What a Birthday!

Saturday was my 30th birthday, and what a birthday it was! My wonderful wife, who was celebrating her 29th birthday on Saturday as well, booked me some time with aerobatic pilot Elgin Wells in his Super Decathalon. The Super Decathalon is one of the planes that I've always wanted a ride in, and what a ride I got!

Elgin picked me up at the Flying Machine restaurant at the Lawrenceville airport. There were three sets of straps holding me in -- one for the parachute (!!!), one set of straps holding me to the seat, and a final set with a rachet tightening device holding me to the airframe. It took almost 15 minutes to get me strapped in.

We took off and proceeded to the practice area. Elgin talked, and I flew! It was great. I haven't been at the controls of an airplane in five years, and it felt so good to just fly around. When we got to the practice area, Elgin talked me through the aerobatic manuevers. We started with a barrel roll, which is crazy easy. We went on to do a loop, a half cuban eight, four point rolls, half cuban eight with a roll, hammerhead turns, and a half cuban eight with a point roll.

I had Elgin demonstrate a snap roll, and that's what finally got me. I didn't get sick -- not even close -- but I felt a small knot develop in the pit of my stomach. I knew that I wasn't going to hurl, but I also knew that if we kept on, I was going to feel worse. I had been having such a good time that I didn't want to take a chance on ruining it by feeling bad. We headed back to the airport.

I can't thank Leila enough for such an amazing birthday present. I'll post some screenshots from the DVD of my flight that is coming. This was so much fun, I may have to do it again!

Four Months a Dad

Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat. Then, fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.

--Jimmy Piersal, on how to diaper a baby

Yesterday my daughter turned four months old. I've been a dad for four months, and I have to say that there is very little to compare to holding this little bundle and trading smiles and silly noises. I love to just hold her in my lap and make faces at her. She'll laugh a big, open-mouthed laugh, and I swear, she's the cutest thing to ever grace the face of the earth.

I still continue in my quest to be the world's best dad, and I think I'm doing a fair job. She's healthy and happy, and that's the whole point -- raise a healthy, happy baby. In fact, she's extremely healthy. She had her four-month checkup (and shots!!!) yesterday, and she weighed in at 19 pounds, 3 ounces and 27 inches long. She's big, but she's proportional. I feel like once she starts sitting up and crawling that she'll drop some weight, or at least level off in the weight gain.

She's started vocalizing, and it's the sound of angels. She has such a sweet voice, even when she's gurgling.

I hold out hope, as all parents do, that she will continue to be healthy and happy. I also hold out hope that I won't screw up too bad as a parent. I don't think I will, but there's always the possibility. Stay tuned for breaking developments.

Fatherhood!

There's no pillow quite so soft as a father's strong shoulder.

--Richard L. Evans

Wow. I've been a father for three weeks, and I'm just now getting time to write something about it. It's been an exhausting time, but rewarding beyond explanation.

I suppose I should get the preliminaries out of the way first:

Camille Grace Saunders, Born June 5, 2005, 8 pounds 2 ounces, 22.5 inches long.

There's just something different about being a father. It's not something that I think I can put into words. It is an exciting thing, yet scary at the same time, to find yourself entirely responsible for the health, well-being, happiness, and upbringing of a brand-new human being. I still secretly wonder if I have the knowledge to be a good father. I really hope that I do. I really just want to live up to the example that my dad set when I was growing up.

I must say that Camille has been an extremely good baby. She sleeps well, she eats well, and she cries only when she's hungry or needs her diaper changed.

The thing I'm happiest about is that she's an extremely cute baby. I know it's not something that I should worry about, but I really did worry about having an ugly baby. There's nothing worse than parents with ugly babies. They're justly proud of their progeny, but it's hard to be complimentary to a parent whose kid is a halloween mask with legs.

I've gotten more sleep than I expected, and I am happy about that. It helps that Leila's breastfeeding Camille. I don't have to get up for the feedings, since I'm not equipped for it.

Finally, I'm experiencing a love that I never knew existed. I love Leila with all my heart, but the love for a child is different than the love for a spouse. I guess that I have experienced a love of such intensity in my love for Leila, but there's something slightly different when you love your child. Knowing that you're responsible for her changes matters, and makes you want to be the best person you can be.

Lord knows, I am trying to be the best dad ever. I sure hope I succeed.

The Year of "Little One"

A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on.

--Carl Sandburg

As of midnight last night, this officially became the year of "Little One". "Little One" is our first child, due to be born on June 5. We refer to "Little One" as "Little One" because we have made the rather uncommon decision to not find out the sex. Some may think that this is strange, and not conducive to being prepared. Leila and I, however, have no real preference on the sex of our child (and so what if we did?).

Our main argument is that there are so few good surprises left in life, why shouldn't we just let this one happen on it's own. This is our first foray into the parenting world, and I have a feeling that the surprises that "Little One" will leave us will be nowhere near as pleasant as the surprise of finding out the sex upon birth.

Both of us are extremely excited about the forthcoming birth of our first child. I have to say, Leila is an absolutely gorgeous pregnant woman. She's also got a mother's instinct that cannot be denied. My fervent hope is that I will turn out to be as good a father as she will be a mother. I do not doubt my desire to be a good father. In fact, one of the only things I asked for specifically for Christmas was a book or two on being a good father. My worry is in the execution. If I screw up a program at work, I can go back and fix it. I'm pretty sure the same does not hold true for being a parent. I've got one shot at it, and I can't blow it.

All anxiety aside, I can't wait to become a father. My only question is what do I do if it's a girl? Not that I don't want a girl -- I truly don't have a preference. It's just that I have experience with boys. I used to be one. I have exactly zero experience with little girls. Plus, I'm pretty sure that a little girl will grow up to become a teenager who'll want to date. I'm also pretty sure that she'll want to get married. Scares the bejeezus out of me. But it's all part of parenthood.

All in all, I can't wait. I'm loving Leila being pregnant. She's absolutely glowing (and I didn't really know what that meant until she became pregnant!), and aside from the nausea, she's doing very well.

What a year it's going to be. The year of "Little One"!

It's a good life...

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.

--Robert Louis Stevenson

How true, the best things in life are the simple ones. The best things about my life are truly the nearest ones -- my home, my family, and most of all, my loving and wonderful wife. She's truly my rock, and I don't know what I'd do without her. She's the reason that we are where we are at now.

Were it not for her, I never would have taken my current job. It meant a move away from my family, which was something I was nervous about. It meant leaving a job that was stable. Not fun, not stimulating, but stable. It meant totally leaving everything that I had known and moving to the outskirts of Atlanta. I'm a country boy at heart, and I wasn't sure that the city was where I wanted to be.

But thanks to her gentle reassurance, I made the leap. And a good leap it was. In the last nine months, I have almost doubled my salary, which has afforded us the opportunity to pay off those college credit cards, purchase a beautiful home, and best of all, become pregnant with our first child.

It's hard to fathom the depth of the blessings that have been bestowed on us this year. All I can do is thank God for the blessings in my life, try to live up to deserving them, and enjoy them.

I do wish and hope that everyone has at least one year in their lives as good as the one we've had. If I had a wish, it would be that. Best wishes for the new year, everyone.