Give me a Kiss

Dominic has apparently has mastered blowing kisses. What concerns me is that he learned it at daycare. And today one of the girls (an infant, not a daycare worker) kissed him. Maybe he's a ladies man in the making. Just like daddy!

The Lost Blogs: Dominic's Baptism

I'm not exactly what you'd describe as a "religious" (imagine me doing air quotes there). In fact, you can count the number of times I've been to church on one hand (maybe two).
So when Melissa said she wanted to get Dominic baptized I was mixed. But since she grew up going to church and it was important to her, then I was all for it. Besides, I figured it at least meant more presents for Dominic at Christmas and birthdays (again, not that religious).

What I didn't realize is that I'd have to follow all these rules. First, you have to pick Godparents. No problem. Oh wait... they have to be Catholic? And confirmed? What does "confirmed" even mean?

Next you have to go to a baptism class. By the way, this was pretty silly. All they did was show us a movie made in 1985 that ultimately told me I need to show up, bring the baby, and the Godparents. Done and done.

Proof that I went to church and didn't catch on fire.

Then comes the big day. All our family came including grandparents, great grandparents, Godparents, and aunts and uncles. We all went to the church and ironically on a day Dominic was going to get water poured on his head, he needed an umbrella to keep him dry.

We attended the full mass. That's a pretty good workout. Lots of standing and sitting and standing again.

(Side tangent: Obviously it was a Sunday and football was on. Do you know who didn't look at his phone for a score or fantasy update once during the service? Me. I can't say the same for everyone in our party.)

At one point the church got quiet and what wouldn't you know... Dominic let one rip. A big one, people actually looked. Again, I'm not very religious, but I don't think you're supposed to do that in church.

Finally the service was over and it was time for the baptism itself. That took a long time. Nearly an hour. About three-quarters of the way threw Dominic fell asleep... so imagine the rude awakening when the water was finally poured on his head. He cried, but just for a second.

Afterward, we headed home for a nice afternoon of football and delicious food whipped up by my beautiful wife.

All in all, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. Thank God!

Wedding Day Priorities

That's one good looking family!

There I am, decked out in a tux, my wife a beautiful bridesmaid, the reception is just about to get going and the only thing I can think about is getting Dominic out of all the noise.

This is how your priorities change when you have a child, even when you're at his uncle's wedding.

A beautiful wedding

We had big plans. Melissa and I were both in the wedding, we even bought a sweet suit for Dominic to wear. We were one good looking family.

And it's not like Melissa and I never expected to stay all night, but we figured we'd bust a couple moves, watch the cake get cut, maybe even have a cocktail or two.

Nope.

As soon as we walked into the cocktail hour... I knew it was over. Dominic was overwhelmed by all the people and all the noise. His eyes were as big as saucers.

Can you tell he didn't like the noise?

And as soon as I saw that, I was ready to go and didn't even think twice about it.

Ultimately, we stayed through dinner, and Dominic fell asleep on my lap. After the meal, I took him back to our hotel room, and let Melissa stay and party (it was her brother's wedding).

How sweet is that?

Would I have loved to stay for the party? Yeah. Would I do the same thing about in a heartbeat? Absolutely. After all, it's all about priorities and my family is priority number one.



The good news is... before we left we took some really good photos.

Daddy and his boy... check the shoes!

Six Month Birthday

Dear Dominic,

About a week before you were born I wrote you my first letter. Now, six months later I figured it was a good time to write another.

It’s only been six months since you’ve been in our lives, and yet I can’t remember what life was like before. I don’t remember what it was like to sleep through the night. I don’t remember what it was like to sit through an entire, movie, TV show, or video game. I’m also pretty sure I used to go to these places that served adult beverages, but I don’t remember them either.

But here’s the thing… I wouldn’t want to change any of it.

Your toothless grin brightens my morning, and welcomes me home. Your funny sounds crack me up. I’ve even gotten used to finding mysterious spots on my clothes.

Every day brings something new, something amazing. One day you’re grabbing my finger, the next you’re eating real food, rolling over, sitting up, and the best so far… saying “dada”.

Dominic I want you to know, that your mommy and daddy feel like the luckiest parents in the world.

Happy six-month birthday, we can’t wait for the next six.

Love you,

Daddy

Lots of Laughs

If laughter is contagious, then be prepared to catch Dominic's case of the giggles. His uncle Brenden just knows how to get this kid going. I promise this will bring a smile to your face.

Two Big Milestones

It was a big weekend in the Chechourka household. Dominic passed two big milestones, his first rice cereal and his first night of sleeping in his room. I would have posted video of both, but recording him sleeping seems a little creepy. Besides, the eating is way cuter.



His first non-boobie meal consisted of rice cereal. He wasn't exactly sold at first but after he realized it was food, he was all for it. He liked the rice cereal, but he LOVED the bananas we fed him the next day. So much so, he was even trying to eat the banana he had spilled onto his bib.

His face may not say it, but he's bananas for bananas!

We're already gearing up for his next meals. We're making the food ourselves, using "Cooking for Baby". We've already whipped up some meals of peas and sweet potatoes. We're freezing them to serve up later. I like this food-making stuff because A) I'm cheap and B) I get to use the food processor!

As for moving to his room... it's a move a month overdue. We had big plans to move him out of our room after 3 months. But as I've learned... your plans are not always your kids' plans. First he got sick. Then he had the allergic reaction to amoxicillin. Then he got sick again (thanks again daycare).

So far, the move has been a roller coaster. The first night was good, the second night was terrible, the third night was good again. Can't explain the ups and downs, but hopefully it gets a little more consistent. 

As for the next milestone? I'm rooting for sleeping through the night.

The First Trip to the ER

The last place you want to be as a parent is the ER, but that's where Melissa and I found ourselves last week. Let's back up a little...

Dominic started daycare back in July and since those places are Petri dish of bacteria it was only a matter of time before he got sick. And that time was about two weeks. It started out as a little cold and eventually became an ear infection.

We took him to the doctor for the ear problem and they prescribed him amoxicillin. He really liked it. I think it's because it was really sweet. So everything was coming up roses…

…Until the last day of his of the medication and he got a really bad rash. After turning to my old friend google we decided to head to the ER at 10 PM.

 The ER is... um... interesting. It was a lot of different sets of parents and kids. There were obviously caring ones, and then there was the parents who told their 3 year old to quote "sit your ass down."

When we finally got into the doctor he seemed more interested in Dominic's AC/DC onesie than his rash. He also had no explanation for the rash even though it seemed fairly obvious that he was having an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin. Adding to the ambiance of the ER was the person in the curtained off area across from us throwing up. Not the "I ate something bad" puking but the "there's a chance my kidney is coming out on this one" retching.

After being told to give Dominic an incorrect dosage of Benadryl (don't worry we figured out that the doctor told us 3x's too much before we gave it to him) it was time to discharge. There we had the opportunity to stand in line behind a gang-banger who was clearly faking his arm injury to get some pain meds. How do I know this? My first clue was the flipping out when he realized the doctor didn't prescribe him any.

Also in line before us was a woman (I think?) who in her baritone voice told Melissa what a terrible doctor visit she had. If she wasn't a man then she used to be.

So at the end of our visit what did we learn? We learned that Dominic is allergic to amoxicillin. We learned that ER doctors are dangerously bad at math. And we learned that the ER is great people watching.