Psychologists and divorce attorneys know all too well about the “seven-year itch,” the phenomenon through which married people generally get sick of each other after seven years of matrimony.
But an essay this week on The New York Times “Motherlode” blog discusses a different kind of seven-year disillusionment: One with your kids.
The story, written by Alison [...]

So, maybe the whole ambulation honeymoon is over.
Sure, I’m delighted that L is walking on two feet like the rest of us. But Powergirl and I have learned the hard way this week that with ambulation comes a new set of responsibilities for Mom and Dad—namely, to watch said infant every second of every minute [...]

Baseball people say that in order to be a closer—the guy who comes in to record the last three outs of a victory—you need a certain mentality that enables you to forget all previous failures and focus on doing the job at hand.
What I’ve learned in the last 48 hours is that being a father [...]

As I write this post, I’m still reeling from one of the single most traumatizing afternoons of my life as a Dad. One second, L and I were snuggling during a nap. The next second, she had rolled off the bed and bonked her face and head on the bed and night table, respectively.
The most [...]

For me, a native of Long Island, N.Y., vacations to Hawaii used to be all about the sunbathing.
I’d plan my days around prime tanning time, lube up with tanning oil and reposition my body to be perfectly in line with the sun as it streaked across the daytime sky.
Generally speaking, I’d log anywhere from four [...]

The week of L’s first birthday is upon us, and here at the Villano ranch we’ve been spending inordinate amounts of energy thinking about water.
The good news: Today Powergirl took the baby for her first-ever swim lesson at our gym (she loved it and didn’t want to get out of the pool). The bad news: [...]

So much of this blog is devoted to all of the epiphanies and wonderful moments of fatherhood. I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t admit it every once in a while: This stay-at-home/work-at-home daddy thing can be exhausting.
I bore the brunt of a particularly long weekend this afternoon. I was out reporting a story for [...]

After 11 months of practice at fatherhood, I’d like to think I’ve mastered most of the day-to-day tasks that have made me freak out at one point or another. Putting on onesies no longer makes me sweat. Dealing with fountains of pee is now a piece of cake.
Still, there is one chore that still makes [...]

I’m not ashamed to admit that I still purchase compact discs when I buy new music. I’m also not embarrassed to reveal that I’ve got my favorite 300 organized alphabetically by artist on a metal shelf here in my office. The group includes Martin Sexton, Lucinda Williams, Josh Ritter and Emmylou Harris. There’s some Richard [...]

As my daughter’s personal chef, I privately vowed around her six-month birthday to feed her only organic foods until she was old enough to drink whole milk (in other words, her first birthday).
Apparently, she had other plans.
She made her intentions clear last weekend. We were out and about with some of my friends, lunching and [...]