L’s been babbling for months, but today, on the eve of her 15-month birthday, the girl really started talking up a storm.
This morning, she picked up an animal flashcard with the letter G and said, “Gecko.” Then, while Powergirl was making coffee, L looked up at the coffee machine and said, “coffee.” While counting grapes [...]

It was Isaac Newton, I believe, who pontificated on the relationship between action and reaction. Perhaps dude was referring not to the laws of motion, but instead to the laws of parenthood.
Case in point: L’s recent sleeping patterns. The good news: She’s been going down for the night around 7:15 or so, giving Powergirl and [...]

Dear sloth:
I’m sure you enjoy your lazy afternoons in the Healdsburg plaza, canoodling on that blanket with your (beefy) man. Your public fondling sessions appear to be so wonderful—so intense—that it’s no wonder you are incapable of paying attention to your adorable three-year-old as she wanders around the park.
With this in mind, allow me [...]

My little girl has a new favorite word: Booty.
Yes, she’s saying it in reference to her derriere. And yes, when she says it, she wiggles her tiny behind like a cat about to pounce. For most of the day today, she said the word roughly 200 times an hour. The house has sounded like that [...]

I had to take L with me to the local supermarket today, which means we are once again the proud owners of a giant Mylar balloon. When the baby is involved, you see, supermarket trip = balloon.
Yes, I’m that much of a pushover.
The routine started a few months ago. We were entertaining and I needed [...]

L reached another major milestone today: She started saying her own name.
In the scheme of things, this wasn’t much of a surprise; the kid is adding three to four new words to her vocabulary every day. But, as her father, the fact that she now knows what I and her mother chose to name her [...]

After five days flying solo with L, I got my parenthood partner back late Saturday, when Powergirl returned from her trip.
I was glad to see my wife for a number of reasons. For starters, I missed her terribly; it was the longest we’d been away from each other in three years. Second, though I savored [...]

Fatherhood has changed me in many ways, but perhaps none of these transformations is bigger than how it has inspired me to dance.
Allow me to clarify. First, I’m about as stiff and White as we dudes can come; it took me months to learn steps for our high school musicals, and my wife has likened [...]

It’s amazing how much we parents tolerate in the name of love. Poopy diapers and cranky afternoons are the least of it; my personal least favorite is the act of cleaning up the various messes that L leaves throughout the day.
Normally, I share these duties with my wonderful wife. Considering that she left this evening [...]

Yours truly returned to Healdsburg late last night after three days of reporting some stories in Western Washington State. Tuesday night, Powergirl is the one to take off—she’ll be in our hometown of New York City for four days starting Wednesday morning.
This, of course, means that L and I will be flying solo for pretty [...]