance. He was overwhelmed as we reached the Reading Public Museum, the centerpiece of the park, and we came across a group of roughly 20 ducks resting in the shade. We stopped, sat and watched them for several minutes. He seemed quite concerned as a cocker spaniel slowly and menacingly approached the raft (apparently that's what a group of ducks is called). The dog was feeling merciful, and lead its human behind our bench and around the ducks. Having been deprived of a god deal of excitement, we decided to move on. On our way back to the car, I found that a fourteen month old does not fit in 8-12 month old shoes. Actually, he fits in one of them, but not both. He humored me and trotted around in them for a while anyway, taking time to pose for a few photo opportunities. What a guy.

Tomorrow we have band practice at school and get to venture into the big city. Depending on the length and timing of his nap, he might even get to watch some high school field hockey. Life in the fast lane...

Day 10

We had an "appointment" between 9:30 and 10:30 for a free breakfast item at Chick-Fil-A, so (you guessed it) I had to wake up my son early in order to get there on time. We barely made it. After I downed my Spicy Chicken Biscuit and he his cereal bar, we headed into the play area. As far as I know, he had never experienced one of these germ havens before. Ignoring the signs directing us to remove our shoes before playing (I purposely put them on him right before we went in, thinking it would be safer for him), we entered the cramped wonderland. His first stop was the large window, on which he proceeded to pound. He quickly tired of this, and moved on to the nearby fake plastic tree. He had no interest in climbing into it; he instead chose to walk around it. Several times. Eventually I got him on, and later down, the short slide on one side of the tree. After putting on a short show for another family, my son decided it was time to go.

As I actually remembered to fully pack "my"diaper bag in the morning, we immediately got on the road. Today's destination- the Lehigh Valley Mall. We stopped in some of his favorite places: The Disney Store, The Apple Store, and Baby GAP, but the real excitement didn't come until we left the mall proper. More on that later. Lunch once again took some improvisation, as I did not pack any food (other than a few snacks), a bib, or washcloth. We ate at The Pita Pit, a new option in the mall. So new, in fact that they did not have some menu items (such as soup- listed as an option for combo meals) or a working ice machine. I ordered us a turkey pita and still felt hungry after finishing it, likely because I had to give most of the turkey to my son.

I noticed on our way in that there was a Guitar Center across the street from the mall. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I am a drummer. I can also fake my way through playing a few other instruments, and I have a small recording studio in my house, but mostly I'm just a drummer. I have done my best to expose my son to as many different instruments as possible in the short time we've known each other. Though it sounds silly, this, our first trip to Guitar Center, was a pretty significant moment in our relationship.

Realizing soon after entering the store that it was not stroller-friendly, I allowed my son to roam free in the store, taking care to not let him mess with anything he could damage (or I couldn't afford). He enjoyed listening to a man play bass along to Van Morrison's Wild Night, but his attention quickly turned to the drum room. Thank goodness. He discovered a couple of doumbeks located right on his level and gave them a good bit of tapping. He found some cymbals to splash. He picked up a tambourine and smacked it on the ground. He programmed some beats on an electronic drum pad (seriously- I don't know what he did, but it changed a bunch of settings). He performed open stroke rolls on numerous snare drums. It was beautiful. I took some video to show to Mommy (and to a lesser extent, Facebook), figuring he would soon tire. Then he discovered the maracas! Davy Jones ain't got nuthin' on my son!

Eventually, I gave the clerk a break and we checked out some of the other departments. My son also loves banging on piano keys; in fact, it was one of the first independent physical movements he ever did. Many of the electronic keyboards were within his reach, so he tested them out. And I turned down their volume controls. I really hope he actually enjoys playing the piano someday, as resisting piano lessons is one of the only regrets I have about my own childhood. I'm fairly certain I won't have to convince him to to take up the drums.

I'm pretty sure we spent more time in Guitar Center than we did in the mall. After a quick trip to Hobbytown USA (if that's not the name of the store, it should be) for a velcro dartboard (it was close to impossible to find one when I actually wanted one for his birthday party), we got back on the road, he took a well-deserved nap, and Mommy's weekend would soon begin.

Day 9

I set the alarm so we could wake up and get to Storytime at the library by 10. It was nice to have some free time before my son woke up. I imagine that's going to be something I'm going to rely on in the years to come. I was showered and ready to go before 9, but he still wasn't up. I got "my" diaper bag packed and ready for the day, knowing that running would likely be washed out again today so we might take a trip to the mall. Still not a sound from the baby's room. I went upstairs, turned off his white noise machine, and he still didn't wake up right away. I had to step around his room rather heavily in order to finally get him to roll over and look up at me. By this time, it was nearly 10 o'clock, and we were certain to be late. The library is roughly a mile from our house, so I wasn't worried. While I remembered to back the car into the driveway to limit the amount of time my son would be out in the rain, I neglected to actually unlock his door. In addition, when we finally got on the road, I realized that the diaper bag that I had so meticulously packed had been left at home. Knowing that we would only be gone about an hour and anticipating a cancellation due to flooding, I continued on.

We arrived at the library a few minutes late, and there was only one other small child there. We'll call him "Trey", because that's his name. There were 12 kids signed up for Storytime, Trey and my son were the only two who braved the weather. We were treated to a story about sunflowers that my son largely ignored. He found that searching through the many toys in Storytime Kingdom was much more interesting that staring at bound pieces of paper. He was quiet, just inattententive. He's also not even 14 months old yet, so who can blame him? This is just an experiment- if it works out, great. If not, it was free. I was happy to see that the objects he spent the most time with were a pair of mallets. Little victory!

After the story was finished, it was craft time! We were making- wait for it- sunflowers! He was actually relatively interested in this activity, reaching for the glue-covered Popsicle sticks and sunflower seeds. I thought it might be completely adorable if we actually made a sunflower and brought it home to Mommy, so we did. I even made sure that he had some sort of involvement in the finished product, so I held one of the seeds, let him touch it, and placed it on the glue. I was sure it would be a cherished memory for hours to come.

Storytime Lady (not real name) informed us that there is another library group that is actually for babies starting in October, so we will be signing up for that as well. Again, I wasn't expecting much, and I was very proud of his excellent behavior- especially without breakfast or much of an idea what he was supposed to do.

Soon after we got home, Mommy let me know that her school would be getting out early. Baby was very excited, but it didn't show in his diaper for once. After breakfast, playtime, lunch, and more playtime, my son was looking pretty sleepy. Crafts will do that to a boy. Just as I was rocking him to sleep, Mommy came home. For a short time, he was no longer sleepy.

We hae absolutely nothing planned tomorrow. It's gonna be great. Oops- that's not completely true- we have a breakfast date at Chick-Fil-A. Free breakfast entree! Woo hoo!

Day 8

As expected, there was no run today. Today's weather was really annoying; most of the day it was just a steady mist, and it was just enough to not allow us to go outside. We did all of our normal routine, watch episode 2 of The Hour, and waited around to go to band practice. Then we found out that band practice was cancelled. This was not one of the more exciting days, but it did give us lots of time to hang out together.

My son has recently discovered a small ledge in front of our fireplace. He likes to climb on it and pull himself all the way up to his feet using the door handles. Each time, I pull him down, tell him "no", and put him down in front of something with which he is allowed to play. This is not working. Inevitably, he slipped on the way up, and though he did not get hurt (it's roughly 6 inches off the floor), the shock caused him to fake-cry a little. Tomorrow I'll be looking for options to keep him away from the fireplace altogether. We don't use it all that much, but if we ever do, I don't want him to think it's a cool place to hang out. Because it's not. Because of the fire.

Soon after his faux-fall, I out him down for his afternoon nap and decided to make up for my lack of exercise this week with a little P90X. I put in the Cardio X disc, having only used that particular disc once or twice in the past. I must have forgotten that it's the shortest workout of the program, and roughly half of it is stretching and yoga. Regardless, I did the whole routine, cooled down, and managed a shower before my wife got home.

She was only home for a short time before she had to leave again for Back To School Night. I had just started watching the Modern Marvels episode about Disney World (and Land), and I know how much we both enjoyed our last trip there (about a third of the way through her pregnancy), so I paused it and did the dishes before she got home. While we watched the show, I thought about how amazing it will be to take our son there for the first time. My wife has vowed to never again go to Disney World in any month other than January (it was close to empty the last time we went), and coincidentally the Disney Marathon is in January. If I'm still anywhere near marathon shape by the time he is old enough to appreciate the trip, I think that would be an ideal time to go.

She left for school after dinner, and my son and I got ready to watch the Phillies. He was so excited that he pooped his pants. He's a very excitable boy, it seems. We played a little Gently Toss the Baby on the Couch, and he showed me his new affinity for pressing his face up against a mesh storage tray (of which I promptly sent a picture to my wife) while we waited. Despite a small blowup as he watched her leave, he handled things really well. She was home soon enough and ready for some baby time before bed.

Day 7

It's the day after Labor Day, so the school year has officially started. To celebrate, my son once again got up after 10.

Today was supposed to be a 5-mile day, but as anyone who lives in the Northeast knows, that wasn't happening. I only have a month of training left for the Steamtown Marathon, and things haven't gone all that smoothly this summer. It seemed to be a whole lot easier last year, but that's probably because it was my first marathon and I was just excited to see if I was physically capable of completing it. It's not that I'm slacking this year, but I've just found it harder to get motivated. I guess I'm more of a "play to see how well you can do" rather than "play to win" kind of guy. Sorry.

There don't seem to be many options for working out when one has to watch a small child. I have run in the rain before, but I wouldn't dare take my son out in this type of weather. I suppose I could buy some sort of cover for the front of my (not-to-be-used-as-a) jogging stroller, but I shudder to think about how much virtual weight would be added by the wind resistance. While I no longer belong to a gym, I've seen what the "Day Care" at such establishments looks like. I can't imagine subjecting my son to that, nor would I expect my wife to approve of it either. I guess I could wait until he takes a nap; it would give me a chance to test the range of our baby monitor. I'm kidding, of course.


We signed up for two exciting activities today: Kindermusik on Wednesdays, and "storytime" on Thursdays at our local public library. I thought it was important for us to have some structure and a reason to actually wake up at a certain time occasionally, especially after marathon training ends. It will be interesting to see how he handles both, as he is probably a little young for both. My son is also starting "swimming" class again this Saturday. He (seemingly) loves the water, and I was disappointed that we didn't get a chance to visit our local pool more this summer. Luckily, our local high school offers swimming opportunities throughout the school year. We did it last Spring, and he was probably the youngest in the class. He alternated good and bad weeks, and then we discovered the previously mentioned  trick of giving him something to hold. Needless to say, "turtle friend" will never be far away from my son when we're in the pool.

Naptime was very late today- around 3:30. He was kind enough to wait to fall asleep until after we got home from buying season 7 of The Office at Best Buy. It only took 5 minutes for him to fall asleep after we got upstairs. I appreciated his efforts because I had to leave to teach my drum lesson when my wife got home at 4.

Tomorrow is an 8-mile and band practice day. It's likely to be another very, very rainy day. I also get "bonus time" with my son because my wife has "Back To School" night tomorrow evening. My first class has officially started. Things are about to get interesting.

Day 6

My son didn't wake up until after 10 today. I'm not complaining, just saying. We had planned on going to a coworker's family member's viewing today, but there is no way we could have made it. Once he had his breakfast, I got dressed and ready for my morning (mostly afternoon) run.

We didn't leave until after 11, as my son made up for a poopless yesterday with his first of a few special stinky gifts today. Remember how I said he had a soft taco for lunch yesterday? Well apparently he wanted to let his diaper know all about it, too. I'll just leave it at that. After a quick cleanup, we were finally on our way.

The trail was very lonely, save for a few diehards and an ecology class from the most local of colleges. We encounterd several of students along our 8 mile route, and my son did his best to charm each and every one of them. He was very talkative for most of the run and never once complained. I guess 14 hours of sleep will have that effect on a guy.

Without getting into too much detail, I should mention that one of us may have had an emergency due to drinking some questionable fountain water, and the other one was kind enough to hold open the stall door with his stroller while the other took care of important business. Funny faces help pass the time. The ability to improvise is likely the most important aspect of effective parenting.

We got home in time to catch the final 7 innings of a Phillies win. Around the bottom of the sixth, my son began to show signs of being ready for nap time. I took him upstairs and gave him the assistance he normally needs to get to sleep. However, he wasn't biting, and I stunk like a guy who had just jogged 8 miles, so something had to give. I put him down in his crib and prepared for his wrath. It took 12 minutes, but he finally succumbed to his own sleepiness, and didn't wake up until the dogs felt it necessary to alert him about a UPS delivery. By that time, Mommy had returned from her first (abbreviated) week back at work, and Labor Day weekend had begun. Also, I finally showered.

See you Tuesday.