Let's Compare

I have a few friends that do not have children, but they do have dogs.
Now, I have grown up with dogs, I love dogs and I plan on getting a dog once the boys are old enough to help out.

Saying all of this I need to bring up a point that was hammered home recently when someone I know started comparing their dog to a child or more specifically a baby. Is a dog part of the family? Yes. Do we baby our dogs? Yes. However, please stop comparing them to an actual baby.

Dogs to not wear diapers.
I have never seen anyone wipe a dog's ass after it took a dump. (Note, if you do see someone doing this, please let me know right away so I may laugh at them)

Sure you have to "baby proof" the house for both. You talk like an idiot to both a baby and a puppy, but please stop telling me they are like the same responsibility.......

This brings me to a new tv show. One couple has a puppy and another couple has a baby. The switch for 1 week and we get to watch the high comedy that takes place. We'll call it "Poop&Pup"

The alarm clock?

I have written several times about Ben waking up early and me seeing the sunrise.
Needless to say, I have not used my alarm clock in close to one year.....

Well, this particular morning, Ben woke up very early and Beth was kind enough to get up with him (it was actually her turn). On this morning, he was so tired, Beth decided to put him back in his crib which was an amazing move since he fell back to sleep. Now, all of these events took place before 5:30am

Were we going to sleep late? Could this actually happen?

There I am...asleep...dreaming.......Then I am woken to this, "Daddy, I'm going to make a doody".

Who needs an alarm clock.................

Hi Neighbor

Here are my observations of the neighborhood when I get up in the morning with Benjamin....


Oh wait., that at 4:30am and IT'S STILL DARK OUTSIDE!! I CAN NOT SEE ANYTHING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're Out

I did not grow up playing a lot of baseball. It was just not the sport I played as a kid and as I got older I did not even follow the pro team. I was a football fan and the Eagles were my team. The Phillies were just the hometown team, but I never really knew all the players.

Now that I live in Boston, this city kind of makes you a baseball fan. Just go to Fenway and you are hooked. I've written about taking Mason to his first game and now he loves to play baseball in the back yard. We switch between being the batter and the pitcher all day long. Here are a few reasons why playing baseball with your young child is the best.

When you are the pitcher, you are ALWAYS Dice-K.
You can get a homerun by hitting a bunt.
The baseball diamond is really a hexagon and the distance between first base and second base is three steps, but the distance between second and third is the length of the whole yard.
When you are Ortiz, you have to spit in your hands.
When you are Youk, you have to hold the bat funny.
Every time you are Tek, the other person has to say they love Tek.
Manny is a Dodger, but when he's in the back yard, he's still a Red Sox (and he still tries)
The rules change pitch by pitch.
One minute the score is 5 to 3 and after I strike out, the score is 15 to 1.
If you have to go pee while running to third base, just stop and pee on the grass.
Sometimes the pitcher and the batter are on the same team.
You can play barefoot.
If someone brings up the Yankees, you have to say that the Yankees are "stinky" or "Boo Yankees"
Playing in the backyard must always be FUN.

Laughing is part of the rules.

I try not to get sappy when I write this stuff, but today, while playing baseball in the backyard, I realize that this is one of those amazing moments. I can look back on these memories and find the true joy in being a dad. Playing baseball with your son on a cool, day towards the end of summer, the sun low in the sky, the breeze slightly blowing.........yeah this day kicks ass.

What time is it?

Mason has a fever.....Poor little guy. He makes a face when he is sick that is very close to pathetic, but not quite. It's probably closer to just sad, but I feel so sorry for him when he is sick.

I'm getting a head of myself. You see today started at 3:58am when Ben woke up screaming. I can not understand why my son enjoys waking up this early or why he enjoys making me so damn tired that I fall asleep when I brush my teeth. Beth and I have decided that he just needs to cry it out when he wakes up the early, so that is what he did......for a half hour.

So, it's not 4:30am and he goes back to sleep, but to my excitement and joy, Mason decided to wake up a few minutes after Ben. Now, when Mason wakes up, he moves as silent as a ninja. I never hear him and the next thing you know, he is just standing in our room, hovering over you. It actually scares the crap of of me. The scene is right out of a freaky horror flick.

So, we put him to bed and we get some extra sleep, until Mason comes back in to the room. He does this several times, until we just give in and let him climb in to bed. Mason does not lay down calmly. He moves around like a fish flapping on the ground. It's rather difficult to go back to sleep.....then the question comes. "Can I watch tv?" At this point it is 5:50am. My response is that he can watch the tv at 6:00am......."Daddy, it's now 5-5-1....daddy, it's now 5-5-2...daddy, it's now 5-5-3." You get the point..........Please make this stop, make the pain go away.

When all is said and down, I fall back asleep and awaken to the sound of the Doddle-Bops coming form the tv. This is pure evil. If you do not know what the Doodle-Bops are, then consider yourself blessed......

Ben wakes up, Mason still has a mild fever and the day begins. I just wish the day would begin after the sun rises.

Scraps is a boy dog

When I come home from work, I always ask Mason how his day was and sometimes I get a really good story (most of the time Mommy has to fill in the blanks). Today was one of those days.

So, Mommy was driving the kids home when they came across someone walking their dog. This was not ordinary, run of the mill dog, but a giant Great Dane. I guess Beth was not driving fast and Mason got a good look at this giant dog. As Beth tells the story, it was easy to tell this was boy dog and I guess Mason noticed this fact too. From the back seat comes this observation.

"Mommy, that dog has a huge bone hanging off his butt"

And that is the real reason they sniff each other.