Thursday, May 28, 2009

Braden is a Carnivore

I didn't post Monday because it was a holiday. When I am on holiday my brain goes with me. Nothing that requires thought is attempted. Doing such thought provoking things would be met with disastrous results.

Yesterday I didn't post because I took some potential customers to visit one of our installations on the other side of the state. This is not normally my job, but the boss/tour guide was unavailable. I stepped in and shared my knowledge and driving skills.

Today I have free time to write a post, yet no truly creative or inspiring ideas are present. Posts don't typically come to me as I sit at the computer. Things happen throughout each day that give me ideas. Ideas can come from anywhere as you are all certainly aware. This week I have been so wrapped up in less fun things that my creative mind has been turned off. I have been dealing with personal and work matters that in no way inspire sharing, creativity, or independent thought.

If you are still reading I am impressed. Now I will try to reward your persistence with something of substance. The biggest part of every day for me is spent engineering and being with Braden. Since this is not an engineering blog that pretty much eliminates that as a topic of conversation. The fact that engineering talk would bore all of you into a coma makes it official. This post is going to be a Braden update in a very engineering like numbered list format. I hope you enjoy.
  1. Braden is currently marching through the world of pureed meats. He has so far tackled chicken, turkey, beef, and ham without missing a beat. The little guy eats an entire jar of meat along with a jar of vegetables every night. He has eaten the entire jar of both every day since the second day of this culinary experiment. He is a big eater much like me.
  2. Last night Braden slept from midnight to 8 am. I actually woke him up at 8 this morning to feed him. I was late for work because he didn't wake up for the first time ever. Of course I am not complaining that my human alarm clock let me down. I will be more than happy to go back to using my big numbered GE model with the mutilated snooze button.
  3. Braden can crawl around a little bit. He scoots more than anything. He is pretty slow unless he sees the remote or some food and beverage. He can have the remote in the blink of an eye. He also goes straight for any food and drink that Arica and I might have.
  4. Adding to the last note, Braden is obsessed with plastic water bottles. He can't get enough of them. I don't know why.
  5. Braden actually tries to grab everything. He gets this big smile on his face and then he makes a lunge. I already mentioned his penchant for water bottles and the remote. He also has tried to grab forks, potato chip bags, ink pens, PS3 controllers, computers, napkins, books, blankets, necklaces, dogs, cats, and neighbors. Nothing is off limits in his mind.

All these small things plus a million others combine to make up the Life of a New Dad. To people without children the list looks like the obsessions of a very boring person. Conversely all the parents reading this will surely smile and fondly remember these times. After all, these milestones and learning experiences are what make being a Dad so fun.

12 comments:

Todd said...

I'm also a new dad, but my little man AJ is only 6 weeks old. I'm reading through your blog and looking forward to the day when I get to that point.

WeaselMomma said...

I fall into the 2nd grouping.

Tom said...

I'm with you on the fond remembrances.

Once, when Michael was about this age, my wife and I were in the kitchen. She was handing me Michael, who was busily grabbing anything and everything. As I took him from his mom, I tried to keep him from grabbing anything else by turning him upside down as I brought him to myself.

While he was still upside-down and rotating, he managed to grab the kitchen tongs out of the spatula holder, so that by the time I had him right side up, he was already holding them up to his face for examination. If it had been projected in slow motion, the scene would have looked like something out of "The Matrix".

GreenJello said...

It's always so amazing to me how quickly babies learn and grow in the first couple years. You can just see all the gears turning in their heads, soaking it all up.

Enjoy it. :)

Super Mega Dad said...

Hopefully he keeps eating those meats. Both my kids ate really well as infants and would eat anything we put down in front of them. Around 2 1/2, they both became picky little booger eaters and the only thing they eat now is chicken nuggets. I did learn a new trick awhile back and started buying "Kid Cuisine" frozen meals. They LOVE those things and will eat the whole thing. I think they just like the funny shapes and the blue trays. ;)

SurprisedMom said...

Reminisce I did . . . with my oldest "baby" who turns 18 on Saturday. We talked about what she ate as a baby, toddler, "big kid," and how she liked swinging the bottle from her two front teeth to amuse herself. Thanks for giving me a chance to reconnect with the memories and with the child who made those memories.

Cat said...

Otter -- I have an email for you, but I don't have your address to send it. Please email me at nutsinanutshell(at)gmail(dot)com

Thanks!

Steely Dad said...

Good man. Looks like we have another "meatatarian." Try to keep him away from the trail mix! http://www.steelydad.com/dont-inhale.html

Anonymous said...

Yep, smiling wistfully and remembering just how very monumental a baby is.

A meateater, eh? I'm sure that makes Dad proud. Mine would only eat mashed potatoes.

I love it! He goes for remotes. heh.
Perhaps inviting Barney into the living room? Or did Barney croak?

Daddy Files said...

Will is also a huge plastic watter bottle fiend. Ditto for remote controls, cell phones, pill bottles, and for some strange reason a little rolling pin we have in the kitchen. And God help us all if you take it away from him for any reason.

I loved putting those things just out of his reach when he was learning to crawl. I have no proof that it sped his walking up considerably but he walked a week after he turned 9 months, so I'm taking the credit.

JonnyTam13 said...

I can't wait until my little girl can eat meat and scoot. It's great to see what I'll be going through a month from now. But I'm completely with you on loving the little things. It's great!

Katherine said...

Our little guy isn't much older than yours. We haven't started meats yet. I'm waiting till 9 months, but he loves to eat and can NEVER get enough. I'm surprised he's not off the charts in weight....he's only in the 25th percentile (whatever that means). Ethan is doing a lot of the same things and has recently started to show anger when something does not go his way or Mommy takes something away from him that he thinks he should have. I can't help but laugh!