You have given me so much already. I have met really cool people! I have a place to laugh, learn and, at well needed times, escape. You have given me a chance to voice my opinions and read clever, funny and well thought out posts.
This blog site is more than just a, well..blog site. It gives people a chance to come together who ordinarily wouldn't. It's a positive place that allows you to be yourself without judgement. I've come to know some of you and call you my fellow blogger friends with great pride. I worship the quicksand you all stand on.
I welcome all of you that read my blog, to come by and see what it's all about. It is truly a great experience for anyone..not just dads, but anyone who has a family, so that's pretty much anyone!
I truly thank you, Joe and Pete for coming together and building a wonderful home with great rooms and a lot of character. I sometimes trip when you rearrange the furniture, but it's a nice bouncy foundation to help me land right back on my feet.
I will wear my dad-blog shirt with pride....once I buy one.
I Dedicate this FF to Dad-Blogs
"Ouch Andrew, Gentle, Gennnnnnttttllllle"
He has learned to hit. He hits his Grandma, his Auntie, his Uncle, and his two Daddies.
We've decided it is definitely not out of aggression..but more playful. The unfortunate thing now, is OUCH, it's starting to hurt.
Every time Andrew tries to hit, I say "no, Andrew, Gentle..gennnnnttllle". He loves to run toward you and lunge for you with both hands. Sometimes when you carry him, he will decide to give you a nice slap right in the face.
It takes all the strength inside not to laugh when it's my partner who is the victim. Something very funny about it, but we don't want to encourage him. I spoke to a few moms out there and they all claim to have suffered through this stage.
We have encouraged Andrew to throw a ball. He's really getting good and has developed quite an arm. Unfortunately, his aim and choice of object to throw could improve.
For example, we showed Andrew how to throw these:
He loves to come about 3 inches from you before he winds up and throws with all his might. These are not threatening as long as you are paying attention.
However, Andrew has not learned that not all objects should be thrown. For example, these have caused some bodily harm:
I've gotten hit with each of these objects, the one that hurt the most was the laptop. It's deceivingly very heavy and hard.
I say "No, Andrew, this is not a ball". Then I walk him to the ball (while I'm still holding the part of my body that suffered impact) and say "here, Andrew this is a ball, you can throw this".
Gosh, I hope he gets the picture soon. I really don't want any cracked front teeth. Have any of you parents gone through this yet?..Are we on the right track on dealing with this issue?. I don't want to pay too much attention to it because I want to avoid any sort of encouragement.
Baking Cupcakes..Wait, I CAN'T BAKE!!
So, I am on a mission to become a good cupcake baker. I'm not talking from scratch folks, I'm talking Betty Crocker yellow cake mix, three eggs, a little oil and some water.
Each time I attempt, the cake part comes out fairly well. I am at the point where I do not over bake or under bake...I know by touch how the top of each cupcake should spring back after I tap it with my index finger. All is good, I'm a pro. (?)
I'm attempting to become an expert for my son. What little kid doesn't like a cupcakes..right?
Thursday night, I decided to bake another dozen cupcakes, but this time I decied to fill the cupcakes with cream and then just put a dot of icing on top. So I went to my favorite store in the world (Target) and bought myself a 14 piece baker's decorating set. It came with different size decorating tips, 4 disposable pastry bags and a cute plastic storage case. Andrew was sitting in the shopping cart. I looked at him and said, "oh Andrew, Daddy is making cupcakes for you!!"
I baked the cupcakes and they turned out golden..."Perfect", I said.
I mixed whip cream and marsh mellow cream together to get a nice thick consistency. After that, I looked at this plastic pastry bag, and the tips and did the best I could trying to fit it together. I carefully but mess-ily put the filling into the pastry bag by spoon. It was very difficult to keep the bag upright and open as I stuffed this thick white mixture into it. Not to mention, the mixture stuck to the spoon like instant cement, then the pastry bag and spoon would stick together making it almost impossible to cleanly fill it.
I got as much as I could in there and tried to squeeze the bag from top to bottom in an attempt to push the filling toward the tip. Kind of like the way we try to get the last bit of toothpaste.
I put the tip into the first cupcake and squeezed slowly. I heard a couple of popping sounds as if the bag is working out all the air bubbles (not a bad sign..right?). It appears to be filling. I went to the next cup cake and then to third and forth...but on the fifth cupcake, the poor little pastry bag could not take all the pressure of squeezing this thick mixture through such a pin size little tip and but I gave the very last squeeze anyway to get the filling into the cupcake, the bag split on the side and splattered clear across the kitchen hitting the stove top and also down my forearm. I watched as this white gunk slowly began moving down the side of the stove. I think I was stunned for a few seconds.
I stopped through the pastry bag out washed the kitchen stove, and below is my masterpiece.
Crap, my icing is melting...
Can you see the filling?..Look close, it's there...
Don't think I'm gonna give up...I may be broken down right now, but I will come back stronger, and this time I will read some instructions!
Some more pics of Andrew
Here are the most recent pics of Andrew taken April 2009.
Happy Easter Everyone!!!!!
Andrew's Adoption Bear
When we had the court appearance and my partner and I signed the official documents to finalize the adoption of Andrew, he was given a bear by the Judge.
We call this Andrew's adoption bear.
We call him the adoption bear to begin the words that he will soon become acquainted with when we discuss his adoption and what it means.
My partner and I told ourselves that this was going to be something he knew in his early development. 
Some people say we are telling him this too early. I say BullSxxt. I don't want Andrew afraid of this word and he deserves to know the truth even before he can say the word on this own. AND..by the time he is able to write the word, he will be able to express what it means to him without being ashamed or without any fear.
Happy FF Day
Andrew and His Mommy
Well, we had another great visit with Andrew's Mommy. This time we met her with her Dad (Andrew's Grandpa). It was wonderful to finally meet him. He is a very nice man. He bought Andrew some learning dvds which are awesome.
It was a beautiful day and after we ate lunch, we went to the beach. Please stay long enough to see the video clip and the pictures below.
We're Going To See Mama
This Sunday is confirmed for a picnic in the park in the east bay (weather permitting) with Andrew's Birth mom.
I have been teaching Andrew how to say "mama" and showing him the picture of his mama. I ask him "Andrew, Who are we gonna see on Sunday?" and he replies "Mama, Mama, Mama". I can't wait for the birth mom to hear this for the first time. I hope she gets a warm feeling and a sense of belonging when Andrew looks at her and says "Mama".
Each visit gets better and better as we get to know each other better.
We only met the birth mom right after she gave birth and that was only for 15 to 20 minutes. She had chose us the day after she gave birth. Since then we have had three get-togethers.
I always get very excited before our visits because I can't wait to see the look in her eyes when she notices the milestones that our son has reached. She looks at him so intently and Andrew is beginning to know, this is his Mama.
My goal is to have her in Andrew's life as much as possible. Of course she needs to be in a good place in her life that will be a positive influence for Andrew. I am hopeful that she is getting her life together.
I have already invited her to Andrew's 2nd birthday (even though it's still so far away ...dec 23). We are having family from all over the country come and jam pack at our place to help us celebrate.
I'll be taking some pics and videos and will upload them on Sunday night.
Happy FF!!!!!
