Sibling Love--Yeah, I Can Dig It

There are some things I have discovered that I now can't get enough of that I used to not even think twice about--anything with toddlers. The darn things are just cute! I can say this without fearing the loss of my man-card because I have a pair of the most adorable toddlers ever.

I was reminded of this late Saturday night/early Sunday morning when I saw a post at NESN.com (awesome site by the way) that talked about two kids at a Red Sox game that started out being cute and cuddly, but ended up with a little kung-fu action going on.

I bet Dad does not think this is quite as cute as I do; or maybe he does.

This makes me think of the relationship my two kiddos have with each other. Jack, the oldest, was not too fond of his new sister, Addison, when she arrived. There would be times when we would have her in what was his old play pen,  go into the kitchen, come back and find her lying on the floor (still smiling) and find Jack standing (as innocent as can be).

What made things like this even cuter was Addison's intense affection for him even thought he didn't want a thing to do with her. She would smile and giggle whenever she say him and always wanted to be with him, sitting next time--she couldn't get enough of him!

But he wanted nothing to do with her. Big time jealousy going on now that he had to share us.

In time it has gotten better. He is much more tolerant of her now, and while he doesn't always want to be around her (she is very intense while he is the exact opposite and totally laid back) he doesn't try to push her off our laps or anything.

On her last birthday he actually gave her a hug and the other night in the tub he kissed her behind. Were not sure if he was trying to be metaphorical and tell us that we kiss her behind too much or if he was just trying to show some love (we will be sure and embarrass the heck out of him when he is a teenager by retelling that story).

Like other autistic kids Jack and Addy are often in their own little world all the time. They see the world around them, but don't take any notice of the other people in it. They recognize Mom and Dad of course; they don't always obey when we tell them do so something of course...

Anyway...I bring this up only because we don't get to see our little guys do a lot things like in the gif above. So when they do it's a pretty big deal. Yeah, we will not want them fighting, but if they did it would show that they have enough awareness to recognize that there is someone or something else in their space.

Which would be progress.

Yeah so when I see little kiddos playing together or even fighting like in the gif I think its cute. And then I look forward to the day when my kids will act that way because that will mean they are progressing and not letting autism define who they are.

Because it is not who they are.

One of These Days...

My intention is to use this as a sort of confessional for my life and times as a Mr. Mom. I never thought I'd be a stay-at-home dad. I'm sure none of my high school friends thought I'd be one; any of my Academy buddies; Texas A&M homies; rugby teammates past, present and future...It just wasn't something that screamed "me."

It is what it is though and I would not trade a single second of it for the coolest, greatest job in the world. Yea, a better paycheck then what freelance writing gives would be pretty nice (more like pretty damn nice), but I feel like I've gotten something pretty damn valuable in return.

I've got to watch my kiddos grow up.

Yeah, it has been the most incredibly difficult challenge of my life and like none I ever thought I would face--and I love it. There is just something about the little squeeze Jackson gives me out of the blue; Addison walking up behind me and sticking her head in my shirt; seeing them laugh because of something I did...

Watching them sleep during a nap...talk about appreciating time to yourself!

It's been hard. Both kiddos have autism caused by this messed up syndrome; banana, rubacabra chupacabre--BRRS. Whatever the darn name of it is doesn't matter. The important thing is that it is a mutation of the PTEN gene. It is hereditary, so it had to come from either me or Nikki (or it could have started with one of them).

It was me.

Sigh.

That has actually been a good thing though. Since I've had this thing my whole life--and I appear to be all good--then the future for these guys is going to be fine. It's just the first few years are going to be something else since there is a developmental delay involved.

Anyway...the whole point of this post was to say that one of these days I am going to keep up with this blog and post little funny stories about what has happened or does happen to me and the kiddos as I do that parenting thing. I kept a journal for the first year of Jack's life; up till when Addie was born, I might use that for a few posts as well.

As I've typed this post out I've realized that this blog is actually going to serve another purpose. It's going to be my own, not-so-private (since anyone online can read it) therapy. Just like you never know how much you know about something till you try to teach another, seeing your life in writing (and writing it) gives you a perspective on things that you can't quite see while your living it.

Hmmm...I just might have to make sure that the next one of these days isn't too far away.

Hello World! Ready for More?

(This post is actually a couple of years old, but I am going to try to get this blog up and running again so I figured what better way to start off, right?)

Got the news today. A new mini-me is in the oven and baking away. If only I was in as good a shape as my swimmers obviously are!

I thought about doing something like this when we had the last one. If I had tried I would have either quit or had some huge gaps. When that learning curve is nice and steep with your first you don’ really have much time for breathing let alone pounding out some scattered brained thoughts in hopes of creating something worth reading.

Our first is now nine months old, cuter than hell, and looking forward to being a big brother (and yes, he told me; I have learned to speak fluent gaga gogo. It’s also helped me understand the high school kids I coach for the local rugby team.)

Parenting is the coolest and greatest thing a guy can do. I feel lucky that I have been able to stay home and really see my boy grow up and I can’t wait (yes, I can) for the next one to come along. Even though the economy has me stuck at home after losing my job, the silver lining has been seeing my boy grow.

Anyway…I’m going to try to keep up with the latest adventure we are fixing to embark on, from the first day we found out we were pregnant, through the doctor visits, watching our son stare at Mommy’s belly as it grows, bringing our new bundle of joy into the world and then some. Although I do feel pretty confident about what I have learned so far, I have no doubt that mos of it will go out the window when there are two.