Author: MRJ

In the middle of March I opened my last Christmas present, a BBQ.

Since that day I have found myself behind the grill every few days. Sometimes twice in the same day, I have yet to manage the Tri-fecta but it’s only May I will before the end of the summer. Jacob loves the BBQ too, and not just for the food. While I BBQ he gets to play in the playground in-front of our place. A great way for our little guy to burn off his excess energy. It’s going to be a great Summer, I can’t wait to be able enjoy the food from the BBQ on the Patio.

So it was tragic last weekend when I went out to grill a quick lunch and found that I was out of Propane. It took me a week to find the time to get the tank refilled.The first thing I did when I put the new tank on was fire it up and cook up some burgers.

Last night Melissa and I shared a parental moment, one we aren’t eager to repeat. Jacob was sleeping in his bed and Violet was sleeping in her bassinet. Melissa and I were just getting ready to head off to bed ourselves when Violet stirred, so we picked her up. She was hots, he had a fever to go with her stuffed nose. So some Infant Tylenol for the fever and Saline drops for her nose, then comfort her till she falls back to sleep. Standard sick child response. Of course she isn’t the only sick child in our house, and while we were comforting Violet, Jacob decided that he needed some comforting of his own.

The fist sign that Jacob was out of bed was his shadow on the wall. We see it as he slowly comes down the stairs, last night we saw the shadow but Jacob just sat at the top of the stairs. This has been common for him during this illness, he doesn’t seem to have the energy to make it down the stairs so he waits at the top for mommy or daddy to carry him down. Last night Melissa was on the couch with Violet so I carried him down. We did a quick transfer of children and I rocked violet while Melissa comforted Jacob and gave him some Advil.

As I stood rocking Violet I looked over at Melissa comforting a sick Jacob then down at Violet I knew that though we could be up for hours comforting them illness this time was special, there will come a time where sick or not our little ones wont be little anymore and sitting rocking with mommy or daddy just wont be an option for comforting them.  Of course that wont be for years to come. Last night we were lucky after their medicine and some comforting they both went to sleep, I’m hoping that our luck will last through this bout of illness.

Violet is growing so fast. It seems like yesterday we brought her home from the hospital. It seems that every day there is something new. When I first saw her in the Exersaucer on the weekend I couldn’t believe that my tiny girl was holding her head up so well. Looks like Its almost time for the Bumbo chair.

Of course as she grows we compare her to Jacob. We look back trying to remember the fist time he went into his Exersaucer, or when he started holding his head up. This is natural, but misleading every child develops at their own pace and comparing only highlights there difference. If one child holds their ahead up at 3 months another at 4 all it tells you is that one held there head up earlier then the other and thats normal. All the books on baby development give large ranges for development milestones, for this very reason

One of the big differences between them is talking, or more accurately babbling. Jacob was a quiet baby he didn’t do much of the baby talk. Of course once he started talking he didn’t look back. Violet on the other hand likes to babble. She can sit in her baby chair and babble up a storm. In fact most nights before she goes into her bed for the night, she lies next to me on the couche and bables away. It’s like she is tell me about her day.

Today is my birthday, today I turn 20 or 32 or 40 or even 100000 depending on how you look at it. For most of you out there you’d probably just think of me as 32.

What makes this birthday special, is that it’s the first since Violet was born, and for the first time Jacob knows that its a special day. In fact he was the first to wish me a Happy Birthday this morning. I was sitting on the couch with Violet and I heard Jacob start down the stairs about half way down he looked over at me and Yelled, ‘Happy Birthday, Daddy’. He then finshed going down the stairs and gave me a birthday hug. It was a great way to start the day.

I have also seen an interesting theme developed with the few gifts I have received, and that is baseball. I have received a pair of tickets to a game and a Blue Jays gift card, which I’ve redeemed for a free ticket vochure. Plus I can now pick-up something from the Blue Jays store. It will be interesting to see if Melissa’s present continues the theme. Of course for that I will have to wait for the family dinner tonight.

I’ll leave you with the lyrics from my favorite birthday song by The Arrogant Worms

Once a year we celebrate with stupid hats and plastic plates
The fact that you were able to make another trip around the sun
And the whole clan gathers round and gifts and laughter do abound
And we let out a joyful sound and sing that stupid song

Happy Birthday
Now you’re one year older
Happy Birthday
Your life still isn’t over
Happy Birthday
You did not accomplish much
But you didn’t die this year
I guess that’s good enough

So let’s drink to your fading health and hope you don’t remind yourself
Your chances of finding fame and wealth decrease with every year
Does it feel like you’re doing laps and eating food and taking naps
And hoping that some day perhaps your life will hold some cheer

Happy Birthday
What have you done that matters?
Happy Birthday
You’re starting to get fatter
Happy Birthday
It’s downhill from now on
Try not to remind yourself
Your best years are all gone

If cryogenics were all free then you could live like Walt Disney
And live for all eternity inside a block of ice
But instead your time is set this is the only life you get
And though it hasn’t ended yet sometimes you wish it might

Happy Birthday
You wish you had more money
Happy Birthday
Your life’s so sad it’s funny
Happy Birthday
How much more can you take
But your friends are hungry
So just cut the stupid cake

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday
Dear (continuous names)

Lyrics from letssingit.com

Hello Wold…

Two simple words, but words I have typed a number of times. Whenever you learn a new programming language it is customary to write a Hello World program. Its a good way to learn the basic syntax of the language. The first Hello World program I wrote was on the Commodore 64, it looked something like this:

10 print "Hello World"
20 goto 10

I could try and remember all the different versions of Hello World I’ve written, but this blog is about more the programming so I will be content with sharing a link to a site that specializes in them, The Hello World Collection.

Of course programming isn’t the only place you start with Hello World, the default post on most of the blogging software I considered for this site was titled Hello World. So it seemed appropriate for my first post to expand on that basic theme.

So again I say Hello world, welcome to Geek With Kids. Here you will find the random ramblings of a geek dad. I will write about Family, Fatherhood and my Geeky Pursuits.

The family is Melissa, The Wife. She is my best friend and the women I will spend the rest of my life with. Jacob, The Boy. Our first born, he turns 3 this June. A day doesn’t go by where he doesn’t say or do something that amazes me. Violet, The Girl. Our second child born January 20th. She’s a smiley happy baby that brightens my days. And of course I can’t forget Chloe ,the cat.

Fatherhood, has changed my life and watching them grow is inspiring, it seems like everyday one of the kids does something that is new and exciting,  whether it’s Violet rolling over for the first time or Jacob Climbing up the Tires in a local park for the first time. These are moments that I want to remember and what better way to remember them then to share them.

Which of my geeky pursuits will make into the blog, I’m not sure. Programming seems a given, and so do Gadgets but beyond that like a lot of things with this blog I am still trying to figure it out. To find out you’ll have to keep coming back.

Jacob Skating from Evolving Dad on Vimeo.