Les Singes: The Life of Monkey Boy

It Only Happens Once a Year

We've made it two years! Will I always remember her birthday as if it were yesterday? The smell of the hospital, the temperature that Sunday morning, things happening the weekend our daughter was born are still as clear as if they happened last week. You can see our bundle has grown to be quite the toddler. Heck, she's not even a baby anymore. She sings, she dances, she knows the difference between coffee and milk, she copies the actions of her parents, and most importantly she delights.

Baby Singe's arrival to this world wasn't smooth. My wife had to have a c-section to get our girl out of the womb. Her head was cone shaped, she weighed slightly under six pounds, we had to stay an extra day at the hospital, yet she was ours to take home. We took care of her during those first fragile weeks. I took a month off from work while my wife took off five to learn more about the girl who spent the previous 9-10 months growing inside her. We made it through the first year with a collective sigh.

Jump forward to August 5th, 2009 and I couldn't be prouder. I love our daughter so very much. She's already teaching me many things about myself much like her mom did when we first met. Well, I continue to get schooled by Mrs. Lessinges, but that's a topic for another day. Becoming a parent has been quite an eye opening experience. Every day evolves. Let me tell you this, I've had a blast this summer. The weather has been most remarkable in Seattle. We've spent the weekends learning and discovering all that our city has to offer. Many days I feel like a tourist in my own hometown, seeing many things for the first time such as the Filipino Festival a couple months ago.

In my college days I listened to a shock jock named Tom Leykis. He loved to rail against parents saying they have kids for egotistical reasons. While there may be some truth to his claim, there is a flip side... the payoff. Raising a child is not easy work, but I will say the work is definitely worth it in the long run. The first year was grueling. The second year has been a bit exhausting and trying. Watching an infant grow into a little person is one of the true wonders as they discover the world around them.

While I wrap up this post around 1:30am, I reflect back to the critical final hours in the hospital. I peered out the window, putting my hand in a box of Wheat Thins. Anything to calm my nerves and stomach as my wife endured very painful contractions. Out the window I could see the lights of the university's football field in the distance. It was a foggy night. In four short hours I would become a parent and my entire world enhanced. Baby Singes, we love you!

Alarm set for 5:18am on my cell phone.

I Love Humans

Okay, so maybe I borrowed the title of this post from a Facebook Status Update of mine earlier today. Sue me. This week has been a chaotic work week due to a three day onsite meeting. It was nice and all, but I feel as if I will be playing catch up for the next three weeks.

Anyways, I was sitting at my desk Friday attempting to clear my mountainous Inbox when my cell chirped. I didn't recognize the number, but I decided to answer. The voice on the other end says "Egan" with an inquisitive tone. I confirm it's me and the woman tells me she's got something for me.

Before I continue you need some background information. Rewind a month to an incident after work. I hopped in my car after exiting my brick building and drove down the alley between my office and daycare. I saw a oncoming car swerve to avoid striking something on the ground. Not sure what it was, I slowed down to get a closer look. Whoa, someone's shoulder bag was in the middle of the road. I pulled over, stuck it inside my car, and then went to retrieve Baby Singe from daycare. Once I got home I spent about 20 minutes carefully going through the bag seeking any sort of identification.

Eventually I was able to connect with the owner of the bag on the phone. We agreed to meet the following morning so I could return her shoulder bag. As usual, I was running late that day getting stuck behind a train. The lady met me in front of Starbucks and offered to buy me a beverage for my efforts. I didn't have time though since I still needed to drop off Baby Singe at daycare. I politely declined and didn't think I'd ever hear from the woman again.

That was until today when my cell phone rang. The lady wanted to meet with me to give me a gift. We met in front of the same Starbucks and she kindly presented a gift. It was a pink bag with a cute stuffed animal dog for Baby Singe. Color me impressed. My daughter loved the dog and we all go home happy. The lady said, "I haven't stopped thinking about you since that day". Only if....

The Laws of Murphy

Much has been said over the past couple days about sleep. A plague on both of your houses Daylight Savings Day.  Honestly, it wasn't too bad for us since our daughter awoke at 5:45am on Friday and Saturday morning.  Sunday rolls around and now she's sleeping in until 7:00 again.  Plus I did enjoy the extra daylight when I get home from work Monday.

The sleep I really want to chat about isn't of the pleasant variety. Things are a changing in our neighborhood all at once.  Our neighbors, whose son is two months younger than Baby Singe, are moving to San Francisco for work reasons.  It caught us by surprise when they broke the news a few weeks ago.

As a side consequence, unfortunately our neighbors had to put one of their dog's to sleep prior to this Wednesday's departure.  Their beloved Murphy has been part of their lives for 11 years, they got him two week's after their wedding.  We've enjoyed looking in their front window to see Murphy, a hunting dog, in their front window over the past four years.  Each morning as I would put Baby Singe in the car, I'd give a knowing nod in Murphy's direction and say "do you see the doggy in the window?"  We got one last glimpse of Murphy on our way out to breakfast Sunday morning.  Cancer had weakened Murphy substantially in the past six months, but I was happy to see him the window resting comfortably.

Time moves on.  Now our neighbor's are packing up their belongings and starting a new adventure in San Francisco.  Life really is constantly moving.  Sometimes if feels like the hour hand on a clock and other times it more closely mirrors the second hand.  My wife and I have really enjoyed their company whether we were discussing triathlons, Australia, dogs, toy stores, Apple gear, other neighbors, and the most popular topic... our kids.  My parents embarked on a similar relocation which brought my large family to Seattle in late 1970 from SoCal.  

O-a-t-m-e-a-l

Quick note here, it's daddy week again. Mrs. Lessinges is in Vegas for a trade show. I'm home with our adorable little curl girl who looks all grown up these days. She's got curls sprouting from her head, teeth mushrooming in her mouth, she's ever so close to walking, she can nearly spell oatmeal, she's off the bottle, and she finally faces forward in the cars.

I don't make this stuff up, she's growing. All of our efforts to curb her growth have failed. We tried excessive amounts of tv, not talking to her, swaddling her until she could crawl, and Gobstoppers for breakfast. Oh well, it's fun right now since she's a little parrot. She will attempt to repeat almost anything we say. Which does include such bad offerings as "oh shit" and "butt". This doesn't mean we love her any less. Heck, she tries to pucker her lips like I do when making stupid animal noises.

Sunday we visited our friend's house across town. The weather in Seattle was nearly perfect as the kids played outside. Our friends have a four year old daughter and their neighbors have four playful kids, I think. Baby Singe loves to watch the other kids. She's full on giggling these days. The best part is we figured out how to illicit her giggles. If I run or play tag with her in my arms, she has giggles relentlessly.

Yeah, this is one of those doting dad posts. This could be a tough week since Baby Singe is now in the habit of saying "mommy" whenever we begin the nighttime routines. She's also kind of switched her focus to mom right now. I don't take it personally seeing as it's so darn cute to watch the girls snuggle. By posting this, I guarantee this will provide ample good parenting karma for the week.

A Bucket Full of Hate

Holy cow, there's a lot of angst on the internet recently. I've read a fair share of "hate" posts. So I thought I'd add to the misery since we love company. Are all bloggers melancholy or what? How's that for a sweeping generalization?

I hate ice cream. I hate the way it tastes after 9:00pm while watching a reality tv show. It's dreadful and never comforts me. I hate the way it feels in my mouth and how I'm powerless in its presence.

I hate the teddy bears. They scare me and shouldn't be allowed in my bed no matter what. I've got a wife, therefore I don't need a teddy bear. They're a lousy excuse for a pillow.

I hate French. There's a reason most of the world speaks English today. Get that in your head Frenchies. You're not liked, you're hated. There, suck on that. All those stupid silent letter and throat clearing noises are boring. Sacré shit!

Ha, global warming, I hate you. You don't exist I don't care what others say. I'm always a bit chilly so therefore the globe can't be warming up. I know, I know, some think I'm silly for my hatred of global warming. Mark my words, polar bears will never go extinct in my lifetime.

I hate political ads. Have fun with that one.

I hate all products produced by Steve Jobs and anyone associated with him. They suck big time. They're appear to be all slick and shit, but really they're gimmicks. Anyone with half a brain can see it's all about marketing. An iPod is just a vehicle to hook the masses.

I hate smarmy people. Speaking of words beginning with the letter S, I hate sarcasm because it's typically used to mask one's true feelings. They try to act like they're understanding, but what they're really doing is straddling the fence. Ugh, I really don't like the sarcastic types.

Finally, I hate blogging and those who blog, bloggers. Yes, this very medium I use to pass along my message of hate is the bane of my existence. It teases me with with giggles from strangers near and far. Sometimes it jolts me awake in the middle of the night. Blog, to your room now!

Pink Parade

It's her day to shine. Actually, it's more like it's her three days. Friday through Sunday my wife will walk 20 miles each day as part of her commitment to fight breast cancer as a walker in the Breast Cancer 3-Day. She hasn't trained as much as she'd like, yet I'm certain my wife will do just fine. Over the next few days there will be plenty of tears shed as a parade of walkers weaves through the Seattle suburbs before finishing downtown.

I'm taking the day off tomorrow to show my support. Anna and I will be roadside giving mom, and the masses, all the props she/they deserve. It will be awe inspiring to say the least.

Personally, I'd like thank all of you who contributed to my wife's efforts. Through everyone's support she raised nearly $3500 and her team pulled in $90,000. Most importantly, this means the world to those diagnosed with breast cancer. Someday, someday it might be possible to eradicate breast cancer forever. Wouldn't that be nice? Even if you weren't able to donate money, I know you're right there, stride for stride, with my wife. I've been very happy to help my wife in her fundraising efforts and once again can't thank you all enough. Take care everyone and have a fantastic weekend!

366 Days Later

She's hit the big milestone.  More importantly we survived our first year as parents.  All week long you can bet I'll rehash my thoughts on the first year as parents.  As you've read here many times, it has been a rollercoaster ride the past twelve months.  I'm happy to report we survived and have very fond memories of the past 52 weeks. Our daughter has taught us so much about ourselves and the way we view the world.

Love.  I'm not even sure I can explain how much joy our daughter brings to our lives.  Crazy how a small person who can't even walk or talk can impact us so fast.  I would say it took roughly 2 hours to fall in love.  Even after she made her grand arrival on a rainy August Sunday morning, we were totally smitten.  I'm shocked how much time I spend thinking about my own childhood as the result of becoming a parent.  I'm relieved I have positive memories from my youth.

To celebrate Anna's big first birthday, I put together a slide show of pictures taken over the past year.  There are 120 photos, so pace yourself.  They're in chronological order so you can watch her steadily grow.  It's weird for me to look back and see how tiny she was.  I vaguely remember her diminutive stature when we first brought her home.  She was herself.  She's a feisty little girl, they even called her "feisty" on her daycare sheet Monday.  It made me grin as I read it yesterday afternoon.

Today I plan on taking her to a couple places she's never visited.  Do a couple things she's never done.  I hope to make this a birthday tradition.  I think there's a wading pool waiting for her dainty feet.  We covered the getting in grocery crates routine during her birthday party.

Speaking of the birthday party, it was fantastic.  Lots of adults and kids were present.  The expression on our daughter's face as we sang Happy Birthday was priceless.  Heck, don't take my word, check it out for yourself.   Happy August 5th to everyone!!

Getting the Worm

There are people in society who take the plunge when others, the less intrepid types, aren't so willing.  I'm talking about those of you who bought a Toyota Prius or an iPod in the year 2002.  Yes, I'm talking about those risk takers known as early adopters.   Being an early adopter typically involves money thus making early adoption exclusive.  However, there are free things like blogging or the discovery of Facebook, which don't require greenbacks. 

Personally I like to sit back and wait a few years as the kinks have been ironed out.  I'm fascinated by new ideas/technology, but I'm rarely a trend-setter when it comes to actual usage of the products.  You could say I'm a bit of a bandwagon type, but I'm not sure it paints an accurate picture.  Heck I was an early adopter of the Handspring Visor, I'm a Graffiti pro.

What I do know is if it weren't for early adopters of new products, lots of cool ideas wouldn't be available to the mainstream public.  I've been more than willing to test out new software and gadgets when they're in a beta phase.  For those of you willing to put yourself on the line and become an early adopter, thank you.  Thank you very much for furthering the cause.

I say this mainly because I have three gadgets I really love these days.  Our Prius, my iPod touch, and TiVo.  Our Prius is such a bitching car, but it took much research and feedback from the first generation of drivers to make the car what it is today.  You even have to give those Honda Insight drivers some street cred.  I know there are naysayers when it comes to the Prius citing it's too expensive and it's funny looking.  Fine, say what you want about the car.  I happen to believe it's the best car I've piloted, no joke.  Spacious, practical, handles well, comes in 8 shades of gray, and has cool control knobs.

Same goes for the iPod touch.  I love that sucker.  It's a gadget I could easily do without, but it's so damn practical.  The first iPhone users made the iPod touch a reality.  Trust me, I don't work for Apple.  I don't even know one person who works for them, yet I know about 10 Microsoft employees.  It's a really nifty gadget which has helped simplify my life just a bit.  

TiVo, what a sweet invention this is.  The ability to pause and record live television.  So awesome.  I catch myself wanting to pause and rewind radio all too often.  That or someone walks by and I catch them doing a funny gesture, I want to press a button to rewind their action and see it again.  VHS had nothing on TiVo I tell you.  TiVo's benefits to the parenting community is significant.  Being able to plop ourselves in front of the tv to watch some brain candy after the little ones tire out for the day, priceless.  UPDATE: now I can set TiVo to record stuff from my computer.  I don't even need to be camped out on our basement couch to select shows.  So instead of reading blogs while at work, I can find the latest HBO Real Sex program and record that puppy.  Woot woot!

Thank you early adopters!  I'd hug you, but blogs don't work like that YET!

Who's Your Daddy?

My very first Father's Day is in the books.  I have to admit it was a nearly perfect Sunday.  We began the day with a nice homemade breakfast.  Miraculously the clouds parted, allowing us to go for a nice long stroll.  We packed up the baby mobile and ventured out for our family bonding adventure.  Before we left though, I installed one of those fun gates designed to keep babies out of unwelcoming area such as our dining room. I felt like such a man with all my tools, nuts, and screws.  With the gate properly installed, now all I need to do is housebreak Baby Singe.

Halfway through our walk we made an impromptu pit stop at the beach so our little girl could put her feet in chilly Lake Washington.  She had a really good time watching the other kids, watching the duck and duckling, and was blinded by the many pasty white appendages.  It was finally warm enough for me to get a sunburn on my arms.  On our way back to our house, we stopped at the local Italian joint and got some yummy food. 

The rest of the day was spent performing other manly duties like mowing the lawn, weeding, and grilling for my friends.  My buddy and his girlfriend made a quick detour on their way to Portland, Oregon.  We cooked up some tasty food and had good discussions about life, college, dating, kids, Priuses, home ownership, and our days of innocence. 

Being a dad is fun.  Without a doubt there have been some tough times, but those seem like blips on the radar and make you appreciate the good ones so much more.  Speaking of parenting, my wife and I consider ourselves to be "co-parents" or at least that's what some article called it when mom & dad split the duties evenly.  Huh, I wouldn't think you'd need a term for something so obvious.  There's one little task I still don't like doing, the clipping of the fingernails.  Otherwise, I'm golden.

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Current Obsessions: Euro 2008, Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream, Wii Fit, The Bachelorette, and Lara Spencer.

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...and after 7.5 years working for Starbucks, today is my wife's final day on the coffee giant's payroll.  The transition between jobs will be interesting.  I just received my wife's farewell email to coworkers and it made me tear up a speck. 

A Maytag Moment

It was a hot, hot summer day.  I drove my Honda Accord 180 miles north on the interstate to visit a new acquaintance.  We had a nice early dinner out on the town and went back to her pad.  Her apartment was a three bedroom one bathroom dwelling with a chilly outdoor pool.  She had two roommates, one I met the night of our first encounter. 

We'd known each other about three weeks or so.  Her place was furnished with some cute Ikea furniture and had a nice breeze blowing through the curtains.  It was a cozy pad.  They had a tiny galley kitchen with a fridge up against the wall.  I noticed the swing on the fridge door was awkward.  The hinges on the right side made it a touch awkward to remove mayo, beer, or whatever else you might want. 

I decided I would do something about it.  Why?  Well because sometimes I think I'm more talented than I actually am.  I figured I could easily move the hinges from the right side of the fridge to the left side of the lime green appliance.  Twenty minutes into the project I discovered it would take much longer than the 60 minutes I promised this new lady friend of mine.  I had become sweaty and cranky.  I didn't know this person for more than three weeks and there I was dismantling her fridge door with nuts and bolts strewn on her kitchen floor as she watched patiently. 

She humored me with idle chit chat.  She helped me remain as level headed as possible.  It turned out there was some fridge part missing which wouldn't allow my good deed to work at all.  Four hours later I pieced the fridge door back together, put on the hinges, and closed the door.  Did I also close the door to my relationship with my new lady friend?  Did the door to the fridge close firmly as before?   No and no. 

This day I got to know someone like I've never known before.  I learned a good discussion can be as rewarding as attempting to change the swing of a fridge door.  I learned when someone can laugh at your brave attempt to perform an unnecessary good deed, you better keep them by your side.  That I did.  Of course this story is about Mrs. Lessinges and one of our first "dates".  Today is her special day.  Happy birthday to you!