I love being a daddy. I really, really do. But today I really had to remind myself of that. Aubrey was actually pretty happy for most of the day. That was a definite change from previous days. But when Jessica got home from school, well, it got tough. She simply didn't want to do anything we asked her to. To be fair, I don't think it was deliberate. She just didn't seem able to pay attention. I would ask her to do something and "poof", it was gone, she had forgotten. I try to be...

Are my wife and I crazy? Of course we are. But are we certifiable? Some might think so. But we don't. Nope, we think we are pretty level-headed and sensible folks. Even though we decided it was time to have another little one. We thought about it a lot, and prayed about it even more. And we both felt that it was time to add to the Jones family. My third year of medical school will be pretty low key. I will be doing research, and working regular hours. I tell you what, the thought...

For a while now (at least a year and a half or more) my oldest daughter Jessica and I have had monthly daddy/daughter dates. And they are truly amazing experiences. Last night we went to dinner. My wife isn't too fond of Chinese food (ever since being really sick after eating some Chinese food one night-not the fault of the food, just bad timing), but Jess and I love it. So we decided to head over to the local Chinese buffet and make pigs of ourselves. We had been having a rough week, ...

One of the greatest joys of being a parent is playing with your kids. It is true. There are few things in this world that even come close to the laughter you hear when playing with your little ones. In our home I have the special distinction of being mammalian playground equipment. Perhaps it is some subconscious signal I send out, perhaps they sense it in me, but whatever it is my girls love to climb on Daddy. They jump on me, hang from my heights, scale to my summit and then slid...

Aubrey was Tigger (holding onto her favorite Tigger baby): Jessica wanted to be a witch, but decided at the last minute she didn't want to do the green makeup, so she cackled and casted her spells: But the hood on Tigger didn't last too long. At least she let us take some pictures with it though!

I popped my new Fates Warning CD in the home stereo today to give it a spin there. Jessica loves to dance, and loves "rock 'n roll", so she immediately jumped off the chair and started jumping around, crazy as could be. It was hilarious, especially seeing her try to dance to the beat of progressive metal (for those who aren't familiar, the genre is well known for weird time signatures and sudden and frequent changes in time sig). Aubrey, sitting on the couch, saw her sister having fun an...

It's true! My wife and I can hardly believe it, but it is true. I saw it with my own (somewhat trained) eyes! A twig and berries to be sure. We had ourselves convinced we were having another little girl. The last thing I wanted to feel was disappointment, so I thoroughly convinced myself that another little girl would be the best thing in the world. But deep down I wanted a boy. A little guy around the house, a little more testosterone in the mix. And it looks like it is going to ha...

My classmates and I are celebrating. We are now third year medical students at Duke. Many of use are doing research, and actually working normal hours. After our clinical year, the thought of working normal 40-50 hour work weeks is scrumptious. Simply delectable. And the anthem many of us have been repeating daily is "No call for ten months!" However, I was painfully reminded that that isn't necessarily true. You see, being a parent really is being on call every night. You never k...

My daughter was very quiet this afternoon when I picked her up from her friend's house. I asked her what was going on and all I got was some silly answer. I could tell there was more, but I didn't want to push. It was a rough evening. She told me "No" more times than I can recall. Fortunately I didn't get upset. When I asked if I she would lay down in the bath so I could get her hair wet and she answered with the word of the day I quietly said "Okay" and left the bathroom. I went and...

I have been fortunate in my life. Love has hurt me very little. As anyone else, I have had a few minor dings and contusions. Crushes of youth that were not reciprocated and the like. The few hurts that were more severe did, as I matured, become less significant. The first time I dared to truly love someone I was one of the fortunate to have that love returned, amplified, and we have now built a life upon that love. Our sweet children are too young to step on our hearts. I have been i...

I feel old. Very old. That I am tired is a given, and to be expected, so I won't try to act surprised. But I just feel old, burdened by responsibility larger than my mere 28 years. I understand my wife and I chose to have children early in our lives (most likely far earlier than many think we should have). I don't regret that, not for a minute. We love our children and our lives are far more rich because they are part of it. But our oldest is just in Kindergarten. There are only s...

Saying that Real Life has been insane lately would be a bit of an understatement. Studying, lab responsibilities, family visiting, wife singing some concerts, and four children to care for. . . Interestingly, it is the oldest and the youngest that have required the most attention. The youngest simply because Big Al is only 7 weeks old. The oldest because she is old enough to make poor choices, and consequences follow. Sadly that has left the two middle ones, our very own Jess and Aub...

It has happened.  I have officially become a "Soccer Dad". Yeah, yeah.  I know they always talk about "Soccer Moms", but my Y chromosome prohibits that from being an accurate label.  We don't have the mini-van or the SUV (though my wife really wants the mini-van), and we aren't all that preppy, but our daughter began soccer last night.  It was an interesting experience.  Half way through she didn't seem too excited.  Water break led to me putting my arms arou...

It is interesting how quickly the 2+ weeks have gone by since Big Al joined our lives. In fact, most of the time we find ourselves asking where the days have gone. But what is most odd is that it all just seems like one really long day. Really long. I'm not going to complain, because Big Al is really sleeping pretty good. He is now sort of on a schedule of eating right before we go to bed at around 11:00 pm, then he wakes up once more during the night (anywhere between 3:00 and 5:00)...

So, just to let it be known, I do have the most adorable family in the universe. Don't get me wrong, there are other great ones out there, and some come dang close to being as cute and wonderful as mine. But, well, when your family is as amazing as mine, it's hard not to think fate has smiled on you. I have uploaded some more photos to my Wincustomize photo album. Some good ones of the little fella, as well as the other girls. And I can't help but share. Clicky, clicky