I feared the moment as I woke up yesterday morning, but I knew time would quickly come…the time when I had to watch the kids, and put them to bed, all by myself! AHHHH…the past few nights have been terrible, and that was with Andrea around. Asher fusing, Jadyn crying, Jadyn not wanting to go to bed, and then randomly yelling at us around 11:00 (hadn’t been to sleep yet - not sure what she had been doing the past few hours) that she wanted to come down and watch a movie. A movie?! It’s freaking 11:00 at night!
Last night wasn’t like that at all. The kids were great. Asher took a bottle around 8 and then knocked off long enough for me to put Jade to bed (doesn’t he look like a playa (in gansta voice) in his baseball PJ’s?). I even got a cup of coffee in middle of it all! I felt good the entire night - like I had my daddy mojo running.
There is something very satisfying about managing this chaos. I know it isn’t always this easy, but I would imagine little moments like the above make all the bad days worth it for my stay-at-home wife.
Asher turned three months old today. He now looks like a “normal” baby. Aside from the wires that are still attached to him, and the shaved spot on his head that is just now starting to grow back, you wouldn’t be able to tell he was a preemie. We have come along way from the tiny little guy to the chunk that he is today….God is good….
Right after birth
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For those new readers, be sure to stop by here and here and here and here for the backstory on our little guy.
I have had one question rocking my brain the past few weeks. It seems like a simple question with an impossible answer, but I’m going to ask you to give me one….
If you could be one age for the rest of your life, what would that age be (”age” being more of stage in life, but tied to an age)?
Here are some of my thoughts….
Being a baby would rock because you get to eat, sleep and poop all day; however, you can’t do anything on your own. But then, you are a simple pure being, shielded from all the crap that goes on in the world.
I love the stage my daughter is in right now — extremely creative and free. The world is a giant classroom with so much opportunity for learning; however, there is still a lot she is not able to do on her own.
High school was a blast for me. Driving around with friends, no worries of the future (college, work, etc.) and always living in the present. No real need for commitment to anything, but a willingness to experiment and exist. The only issue here is that freedom only goes as far as one’s parents let it during the high school stage.
College was fun for me, but I didn’t go through college like most people. I got married the middle of my sophomore year and did the school/working thing to make mortgage payments for the next 2.5 years. The fun part of college for me was becoming a husband - and sex (yes, I said it - SEX…).
I’ve blogged about this several times, but I can’t get enough of how my cute little girl is becoming her own little self within the past few months….
Yesterday morning, as I was rushing out the door to get to work (don’t hurt me, Taffy, I’m not always late!) (Taffy is our COO and head HR person - she looks friendly, but she can kick anyone’s…well, you know), I forgot to do what I do every morning - kiss both my girls goodbye and tell Jadyn to be a good girl for her mommy. I didn’t think anything of it until I got home for lunch and Jadyn screamed out, “Daddy, you didn’t kiss me goodbye this morning.” Wow - talk about a heart melter. Soon afterward, she rushed over to where I was at in my home office and leaped up to me with open arms and placed a big wet one on my cheek.
Then, last night, as I was putting her to bed, I asked if she wanted help putting on her P.J.s (it’s a bit painful to watch her struggle to get those clothes on without screaming, “LET ME DO IT!”), to which she quickly replied - NO. I softly, and calmly said “OK”. Jadyn stopped what she was doing, looked me in the eyes and asked, “Are you sad, Daddy?” Again, more heart melting…
When and how she started to develop this understanding, I don’t know, but I do know that she is quickly becoming her own, self-sufficient little being. I love being a parent!
We’ve been watching a lot of the Olympics at our house. Jadyn has really enjoyed watching all of the athletes in action and tries to mimic what they are doing (although, we had to put a stop on the high dive attempts). The below video was captured Sunday night…
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The above is what I came home to after a 3:00 AM to 5:00 PM travel day, starting in Seattle WA and ending back in good old Indiana. It was an amazingly productive trip, but I am so glad to be home, and to come home to such a welcome. In addition to the above, Jadyn made me a nice card (with the help of mom, of course). They make all the travel, and the extended trips worth it.
Below are some photos I took during the trip that you may have caught on my Flickr Feed. I think I’m going to keep that feature up with random daily/weekly photos.
Here is my conversation with the front desk tonight after spending 5 minutes trying to remember my room and testing out my key in 10+ doors….
Front Desk - How can I help you?
Me - Can you tell me what room CJ Mills is staying in?
Front Desk - No, but I can transfer you.
Me - What if I am CJ Mills?
Front Desk - *laughter*
Me - *not laughing*
Front Desk - *clears throat* Can I have your address to confirm?
Me - (after giving my info) Does this happen often?
Front Desk - No.
Please tell me I’m not the only one to forget something like this. Anyone else forget something simple like your room in a hotel or a parking space in a parking garage? Please feel free to lie just to make me feel better….
I’ve seen a lot of sucessful people today, all with different backgrounds, but all sucessful nonetheless. Amongst all of their different personalities, titles and companies, I noticed that there was one trait they all share - they all bust their butt, and have early on as high school or college kids. I love that about business - if you’re willing to put in the effort, regardless of who you are, you can do well for yourself.
Today, I had dinner at an In-N-Out Burger, a staple food stop for any left-coast visitor. As I was enjoying my double-double burger, I found it interesting that this burger joint started from scratch and, with a little (or a lot) of effort, has become an extremly popular place to eat with locations everywhere out here. In-N-Out is no different than Apple, Wal-Mart or Disney - they all needed someone to execute and idea by putting in the effort.
3 Months Old
