The big move has happened. We have officially left the city of Seattle and are now residents of suburbia.
There are lots of things to like about the change - Helen and I are both much closer to our respective places of work, there's more room in the house for Kailyn to run around (once she learns how to run), the school systems are better (once she's old enough to attend), we found a nanny right around the corner from us, Helen's parents are close by for more babysitting and the area is probably a bit safer than where we used to live (though the homeless people and transvestites were always very nice to our daughter.)
That said, it is a bit weird for me to not live in Seattle, since it's the only place I've resided since I moved here seven years ago. I am no longer a stone's throw away from Safeco Field, downtown or Chinatown, and I won't be seeing the Space Needle when I drive out of my garage anymore.
But I think the biggest change is the symbolic shift I feel I'm making in my life, represented by the physical move - it's like I'm leaving my old life behind in Seattle, and am coming to the realization that I am a married guy with a kid, who is much closer to 40 years old than 30. All I need is a mini-van and my new life as a middle-aged dude will be complete. And before you know it, I'll be this guy, sans the frosty treats.
I love my job, my office, my boss and my coworkers. We work hard, but also have a good time - probably the best time I've had at work in years. In fact, I daresay it's the best work environment I've ever experienced.
However, as much fun as we have, I think these guys have us beat. At least on this day.* (Thanks, Karen.)
So far, I really only have one style for her, a spiked-up look in the front, which makes her look like one of three famous people or characters:
Morrissey
Conan O'Brien
or the Heat Miser
The coif is sorta similar to mine when I add gel to my hair. My mom says I stole that look from my dad, whom she once described as an Asian Nat King Cole:
Maybe it was the age difference, but once again I got a chance to see just how different little boys and girls are.
We went to a friend's house yesterday for a barbecue and to hang out on a nice summer day (hottest day of the year here: 85 degrees.) There were three boys there, all about 2 yrs old, and Kailyn. As you might imagine, the toys in the house were all cars or balls or fake tools, and the noise level from the boys was high as they would run in and out of different rooms, yelling and screaming. I think Kailyn was just stunned by it all. But unlike in previous social gatherings, where she got a little freaked out if people got too close
this time she took it all in stride and was cool and collected. Even after one of the little boys came up to her and took a swipe at her. Even after the same boy came over and sat down on her legs. And even after he took a tiny basketball and proceeded to bounce it off her head (okay, that one made her cry, but in her defense I think it was also her nap time. Otherwise I'm not sure she would've cried because she's so tough.)
I would like to have a boy if Helen and I decide to have another baby, but must say that I am pretty happy with a baby girl who just sits, observes and smiles instead of yells, throws things and generally causes mischief. Again, there was likely an age difference at play since the boys were a little older, but I somehow doubt our child will be bouncing balls off other kids' heads when she's 2.
Then again, ask me about whether I'd rather have a boy or girl again in 13 years, when Kailyn turns into an emotional teenager and tells us she hates us.
One of my wife's friends once told me that the first year of being a dad was tough on him because he felt like all he was doing was giving/providing for his baby and he wasn't get much in return on his investment since his infant couldn't talk, express appreciation or show (much) emotion to him.
I was worried that I might feel the same way once we had our baby, but that hasn't been the case at all. In fact, in some ways I feel like we won the lottery with our kid. From the time Kailyn was born she has been an expressive, smiley and engaged little baby with pretty much everyone. Her eye contact has been really good since her first days. I feel a strong connection to her and am pretty confident that she sees me as a loved one - or at least the guy who feeds her and changes her diapers sometimes.
One of my pet peeves is doing work and not being appreciated for it. I never feel that way with Kailyn.
Happy Birthday, Helen! It's pretty exciting that my beautiful wife is celebrating her first birthday as a mom. Letting Helen sleep in, making her bacon and pancakes for breakfast and buying her a scarf and massage certificate were pretty nice gifts, but Kailyn is the best present she ever could have asked for (I'll take partial credit for making that gift.)
I can't wait until our daughter is able to draw and write her name, so she can make mommy a homemade birthday card (hopefully one a little better than this one I made her - j/k.)
One of my friends and coworkers, Jordan, is quite the character. He's a really nice guy, funny and happy-go-lucky like me...most of the time. One difference we have is that while I am a label whore when it comes to clothes, he couldn't care less about what he wears and would pass on a Gucci shirt (gasp!) in favor of a $3 shirt from Target (nearly fainting.) Another difference is, as a mature adult who has already passed my athletic glory days, I look at competitions with a sense of 'If I win, great, if I lose, oh well.' Jordan? Get him involved in an athletic competition and watch out! As I mentioned in a previous post, he HATES to lose, taking things a bit more seriously than most other humans I know. For instance:
At a 'fun' team-building outing for our department a few months ago, we played mini-golf. Jordan and Sheppard, another friend/coworker, were tied heading into the last hole, and Jordan heckled Sheppard, in the hopes that he would choke (he did not.) Remember, this was at a department team building day, and our boss was there.
When Sheppard won, I didn't realize the significance of the moment or savor it nearly enough as I should have, mostly because I didn't know then 1) how much Jordan hates to lose and 2) how rarely it happens. In hindsight, I should have celebrated more, danced with joy and laughed at Jordan, even if it was not I who had beaten him because in the next dozen or so competitions we've had (tennis, home run derby, or a light game of croquet) Jordan has kicked my ass, then verbally recapped how badly he kicked it. Grr...
Apparently other people are equally intrigued/disgusted with his burning desire to win - Jordan has told me his friends revel in his athletic demise, even if it's playing a game of Madden on Xbox. He says his little niece once asked him, 'Uncle Jordan, why do people want you to lose so badly?' I'd say it's because he's a bit like Gaylord Focker in this scene:
On Monday, Jordan came into the office sporting three fresh stitches above his eye, the result of crashing into an outfield fence to snag a deep fly ball in his church's softball league game. When I asked him if he caught the ball he smiled and said yes. Then he mention he was named MVP of the tournament and that while he wouldn't do it again if he had the choice, it was nearly worth it. That's another difference we have - he was willing to put his mug in harm's way to catch a fly ball. I on the other hand, would do anything to protect my 'moneymaker' (what I used to call my face when I was on-air.)
For a while, I was not sure whether to admire the gladiator spirit Jordan has or be frightened that winning these minor competitions is so important to him. But after thinking about it, I have decided that Jordan's competitive spirit is a positive trait. Everyone should be passionate about something in life. Winning is Jordan's passion. In many ways, it reminds me of the inner-drive another guy with the same name once had:
UPDATE: Our other friend/co-worker, Des, a former Hugo Boss underwear model, beat Jordan twice in a row in tennis. On our dry-erase board in the man cave, I simply wrote 'Down goes Jordan!' and the dates the losses happened. All is good in the world. :)
It's amusing to me when people get stuff wrong, whether it's movie scenes, names or song lyrics. In addition to infamous ones like 'The Unusual Suspects,' and 'Boyz II Men/Chili's' (inside jokes for those in the know) there are a couple of other recent funnies I've heard people say. No names are being mentioned to protect the innocent. :)
For instance, this is actually a re-enacted scene from 'The Lord of the Rings,' NOT a speech by Moses in 'The Ten Commandments':
Also, this character's name is Simple Jack, not Simple Jim:
I should know, since many people call me that name. I can't quite figure out why...
Finally, a really common and funny one a friend once told me about was this one:
She (and many others) thought it was, 'Hold me closer, Tony Danza.'
Anyway, this isn't intended to make anyone feel bad; it's really just an an excuse to post these awesome video clips.
Right now Kailyn thinks I'm the coolest/funniest guy in the world and laughs at all my silly faces and noises. Like this one:
I know in a few short years, however, she will realize how corny I really am. That's when she'll request I drop her off at pre-school 3 blocks away so she won't have to be seen with me. Sort of like how Helen views me now :)
I have to admit when that time arrives I won't be mad because there are times when I act decidedly uncool (I know, hard to believe.) Here are a couple of recent examples that happened all in the same day:
I had to go to Boston on some family business, and while there got a chance to see a Red Sox game. Before the game Jason and I went to the team store, where the team's sideline reporter for the local cable TV station was making a 'celebrity appearance.' Normally I eschew going to these things because 1) I don't get starstruck easily 2) feel silly as a grown-ass man asking another adult for their autograph or photo and 3) have a large ego and altered sense of reality from my TV anchor days to the point where I still think people should be asking ME for MY autograph (j/k - sorta.) But in this case, since I was playing a tourist in my hometown, the line to meet her was short and she was really pretty, I went ahead and took a pic. Afterwards, I was happy I did:
When we got inside Fenway Park for the game, I decided to contact a former high school classmate of mine who works for the ballclub. He and I haven't seen each other in years, but I had his cell number and figured it was worth a shot to shoot him a text and say hi. To my surprise, he texted me back and invited me into his private suite. I went over, we chatted for a while, and I took a pic with him because by this point in the day I was already a picture-taking fool and didn't really care anymore. (Since the pic above with the reporter is much better, I'll spare you this photo.)
Minutes after I left the suite and was walking back to my seat, I decided to text Helen and tell her about my encounter, writing 'I just shot the breeze with xxxx!!!' (this guy is a kind of a big deal in Boston, hence the triple exclamation points.) But in my excitement of seeing him, I accidentally sent the text to him instead of Helen. Mortified, I sent another one apologizing and he was cool about it. But I was SO embarrassed, especially because I felt like a teeny-bopper girl who just met Justin Bieber, and as I mentioned I hardly ever get excited over these kinds of things. It was made all the worse because in hindsight I'm sure Helen didn't really care or need to know at that very moment what had transpired, and I felt stupid for texting MINUTES after it happened.
After the wave of shame and panic passed and my face stopped being red, I was comforted knowing that back in Seattle, Kailyn still thinks I'm a perfect blend of Asian Fonz, Kenny Powers and Dave Chappelle no matter what I do - one of the million reasons I love her. Hopefully her blind adulation of me will last a couple of more years.
A few weeks ago I noticed that Kailyn preferred Helen to put her to bed at night. On the one hand I thought, that's great - less work for me. But on the other hand, it made me feel a little left out since I am already at work all day, only get a chance to see the baby for maybe two hours before she has to go to bed and wanted to play with her and catch up on lost time.
I suppose it stands to reason that she would have a closer bond with her mommy, not only because they've hung out together all day, every day for the past seven months, but also because of that whole nine-months-in-the-womb thing.
It's funny because I used to laugh when I'd hear adults complaining about not feeling the love from babies. I'd say, 'C'mon don't take it personally, they're just babies. Lighten up!' But I can now sort of understand what they felt. Kailyn will always be Daddy's Little Girl, but for a while, she was definitely more on Team Mommy.
As Kailyn gets older she is starting to realize the difference between people she knows and people she doesn't. Like most babies, it can take a little while for her to warm up to strangers now and she gets overwhelmed when there is a lot of noise and people.
At a couple of functions we recently attended, Kailyn had a little crying episode that was completely out of character from her usual sunny disposition. In both cases, I think she was 'hangry' (so hungry that she was angry) but I'm sure the big crowd of strangers rolling up on her and wanting to hold her didn't help matters. In both cases she got better, and ended up her smiley self, but it was odd for Helen and me to see our baby so freaked out.
I joke that K is scared of crowds for the same reason that I was when I was a TV reporter doing live shots from the field - we both don't want anyone to mess up our hair!
"From this moment forward Kenny Powers is just like everyone else. Normal. Not special. No hopes. No dreams. Pretending to be happy when he’s really super sad. Just an average guy with exceptional hair. Nothing more, and nothing less."
Funny how babies pick up on certain things. The other day, I was sitting with Kailyn and passed gas. We had a brief moment of eye contact, then a big smile spread across her face and she laughed.
Since then, every time I fart she laughs, which makes me laugh. It's as if the baby already appreciates my low-brow humor. I can't wait to see her reaction to 'football in the groin':
