A Year in the Life

So, as you may or may not remember, the kid is a year old now (actually he's 14 months, but it's taken me 2 months to get around to this). I figured I'd do a review of the things I've learned about being a dad and having a kid.

Things you miss:

• Happy Hour - Doesn't occur without lot's of planning.
• Dinner and drinks with the wife - Again, must have a babysitter and enough energy to stay up for it.
• Being able to go places without at least one bag of supplies.
• Sleep - Our guy wasn't too bad overall, but some nights were rough
• Free Time - Only get times to watch movies or play games after his bedtime.
  

Things you didn't know you'd miss:

• The child - Leaving him in the morning is always a bummer.
• The smile - When you walk into a room and he sees you and just BEAMS at you because now you're there.

Things you definitely wish you could miss:

• Poop - Not fatal, but definitely not fun, even in it's safest forms. I've been really good and don't think I've talked to any of my friends about his poop. I think I get a medal for that.
• Spit-up - Also not fatal, but more dangerous because there's nothing containing it. It can happen at any time and can be even grosser than poop.
• Waking in the night - Thanks to modern technology you can now hear every time your child breathes in his room 50 feet away. Due to now being a "parent" even the slighest changes in breathing, coughing etc. will awaken you with worry. This will happen 4-400 times per night.
  

Things to remember:

• Your wife is just as tired and grumpy as you are, try not to kill each other.
• All of the bad stuff is instantly forgotten as soon as some of the good stuff happens. For example, this makes you completely forget about this.
• Take lots of photo's - It's amazing how quickly and how much they change. Looking at photo's from the last year there are some I don't even recognize as being him.
• If you've got family or friends take advantage of them! It's great to be able to get out once in a while with your wife, remember the love that got you in this trouble in the first place!

All in all, this whole kid thing is a wonderful experience. It's always changing and always gets better. There can be some trying times, but like anything else, being able to persevere is just the icing on the cake.

This post will probably be edited because I'm sure I've forgotten to mention a lot of the great stuff I tried to remember. If you want, the three of you can add your experiences.

[Edit] I remembered 2 other things:

• People who design kids clothes with buttons instead of snaps obviouslt DON'T have children.
• Kids books MUST RHYME! I'm not talking some kind of strange dactylic rhyme, just a nice easy rhyme that makes sense.

Ok, back to ranting about the economy or politics!