Is there anything more life-affirming and wonderful than a baby’s giggles?
I’m not talking about the giggles they make when you tickle them, imitate an emu or sniff their freshly tubbed bellies like a dog. I’m talking about the giggles they make when they’re finding happiness completely on their own, when they’ve put themselves in a [...]

I returned from a 24-hour reporting trip to Las Vegas today to find an exciting milestone in the mail: L’s first official passport.
As I blogged last month, we needed to get her the document in preparation for our post-Christmas trip to England, her first official international trip. Powergirl and I have been waiting eagerly for [...]

Tomorrow is my thirty-fifth birthday. My stance on such occasions, however, has changed completely since L was born.
Previously, though I wasn’t a real present guy, I reveled in “me” on birthdays, doing precisely what I wanted to and very little of what everybody else had in mind (unless, of course, everybody else wanted to celebrate [...]

In anticipation of our upcoming post Christmas and New Year’s trip to England, Powergirl and I took L to the local branch of the U.S. Post Office today to get her passport. Needless to say, the experience was harrowing and adorable at the same time.
First, the good stuff: The baby, bored out of her mind, [...]

Following L’s obsession with the word, “Zamboni,” which she learned during a trip to the local ice rink last week, Powergirl and I have been anticipating eagerly the moment when our daughter graduates to the next level of self-expression.
Considering the developments of this afternoon, I’d say a celebration is in order today.
For the first time [...]

L’s experience as a car passenger is about to get a whole lot more interesting.
Today, per her doctor’s authorization (and suggestion), I turned around L’s car seats in our respective vehicles. The next time the baby piles in the car for a ride, she’ll be facing forward, thereby seeing an entirely new world.
Mommy! Daddy! The [...]

One day after L’s doctor dubbed her “advanced,” the baby responded by taking a giant step into the Terrible Twos: She threw her first official temper tantrum.
It was ugly, folks. I mean, real ugly. She screamed. She cried. She convulsed on the floor like an epileptic. At one point she even laid on the guilt, [...]

Our family’s first trip to Disneyland is complete, as the three of us returned to Healdsburg late last night. In general, I’d say it was a successful trip. Fun, however, might be an overstatement.
Sure, there were highpoints: L’s smile of wonder when the Dumbo ride took flight; her excited pointing at the ducks in “Small [...]

We embark Thursday on a rite of passage in my wife’s family: L’s first trip to Disneyland in Southern California.
Personally, I’m not exactly pro-Disney; I’d rather go for a hike in the woods. But considering how much our daughter likes Mickey and the gang (especially princesses such as Ariel and Cinderella), I’m actually looking forward [...]

For the first time in her young life, L got to ride in a shopping cart today, and (after Daddy furiously administered a wipe to disinfect every inch of that plastic thing) she loved every minute of it.
The scene of this milestone: Santa Rosa Target. The reason: I was too tired to carry her around.
Let’s [...]