the learning curve: actually a circle

alright. i've been riding the easy train as of late with my posts. i'm ready to step it up a notch and give you readers something to truly sink your teeth into and ponder til the next moment of brilliance for which i will allow you to be a part of. now this won't change the world or anything i just want it to make you think--act--movethroughyourday--in--a--different--manner than you ever have in the past. simple enough.

parenting is hard. hold on it gets better. parenting is hard and it gets harder everyday.

there you have it. good, right? yeah, i thought so too.

i remember thinking how incredibly difficult life was for us when calli lived in the nicu. all the wires. all the feeding tubes. all the blood tests. all the blood transfusions. all the blah-blah-blah. so yeah, that time could not have been more difficult. at that time. but as we move through this little girl's life things get exponentially more difficult. i'm using the word difficult in a "hi mrs. cleaver, you look nice this evening." says eddie haskell, kind of way. there are moments of truth in the word, but over all the rise in the level of difficulty makes me smile. when one thing seems to ease, another pops up and seems even worse than the last. apparently --per my mother-- it gets harder the further they get away form the home.

i guess all the boring-bullshit clichés are right. fucking experience. it does pave the way. if we would just listen.

so i go back to my little life and continue to help raise my daughter knowing that the harder it gets will never amount to how hard it will get. with ease.

freinds till the end

i have posted before about calli's bff giada. the friend she made while in the nicu. it's fun for us to play around and buy them bff shirts and braclets but sometimes it really seems to be the case.

we went to dinner with the mcg's the other night and giada just couldn't get enough of calli. they were running around and giada kept trying to kiss calli. calli had so much fun playing hard to get. she would watch giada getting close and then run. but just to keep giada interested she gave in a couple of times and john snapped a some great pics.

these girls have a special relatioinship. i feel lucky to have met them.

the makings of a girly-girl

i posted recently about the influences that surround calli. specifically my sister. well now another has surfaced. my mother. i love how calli gets so much time with her, and i know they both enjoy every moment. but through all this quality-time, calli has quickly found an affinity for putting on make-up.

i'm not quite sure how i feel about this. after all the girl is only 21 months old. i'll admit it's quite cute to watch her emulate my mother when she puts her make-up on but i don't think i want her growing up this fast. I know every parent says that same thing but i think they all truly feel it.

either way, the situation brought me back to the thought of who interacts with my daughter. i'm actually fine with my mother showing her how to apply blush it just makes me think about how hard it's going to be when the wrong people start showing up. you can never be too careful but at the sametime you don't want to smother them either. i guess the ride continues.

my wife loves the idea of her getting this exposure. she says calli will definitely need this from my mom and sister since they're way more girly-girl than she.


*on a side note i snapped the first photo and she noticed me there and began to pose for a few that followed. she loves that spotlight. a girl after her own daddy's heart.

let sleeping babies lie?

"they" always say to keep the child out of your bed. which makes great sense on paper. if they get too attached they'll want to sleep in your bed all the time. yeah, i get it. but at 345 in the am i (or normally my wife) find it hard to just walk around holding a 25lb toddler till she falls asleep again. if she gets in our bed, she generally hits rem sleep within seconds then moves back to her own bed. no big deal, case closed everyone back to sleep by 4am. cool? well, i started thinking differently the last couple of days. she has been in our bed when the alarm sounds and i wonder how comfortable is she with this?

my daughter is smart. i don't say that as some kind of declaration to show how that's my doing. i say that because it just hit me and now i'm really scared. she gets what's going on around her and i can see the wheels of manipulation turning at all times. she knows where she has us and how to use that to her advantage. which brings me back to the sleep thing. how long before she wakes up and has to finish out the night in our bed? without even knowing. the natural, unconscious instinct to cry and continue to cry till she gets what she wants. her little mind has started putting 2 & 2 together and understanding everystep of the way. i just hope this doesn't happen in her sleep.

they always seem sweet on the outside --the aunts

(dotphoto access-user name: callia password: haines)

we're a close family and when i say that i include the extended parts as well. on both side. more so on my side since the majority of my family lives in austin. so we see alot of each other. especially my sister and her "boyance". (pronounced: boy-ahn-say)

they spend quite a bit of time with calli and we love how much she enjoys her time with them. but sometimes you have to step back and take a look and the influences surrounding your child. you have to decide if they're setting the proper example and how the relationship will shape who your child will become.

i have never really thought twice about it since it is my sister. i feel i can pretty much trust her judgement. the worst she's could do would probably be exposing calli to way too much candy. or maybe dressing a little on the slutty side.

whoa! what did i just say?

that's right, dressing too slutty.

apparently my sister dresses too slutty for the women's gym chain curves. yeah, i know. why she signed up to go to there in the first place is a whole other story.

anyway, she and my mom went to workout yesterday afternoon and not even 20 minutes after leaving they were knocking at my door. so i open it and my sister had tears flying from her face and nothing intelligible coming form her mouth. i'm thinking she got in an accident, found out she's pregnant or her "boyance" has left her. oh no that would have been too easy. after she calmed down a bit i got the full story.

are you ready for this? go ahead and sit down.

okay, she got kicked out of curves for wearing shorts that were too short. no lie. and i don't mean you have to leave kicked out. i mean let me rip up your contract-here are your checks-we don't ever want to see your face around here-or-on any of the near by street corners-thank you very much-kicked out.

Of course we all couldn't stop laughing at this but it made me think. what kind of message will this send my daughter. you can dress how ever you want and get away with it? i don't think so. you can bet i'll have a close eye on my sister to make sure she won't be dragging my daughter down that "woman of the night" path she has so willing chosen.