Day 51: EveryBody Dance now!

Is it odd that Brighton sleeps with her legs hanging out of bed?

This is Brobot, Robot's stunt double.

Smile's are becoming more common from the youngest in the Cook Company. He has grown tremendously and we are off to the races onto the next milestone, Hand awareness. (technical terminology here after some research) The Robot is still with us, its a miracle. I have to let you in on a little secret, the robot....... has a stunt double. They look alot alike, its amazing really that two robots could look so much like each other, but we have found the Robot twin that can stand in for Robot during all the family outings and the particularly unsafe photo-shoots. So I  like they say in Hollywood, " Yes that is catchup."

Brighton, our daughter, is smart in a strange way. I mean she is smart in a normal way, but also in a strange way for a 1 year old. She can hear a song and later in the day she sings a few words or lines back to us. She has been singing silly little songs for a few months now, but today she came home singing, "Everybody Dance Dance Now!" Then I started making the beat noises afterwords, and she stayed right in time with me. It was hilarious, but what was more comical was her grasp of the song. She would sing the song, then I was not dancing, so she looks at me and says "Everybody Daddy, Everybody!" until I start dancing along. It is amazing how kids develop. 


Day: 50
Diapers Used today:10
Total Diapers used: 492
Diaper Value Today: $1.40
Total Diaper Value: $49.36

Day:51
Diapers Used today:9
Total Diapers used: 501
Diaper Value Today: $1.26
Total Diaper Value: $50.62

Day 49: Its been a busy week

Priceless

Sorry to disappoint! It has been a whole week. I have been abnormally busy and even worked until way late several nights last week. Brave has been growing and getting bigger, he is huge now. I am sad to see the newborn stage go. This new growth season is a fun one and we are getting back on the band wagon to document all the goo's and gah's. I am not sure how Jeanelle manages to capture some of these shots, but she does, and I hope you enjoy.

I promise that is not a ghost foot to the right of Brave, Just a very slow shutter speed and a fast moving person.

Day:43
Diapers Used today:10
Total Diapers used: 424
Diaper Value Today: $1.40
Total Diaper Value: $39.84


Day:44
Diapers Used today:11
Total Diapers used: 435
Diaper Value Today: $1.54
Total Diaper Value: $41.38

Day:45
Diapers Used today:9
Total Diapers used: 444
Diaper Value Today: $1.26
Total Diaper Value: $42.64


Day:46
Diapers Used today:10
Total Diapers used: 454
Diaper Value Today: $1.40
Total Diaper Value: $44.04


Day:47
Diapers Used today:9
Total Diapers used: 463
Diaper Value Today: $1.26
Total Diaper Value: $45.30

Day:48
Diapers Used today:10
Total Diapers used: 473
Diaper Value Today: $1.40
Total Diaper Value: $46.70

Day:49
Diapers Used today:9
Total Diapers used: 482
Diaper Value Today: $1.26
Total Diaper Value: $47.96


 

Day 42: Hiroshima Pants

I have been kinda busy lately working on the wrench at night so my posts have been getting kind of irregular. Worry not friends, I have not forgotten how many diapers we are using or some of the comical or awkward events from the day. I love that babies have no reserve, no shame and no concern for what people think about them. Today brave filled up a diaper right in the middle of the living room while our dear friends where over. The funniest part is that after having 3 kids, what had just happened did not really register with us, so we continued the conversation as if nothing was happening.  

 

Design a website, because coloring a picture of Bambi, Micky, or a Ninja Turtle would be boring.

Day:41
Diapers Used today:9
Total Diapers used: 403
Diaper Value Today: $1.26
Total Diaper Value: $36.90

Day:42
Diapers Used today:11
Total Diapers used: 414
Diaper Value Today: $1.54
Total Diaper Value: $38.44

Day: 40 From dust ot dust... another one bites the dust.

Brave got to sleep most of the day, and he needed it. He is getting big and has earned the new nickname," The Furnace" because he puts off a bunch of heat when he is sleeping.  If I lived in the Arctic, I would prefer a newborn to keep warm over a coal burning stove.

You ask why the strange title? Its because I had an in your face experience with some dust today. I will post a pick of the end result, but long story short, I crashed my bike on the trail and flipped over the handle bars face first into the sand. I will post a few pics of my busted upper lip that I landed on.
Day:40
Diapers Used today:8
Total Diapers used: 394
Diaper Value Today: $1.12
Total Diaper Value: $35.64

Day 39: Happy Brithday Bree!

Today was  great Day, We had a party! Happy Birthday Bree! Brave is holding up his head pretty well and his smile is shinning through pretty regularly.  This guy may be small but when he gets fussy he can produce flatulence like a grown up. It is humorous when such a thing happens in a public place, because no one knows just who to blame. Nothing is sacred once one crosses the parental threshold.



Day: 37
Diapers Used today: 10
Total Diapers used: 366
Diaper Value Today: $1.40
Total Diaper Value: $31.72

Day: 38
Diapers Used today: 11
Total Diapers used: 377
Diaper Value Today: $1.54
Total Diaper Value: $33.26


Day: 39
Diapers Used today: 9
Total Diapers used: 386
Diaper Value Today: $1.26
Total Diaper Value: $34. 52

Day 36: A hungry baby is not a happy baby

Brave just finished another growth spurt! He is getting big quick. We are still working on the smile, but he is randomly popping one off here and there.  Today I got to feed Brave a bottle and I think he liked it. He fell asleep afterwords, but he told me his whole life story while he was eating, It was a short story.

Day: 36
Diapers Used today: 9
Total Diapers used: 356
Diaper Value Today: $1.26
Total Diaper Value: $30.32

Day 35: These 3 Kids

Jeanelle decided that I needed to have a picture about my love of the sport- biking.  Not just leisurely biking but trail riding and street riding.  She is glad I have hobbies and watches our three for me so I can have fun and enjoy life a little bit out in the air and wonderful weather.  The first picture is of my helmet which is the most important part of my sport per her- as long as I wear that she is ok with anything. If I don't have that I can't go. Fair trade off I guess.  To me that is not the most important part of any sport but hey, you can never fight with a woman. The kids were getting ready for bed and Brighton wants to do everything herself these days.  She had not put on her sleeper yet because she has this thing where you go to put on her clothes or shoes and she won't let you- she says not I do it, I do it.  Then she won't put anything on for a very long time.  It makes for getting out the door or going to bed take a lot longer because she stalls so much.  But the pictures turned out great anyway and Strong and Brave look just alike.  Good thing for Jeanelle because she kept praying the entire pregnancy that Brave would look just like his brother.  I wish she would pray for more stuff because it seems that her prayers get answered.


Day: 35
Diapers Used today: 9
Total Diapers used: 347
Diaper Value Today: $1.26
Total Diaper Value: $29.06

Day 34: Techno Strike

Have Car-seat, Can Travel

We had a long and busy weekend and everyone needed a 3rd day to rest from our time of rest. Brave took the opportunity to grow and now we are having to adjust car seat straps and NB clothes are starting to get very snug. We also are creeping up on a milestone, the Smile, which some (Crisha...) say we have already reached, but since I have not seen it, it has not happened:) Actually, I have witnessed the smile and even got a picture of it, enjoy. 


This weekend I went on technology strike, I did not type a word or even make a phone call. Amazingly I am still alive. There is a parable in the bible that says something like- What you set your mind on, or think about is what you are, and I have been watching too much news lately. The only problem with news is there seems to be an abundance of bad news and only a few moments of good news. I am not sure is escaping the influence counts as renewing your mind, but I will say this, I am not as upset about the things I cannot change today as I was on Friday. 

The smile, This picture makes me smile.

Day: 34
Diapers Used today: 12
Total Diapers used: 338
Diaper Value Today: $1.68
Total Diaper Value: $27.80

Day: 33
Diapers Used today: 9
Total Diapers used: 326
Diaper Value Today: $1.26
Total Diaper Value: $26.12


Day: 32
Diapers Used today: 11
Total Diapers used: 317
Diaper Value Today: $1.54
Total Diaper Value: $24.86

Day: 31 Rewards Part 2

All babies are different. (I Know....Hello Captain Obvious!) Out of the Billions of babies born, no two parents have experienced the same Hi's and Low's that are related to raising children, but regardless the genetic and situational differences, all parents have plenty of similarities to gather around and compare notes about. All of our children have been very different and Brave is nothing like the other 2. He grunts when he has to poop, Strong never did that because he was always eating when it was time to go, and Brighton was screaming at 89db all the time for the first seven months so the only way to tell if anything happened was to check manually.


Part 2 of My new rewards system for Strong:


10 fake dollars gives a kid 10 get out jail free cards through out a day. Today we realized that some things needed to have a heftier toll and also that having an opportunity to get dollars back is also a neat way to get the kids to be consciously thinking about being helpful. The ability to earn lost dollars back gives the kids a way to learn some initiative. Strong made it through the day and lost 14 dollars of 10, but he did 5 nice things that where not required, like getting his sister a drink while she was eating and cleaning up the kitchen after I knocked over the treasure chest. The crib wall came down with just 1 dollar remaining at cash in time. 

I will compile the system into a readable format once we work the bugs out. 
Bug#1-paper money is ruined once it gets wet, use poker chips or real dollars if your not to concerned about potentially loosing 10 dollars a day.
 Bug#2 - Younger siblings create a challenge because the want the money, yet they don't understand the system.
Bug/Perk#3 - The dollars have to be kept up with all day. If the child does not have the currency on them at the moment of infraction, a more primitive form of punishment can be applied as interest until the currency is found. This creates much motivation to keep track of important items.




Day: 31
Diapers Used today: 9
Total Diapers used: 306
Diaper Value Today: $1.26
Total Diaper Value: $23.32

Day 30: Rewards

My Wife is Smokin Hot! Okay, I know that may seem a little crude, but seriously! They say that babies will smile at or around 6 weeks and we are doing every thing we can to beat that milestone. I have already ramped up my goo-ge-goo's and cookie monster voices. Every chance I can get around Brave, I am trying to do my best clown impersonation to see if I can crack that first smile. 


Today we tried something new, a method to introduce currency and value tour oldest son. He has been acting up much more lately than usual. He is starting to think his own thoughts, ask "Why" and he has developed an all consuming curiosity about the nouns around him. Mix the shake up of the family tree caused by the new guy and we have a volatile situation on our hands. So we have been faced with a new challenge as parents. We could spank but that would be a bad situation for both of us considering the frequency of infraction of rules. So we got creative:
We took our son back down to the most basic levels of freedom we could, even less than Brighton to give us time do develop a reward system that is fun and life giving. He has to sleep in the crib, with the walls up, even though he can easily jump out, it is still the principle that he has less freedom than he did and he hates it.(Don't worry, we set the bar very low to getting all his normal freedoms back at just one sticker) Then each morning he is given 10 fake dollars, the reward is his right from the get go. Each time he acts up by not listening or doing something that could be harmful, he has to pay us a dollar. The goal is to have atleast one dollar at the end of the day to get a sticker - Reward system number 2, which can be cashed in once 10 are collected, for any new toy he chooses (within  reason). If he ends up with atleast 5 dollars at the end of the day, he gets an extra reward, his favorite candy, free and clear without having to share. If he makes it through the end of the day with 10.... I doubt this will ever happen, but I will have to think of something really good, and affordable. Today was the first day, and he cashed out at 5p.m. The goal is 8p.m. I have to admit, this system appears to be much more affective than any spanking could be. He melts when he sees his stash and potential rewards shrinking. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow. Is it wrong to run experiments like this on your kids?


Day: 30
Diapers Used today: 13
Total Diapers used: 297
Diaper Value Today: $1.82
Total Diaper Value: $22.06

Day 29: Wisdom vs Knowledge

Brave is a hungry boy, today all he did was eat. It is sad to say but he is leaving the newborn stage and starting to reach infancy. I guess the major milestone will be neck control and being able to hold his head up. I am going to miss the newborn stage, but not enough to have another one just yet.

This morning, I did not get a chance to even touch the alarm clock. I woke up and heard a troublesome whisper and some very silent kids. I walked into their room and on the way I had a hunch I should pick up the camera.

They.....Strong, and no, he is not having kimo treatments, he just got a very short haircut, had snatched up their favorite cereal from the kitchen and decided to have a morning picnic together in the room. I honestly did not know how to respond this morning, I just quietly closed the door and went on about business. 


The difference between wisdom and knowledge appear very vast. A man with much knowledge can tell you just about everything about everything without having to ever have really experienced anything. Google is an excellent source of knowledge, practically the closest reincarnation of the "Tree of Good and Evil." While knowing many things about many things can be useful in a conversation, when the situation turns real, the knowledge of what is happening or even what to do may not be enough to turn things into a success. Wisdom on the other hand is often enigmatic. In the western terms, wisdom is the conversion of knowledge and experience usually divided by several failures into something useful and not bloated by idealistic perception or in other words: I was-dumb and failed, therefore, if have learned the way to success even by means of knowing what not to do, I have wisdom.

Day: 29
Diapers Used today: 8
Total Diapers used: 284
Diaper Value Today: $1.12
Total Diaper Value: $20.24

Day 28: Ground Hog Day

First I will say: Brave has grown. He is starting to outgrow some outfits and switching to size 1 diapers is not that far away. 

Okay, so its not Groundhog day, but this last few weeks, we have been feeling a lot like Bill Murray after a couple of weeks of the same thing. It seems we have a few normal days followed by a few not so normal days. The normal days are great. The other's usually end up with trips to the E.R. or some other bizzaro result. Today it was the ER. I think they know us by name now.

Strong got a hold of 5 adult doses of an antibiotic and ate them like candy. He made a trip to the E.R. and they gave him some charcoal neutralizer and had mommy and him wait until 6 pm. Not fun. He is okay. I am not sure when to start teaching kids about drugs, germs and strangers, as they all are impossible to see, and to a 3 year old, explaining something that is small like a germ does not really make an impact, because at this stage he only relates importance with size. Just take a penny and a dime in your hand and offer a 3 year old one of the two, unless they just like silver or FDR's profile, they will usually take the penny, because it is better.

Day: 28
Diapers Used today: 13
Total Diapers used: 276
Diaper Value Today: $1.82

Total Diaper Value: $19.12

Day 27: A+B=C but C+A≠B if C⇔B⇒C

We have officially proven the Brave has a mommy proximity censor.  Over 80% of the time, if mommy leaves the house, Brave starts crying. I am not talking about the obvious situations where she has been gone a while and he is awake and hungry, Even if he is sound asleep and Jeanelle takes the trash to the dumpster, he wakes up. It is humorous in a "I am a little jealous" kind of way. I geuss  infants aren't as attached to their dad's just yet.  


Jesus says that if anyone wants to enter the kingdom of heaven that he must make himself simple like a little child. I think that Jesus was on to something when he was on the mount preaching. It seems that the human existence was not designed to be complicated or multifaceted as everything that gets uncontrollable and breaks down. The maximum amount of items a Human can juggle is 13, maybe 14. Have you ever tried walking, patting your head and rubbing your belly in a circular motion, while possible, 3 stimulus items can be difficult, especially if a 4th is added, say obstructions in the walking path. Even the smallest know things know to man, Atoms don't do so well, take Ununquadium 114, which is not the largest, but everything beyond this have the same characteristic I am about to describe.  Uuq 114 has only been observed once officially, and it has a very, very high atomic mass. It was actually the result of the fusion of a calcium atom and a plutonium atom. Once the fusion was complete the element lasted about 30 seconds and completely broke down(fission) within 5 minuets. Thats a bit of science, but the point is this: Complicated things, while neat, and awesome, useful at times, have a very short lifespan like an iphone vs a rock, while the iphone is amazing...now, within 4 years, it will be in a box or a trashcan and forgotten about until we have a conversation with some of our buddies about ancient technologies like Nintendo's, tapes, or pagers. On the other hand, The rock has been around forever and is relatively simple in is composition and it is useful for making something that will last for a very long time. Life is just better simple, entering the kingdom can be done, relationships can be maintained, and work can be accomplished when everything is simple. I mean after all, what really did we gain from putting a man on the moon, more complicated stuff?


Day: 27
Diapers Used today: 10
Total Diapers used: 263
Diaper Value Today: $1.40

Total Diaper Value: $17.30

Day 26 & 27: Its Daddies Birthday and I will Cry if I want to

 

Brave is still small. Jeanelle went and visited a newborn in the hospital today and our 1 month old Brave was smaller than the new born. I guess that was just a big baby.

 I hope no one is auditing my numbers on this blog. The Graphs are accurate, but the info bars for the days $amount has gotten a little funky in the last few days. Don't worry, I fixed it. 

I took yesterday off from blogging, something I said I would not do, but it was my birthday, and since it was already on a Saturday and there was nothing else I could take off from, I chose to take a break from writing:) But today I am back with a double feature. 


Thanks Jen and Steamy for hanging out on my birthday.


Day: 26
Diapers Used today: 9
Total Diapers used: 242

Diaper Value today:$1.26

Total Diaper Value: $14.46

Day: 27
Diapers Used today: 11
Total Diapers used: 253

Diaper Value today:$1.54

Total Diaper Value: $15.90