Goodbye!!!

Firstly, I'd like to thank EVERYBODY that has ever looked at, read or commented on this blog, but as I have talked about before, It's time to grow up!

So, that's exactly what has happened.
Ladies and gentlemen, this will be the last post I ever publish on this blog.

That's because my news, views and general waffle has a new home and its at www.dadwhoblogs.co.uk

So thanks for following me and I hope that you follow me over to my new home.

If not, thanks for the good times, it's been emotional.

Now get over to www.dadwhoblogs.co.uk and check it out.

As ALWAYS, thanks for reading
L

His Masters Voice

C'mon now, we've all thought of it.....Wouldnt it be EASIER, if we ALWAYS wore nappies?

NO?

Just Me?

Oh! *Awkward*

What I meant to say was, we've all wondered, if we could have any super power, what super power would we have?
Some would say invisibility so they could sneak around unnoticed. Some would choose super strength or the ability to move at the speed of light! (I wish for this every time I have to go shopping in ASDA!)

A while ago, this conversation popped up on twitter and we were asked what super power we thought we already possessed. I answered with something akin too, the power to eat everything insight.
As part of a post on another blog, I was then brought to life as....

Now-a-days, I'm on a strict diet to try and lose some of me, so 'The Glomp' is in retirement but I've developed a new super power. Its the ability to convey my message convincingly by raising the decibel level of my voice (AKA I have a loud voice).

Having a loud voice is great with kids. If asking them politely to do this or that, as soon as I use my super power, BOOM, it seems to happen that little bit faster. When BB is mis-behaving instead of getting ready for bed, BOOM, super power unleashed and a little bit of order is restored.

That sad part of this story is Vodka may just be my Kryptonite. After a few the night before, I woke up and I had lot my super power! In it's place was a raspy, bare legible version of my super power.

To test this theory, I am just going to have to conduct some experiments and drink some more vodka....Oh well, the things we do in the name of science!

Due to my new super power, I think I need a new name.
Add some super hero name suggestions in the comments below and if your artistically inclined, feel free to draw it!

I'm off to prepare for my experiment, by showering, getting suited and booted and attending a wedding!

As always, thanks for reading!
L
Credit for 'The Glomp' goes to 'Scotty' over at Dads who change diapers.

Holiday Fun

Once again, its been far too long since I posted anything, but this time it's not just down to me being useless, its because we've been on holiday!

Now I know your dying to know what we got up to, but my holiday was boring compared to the kids, so I figured I'd let them do the talking!

The holiday from BB's perspective:
Wowee I had a great holiday! We flew on a big plane! I have been on planes before so I knew what to expect. Just like the first time I went on a plane, I sat like a good boy with my grandad. Planes can be pretty boring so I had a bit of a sleep. Then I had some lunch, then we got off the plane and on a bus!

When we got to our new house, I found out that I would be sleeping in the same room as my grandad & grandma! I was so excited! Me and my grandad played in the pool, we played in a giant sandpit, in the park and we even played my favourite game of KICK. I love playing Kick. I like to pick the ball up and throw it. Grandad's not very good at Kick, he keeps using his feet! Silly Grandad!

Every night after my dinner, I got to dance and play with lots of other children at the mini disco. I'd never been to a disco before, but I soon got the hang if it and it turns out I'm a pretty good dancer! There was also a strange pair of characters walking around. Nobody but me seemed to be concerned that a giant Shark and dolphin was dancing around! I kept an eye on them so they didn't get up to anything fishy!!

Back Off..I GOT this!

Then, just as I learnt all the dances at the mini-disco, we got on another bus. I didn't like this bus as much. Just as we got to the place the big planes live, I was poorly and sick all over my clothes and my grandad. We got on the big plane and after a couple of episodes of Mickey and some very scary bumps later we got off the plane and went home. I didn't like the bumps very much but I needed to be brave to look after my grandad as I don't think he liked them either.

I had lots of fun on my holidays and wish I could go play Kick everyday, but Grandad says he has to go to work BORING!! Now I just need to convince Grandad to go on holiday again!!

From LB's perspective:
Slept. Boobed. Slept. Boobed. Slept. Went on swing. Boobed. Slept

And there you have it. Lots of fun...and boob (for LB anyway!)

As always, thanks for reading
L

PS Now I can Play Kick! Muhahahahaha

Behind every good man..

I'll start this post with the following disclaimer!
This is a post to celebrate 8 wonderful years of marriage. It's full of soppy crap, so if your not into that sorta thing...move along, there's nothing to see here!

Still reading? You were warned!

I'm a good guy.
I'm not being or cocky or full of myself. In fact I'm normally pretty self deprecating. I am by nowhere near perfect, but I don't have a great deal of bad about me.
The saying goes that "Behind every great man, there's a great woman!" well in my case there is 2.
My mum, who as followers of this blog will know, is no longer with us and my wife.

My mother made me the man I was when my wife met me. I was young, but mature. Sensible and kind. I always used my manners and knew how to be a gentleman.

My wife, however made me the man I am today and for that I am ever grateful.

We have been together for nearly 13 years. 13 years!! If we had a child when we first met, that child would be in high school, smoking, getting suspended and...no....that was just me? I told you I wasn't perfect!

Together for 13 years and today marks the 8th Anniversary of us being married.
I cant believe she has put up with me for 8 years.

It's ridiculous just how bad my memory is. I can do something and after only a few days later I wont remember it happening, but ask me pretty much anything about my wedding day and I will tell you the answer.

The only wedding picture I could find at 11pm

Alot of people say their wedding day was perfect, but ours really was. Nothing over the top, we exchange vows in a beautiful art gallery and had our reception in a small family run hotel. Had a roast beef carvery for our main meal and didn't wake up with a hangover. What more could you ask for?

For 8 years, she has kept me in line, called me out when I was being an arse (As all men can be) and just when I when I thought I couldn't love this woman any more, she has given me 2 beautiful children.

Recently she was told she had the perfect life, one of those factors was how good a husband she had. Well I cant take any credit for that, after all I have to do my best just to keep up with how great she is at being a wife...and now how great she is a mother.

So my darling, thank you for being you, thank you for being the amazing person, wife and mother you are. I love you and I hope that I can type another soppy post like this in another 8 years time.

Happy Anniversary

Love you always
Lewis

Silent Sunday - 5/5/13

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Identity Crisis

'They' say (Whoever these most knowledgable of people always reffered to as 'they' are), that "a break is as good as a rest". Well recently I've had a bit of a break.

Although it appears nobody noticed, I've been away for a while. No blog posts, no tweets for well over a week, no nothing.

One of the reasons I did this was because I've been having a bit of an identity crisis.

The name 'first-time-daddy' has served me well but it's just not ME anymore. When I would tell people about my little corner of the webosphere, I could see people's confusion. It's like being a 31 year old man who still wears nappies. It made sense at a point in time, but now its just silly......very comfortable and practical but silly non-the-less! (I am of course not talking about anybody I know....especially not me...*coughs*)

I'm not a daddy for the first time. I have 2 beautiful boys and quite frankly if Im going to go to the trouble of updating my name then second-time-daddy just won't cut it.
So I made the decision to change my name/brand, whatever you want to call it! If you follow me on twitter you'll hopefully have noticed I have changed my name. From now on I would like you to all call me Barbara. That's got nothing to do with this blog, its just a name I think I would be comfortable being called. But for blogging purposes I will soon be known as DADWHOBLOGS!!

See, that fits so much better!

Although I have already changed my twitter, the blog will soon follow. As part of the change and with a little help from my friends on Twitter, I'm going self hosted. This isn't a quick thing and I want to get it right, so I don't want to rush the new blog.

Now, I know this is risky. I have 750+ followers on twitter some of which are not bots and hopefully they've twigged onto the name change. I also have a couple if readers on this very blog, so hopefully, when I move on, you guys will stick with me!

So there you have it!
To make a long story even longer:
I've had a break that's supposed to feel like a rest! ('They' arent always right)
I don't like the label of first-time-daddy anymore.
I'm changing my name to DadWhoBlogs.
I've already changed my name on twitter.
I will eventually stop posting here and eventually post on my shiney new blog which can be found at www.dadwhoblogs.co.uk

I know you haven't missed me, but I've missed you, and will resume with my usual drivel in due course.

Much love and as always, thanks for reading!
DWB

Another first.

When I first started blogging, one if the memes I saw quite a lot was a getting to know you thingy. Needless to say it was quite relevant, after all, as a new blogger why wouldn't you want to know if I can down a whole pint in 2.3 seconds? (I actually can't do this but you get what I mean.)

Another popular question on these 'Getting to know you' things is; What was the first album you ever bought. I don't actually know the answer to that question, but I'm sure it wasn't a spice girls album. Nope. Definitely not.

As parents you have many firsts. Kids first tooth. Kids first word. The first time your kids farts and giggles at himself.....Is that just me? Oh!

Well recently, we had another first. After 20 months BB finally had his first hair cut.

Before....

We were not sure how he would react to having to sit still and for a stranger to be snipping at his hair. But as with most things, he seemed to just take it in his stride. Never moved a muscle, whined or tried to get out of the chair.

It was yet another moment where I was brimming with pride and even the other people in the barbers commented on how well behaved he was. THAT'S MA BOY!


Knowing it was his first hair cut, the fella that cut his hair was also kind enough to keep some if BB's hair in some tissue so we can add it to our baby book and keep it forever. Maybe in the future it could be used to clone such an amazing boy. OK I will stop the sickening praise of my child, but hey it's on my blog so deal with it! Lol

...After

How did your little ones first hair cut go?
Have you had any firsts recently?

I'm already looking forward to my our next one!

Let me know in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading.
FTD

Silent Sunday - 31/03/13

 

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Do you believe in miracles?

" A miracle is something that seems impossible but happens anyway."

I heard this quote the other day and it fits well with the events of this week.

The first little miracle is a modern day Romeo an Juliet.
A story of two young lovebirds from two houses, in the case two different religions, Who's heritage dictated they shouldn't be together. After 8 years of secrecy and the chance either families would be unhappy, these two young starlets finally became man and wife. Trust me, I never thought that would happen! In a civil ceremony, they looked into each others eyes and declared their undying love and commitment to each other. It made me realise just how much I enjoyed our wedding day.

The second little miracles has the all the makings of a Hollywood script.
I've talked previously in this blog bout concerns I had regarding if it was possible for me to have children. Turns out I was worrying over nothing!
Those concerns were born from the knowledge that both my brother and sister had issues having kids. My brother now has a 12 year old boy conceived through the magic of IVF. My sister on the other hand, hasn't been as lucky.

Unlike my brother, my sister didn't need IVF to conceive. She managed just fine without it. The issue was carrying a child. I won't go into detail as I will probably get some of it wrong and some of it is not for me to say, but all I know is this. Over the years my sister and her husband have conceived and lost 7 little beacons of life at various stages BUT, when all hope is lost and you think the path of life is laid out, life has a funny way of throwing you a curveball.

Then I was asked to make 1 of my ever popular (with me anyway) announcement videos!

This week, after all the losses, all the heartache, my sister not only conceived, carried but has now given birth to a beautiful baby boy!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome into the world Morgan Revie born 26/03/13 5lb 11oz.

Both mother and baby are doing great and hope to be home soon.
I hope 1 day, my sister will put her story into words and allow me to share it with you.

I can't start to imagine how hard it might have been seeing her baby brother start a family when she craved a family of her own, but now Morgan has arrived, I know she has so much love to give and he is a very lucky little boy to have parents who love him so much.

Congratulations to my big sister and her husband. If mum and dad are looking down, I'm sure they are bursting with pride on how amazing their kids turned out and how beautiful their grand children are.

As always, thanks for reading.
FTD

*Incase your wondering, that quote came from Men in Black 3. Not the place you'd expect such profound nuggets of wisdom, but it worked in this scenario dammit! Lol

SatCap

I don't always contribute to #SatCap but when The Mrs sent me this picture of LB I couldn't resist putting it out for you all to add a caption!

Let me know your caption in the comments below!
Then pop over to http://mammasaurus.co.uk/saturday-is-fibbers-caption-day/ and view some other awesome #SatCap entries!

As always, thanks for reading!
FTD

Another new member of the family!

Well would you believe it. 5 years ago it looked like we were never going to have kids. The past 2 years have been a little bit manic but all that's all forgotten when you they make you smile.

Well, last week we added ANOTHER addition to the family. Don't get excited though, this one isn't quite worthy of an FTD video!

Please allow me dear readers to introduce you to the latest member of the FTD crew.....

Sally.

BB took a shine to Sally while him and The Mrs were walking round a nearly new baby sale. For as little as £4 in a matter if moments we went from parents to grandparents!

We actually contemplated buying BB some sort of doll before LB arrived so he could get used to having somebody smaller than him around that he had to lean to love and take care of. For various reasons that never happened but here we are. Grand parents at the grand old age of....well lets just say we're too young to be grandparents just yet!

Has anybody else introduced a doll into the family to try and transition an older sibling into the new way of life? Did it work?

Would you give your little boy a doll to play with?
If not why not?

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

As always, thanks for reading.
FTD

FTD REVIEW: chucklemonster.com

I haven't pumped out a lot of posts recently and that’s because I've been too busy to have 5 mins free to type stuff up or the ideas I have for posts, quickly disappear when I eventually come to type them up.

Due to this, I have turned down a few PR requests lately that I would have been interested in normally, but not only was I too busy, I didn’t want this site to be full of reviews and no posts from me! However when I was contacted and asked to do a review for chucklemonster.com, I just couldn’t resist! 
And if The Mrs is reading this before Mothers Day, stop now, it will only spoil it! lol (She promised she wouldn't)

 
I have never used an on line greeting cards company before. I always felt that it was the done thing to go to the card shop of your choice, spend 3 hours looking at different cards, laughing at some, cooing over verses of others, only to then go back and pick up one of the first cards you found.
BUT as I have been busy, (have I mentioned that?) I'm useless and didn’t want to leave it too late and my first impressions of the site were good, so I figured I would give it a go!

For fairness and variety, I ordered 3 cards. All medium and all at a great price (£1.99each).
I thought the personalisation of the cards would be much more difficult than it was. I simply picked the style I want and uploaded the picture of my choosing.
As I haven't used this type of site before, I'm not sure if this is the norm, but Chucklemonster actually allows you to upload direct from Facebook! Personally I think this is a great facility. A lot of our photographs are taken using our smart phones and put straight onto Facebook.
On more than one occasion, 'The Mrs' has sent me a picture, I've shown it to someone, only for them to tell me they have already seen it on line, so having the option if I wanted to use it, was a great idea.

Within 5 minutes I had uploaded my desired image and personalised the messages inside the card.
The site, was easy to navigate and had a large range of cards for all occasions not just Mothers Day.
I used the normal 1st class delivery option (Free) and only 2 days later my cards arrived. The quality of card is great and the finish of each card was of a high standard. I have recently been involved in some printing so I appreciate a good piece of card!

With the option of sending your card direct to your recipient or to yourself, they really do have everything covered.

When it comes to to ordering cards on line you should definitely give chucklemonster.com a go and if you order now, theres still enough time to order from their Mothers Day range!

The cards look great!

Loved the site, loved the cards, love the service, therfore I'm gonna give chucklemonster.com top marks!

  
(5 out of 5)


Thanks to the guys over at chucklemonster.com, The Mrs will wake up on Mothers Day with a smile on her face.

As always, Thanks for reading.
FTD  

Silent Sunday

Bite size boy.

We all have habits we don't like. Some have habits other people don't like.

I won't go into the habits of myself and the wife as she would probably start a habit of stabbing me in my sleep.

Anybody seen the dog?

I sit there and see my wife's bad habits and I'm sure she sees mine and we both hope BB and LB don't grow up with any of them.

Well, BB seems to have developed a new habit if his own recently....biting.

He bites me, he bites The Mrs, he bites the chair, he bites himself and I'm pretty sure we once caught him biting the dog!!

Now, before you start sending rabies shots through the post, he's not exactly walking round like Pac-Man or one of those loving fellows from the walking dead, but he does try and take a munch on the odd occasion. I'm hoping it's just a phase and that he does it becasuse he is just SO excited!!
I hope it will pass and the habit will turn into something bit less damaging on my arms, legs, fingers and/or toes.

Has your little one ever tried taking a chunk outta you?
Have they developed one of your bad habits?
Any suggestions on what I can do to curb his 'appetite'? (See what I did there?)

In the mean time, if you don't hear from me for a while....send help! And a first aid kit!

As always thanks for reading!
FTD

Silent Sunday

Lets go MAD!!

Welcome back to my (Non)Award winning blog!! (That sentence reads better if you read it faster!.....You read it again didn't you?)

I know this blog will probably never win any awards. That's not to say it isn't any good, but it is just one of a whole plethora of amazing, more worthy blogs you can find in the blogosphere! So I'm cool with that.

To appreciate and raise awareness of those amazeballs* blogs, there is numerous blogging awards available thought the year. One of the big ones is the MADs (Mum And Dads for those falling asleep).

This post isn't a begging letter and as I'm not going to give myself a vote this year, I'm not expecting to be nominated at all. What I would like you to do dear readers is just vote! If you follow my little journey, you probably follow others, so you should find it easy to pick a blog for each category.

Last year all hell broke loose**when the guys over at the MADs announced their finalists and not one dad blog made in into the finals.
I've learnt over the past 2 year that dads still have a tiny voice in the blogging world but its getting louder post by post.

So if you love a dad blog show them some live in this years MADs!

Pop over now to http://www.the-mads.com/vote/ and make your vote count!!

As always, thanks for reading.
FTD
* Apologies for including such a word in such a high brow blog.
** maybe a slight exaggeration. Lets just say fists were clenched....then shaken disapprovingly!

Look who's NOT talking.

I was once told that my standards are too high. This came from a good friend of mine, but I was also his boss. My answer to him at the time, was why weren't his standards as high. Surely everyone should strive to excel and be the best you can be at whatever you are doing.

Years have passed since he told me that and over the years I have come to realise he may have a point. Especially when it comes to being a parent.

THE POINT!!!

Many parents won't admit to it, but it's true, parenting is a competition and kids are simply the players. Some compete seriously, others just let the game pass them by. We fall into the last category. Although we have expectations of our kids, we won't be looking to trade any players based on their performance!

We have lots of friends who have kids, all around the same age (within a year or so) and you can't help but notice the differences. One kid will be walking by the time they are 12 months, others will be walking by 10 months. Some are already quoting Shakespeare, while others by the same age are still grunting and pointing to get their point across.

We are pretty happy with BB's development. He seems to understand most of what we are saying and then promptly ignores it! Lol! But it is getting more and more frustrating that he is choosing to point and moan rather than use words.
We have tried encouraging him to tell us what he wants, but it doesn't seem to be working. We're also not going to give up, as we know this could lead him to think he doesn't need to talk as pointing will get his message across.

Hopefully he will start using words and we can have a conversation with him, no doubt we will want him to be quiet in no time.

Have you had experiences of 'point and moan'?
How early did your kids develop the art of speech?

What can we do to encourage him further to use words?

I'm not worried yet, my cousin didn't mutter a word until he was 3 years old and now he's a very smart young man, so there's plenty of time yet.

As always, thanks for reading.
FTD

Silent Sunday

Things that go grumble in the night

Is 3 weeks too young for a baby to have his own room?

I cant believe I'm asking that question, but it's something we're considering.
I've now lost count of the late nights or early mornings, where I have ended up sitting downstairs with LB, just so The Mrs can get some un-broken sleep. (Although I have enjoyed some time alone with my Xbox!) That's not taking into consideration the number of hours, we've been kept awake, while trying to settle him after a feed or generally during the night.

On first appearance, LB appears to be sleeping soundly, a few wriggles here and there, but his eyes are firmly shut. Then, when you least expect it (or when you finally relax back into bed), the noises start.

Grumbles and moans, bleating lambs and demented goats. The sound a person might make during a nice big stretch or even what appears to be him trying to fill yet another nappy. During the day these sounds don't appear too harmful to a delicate ear, but when all is silent and sleep is eluding you, these sounds are amplified.You cold even go as far as to say he's snoring!

From reading the many experiences on line, this isn't a new thing. Babies have been doing it for years and it normally passes, but maybe not quick enough. This is continuing to keep us awake (The Mrs more than me) and when your getting broken sleep because of feeding, the last thing you need is something stopping you going back to sleep.

On the other hand, I feel bad putting such a young baby in a room alone. It's next door to ours, but maybe because it's not the norm, something in the back of my mind tells me I shouldn't consider it. We put BB in a room of his own after 6 weeks and I thought that was early, with LB I am considering it sooner.

Whats the earliest you would put a child in his or her own room?
Any suggestions on why he may be so noisy?
Any suggestions on where we can buy ear plugs in bulk?


Right, I'm off to try and doze while watching infomercials trying to sell me a steam cleaner.



As always, thanks for reading.
FTD

Paternity Leave:Take 2

I loved paternity leave the first time round.
A combination of both a peaceful baby and a wife that looked after him, all I had to do is help The Mrs settle into a breast feeding routine and keep the house running. If I am honest, it did seem like a bit of a holiday.

This time, it's been a little different.
Not only have I tried to keep the house running, I have also had a pesky little boy to chase around.
It's definitely been challenging, but we still have something that resembles home, so I must be doing OK!

It's been challenging, but as before, its been worth it.
The best thing about paternity this time round was, not only did I get chance to spend time with The Mrs and our beautiful baby boy, but I have spent lots of time with BB.
We have played and laughed and played and cried and been told off and cried and played and that's just ME!

It's been great to be able to spend some more time with him. Normally our time consits of days here and there. That's normally enough for me as I like that he is spending time with other people, so it was nice to have some time with him. Saying that, it was also nice when he went to spend some time with his Grandma and Grandad too! They do say you can have too much of a good thing! lol

I am back at work in the morning and I am sure by the end of the week, I will want to be home again with my beautiful family.

I am pretty confident, when I say I wont have paternity leave for the 3rd time as I dont think there will be a 3rd time and that's cool with me, but if you are about to take some paternity leave, enjoy every second, because it will be over far too quickly.

As always, thanks for reading.
FTD

2013: A year in Preview

Don't worry, the title isn't a mis-type, I'll save that for the post itself!

They say there is only two things in life that can be guaranteed, death and taxes! Well now blogging has become so popular, you can add 'Write a year review post' to every bloggers to-do list at the end of December.
Go-on, admit it. If you own, or owned a blog, then you have created one of these posts.

Now we have confessed and cleansed our blogging soul, we can move on. Instead of making such a cliche blog post, I figured I would do something different (probably not original). Instead of looking back at the year we have had, lets look forward to the year ahead! These aren't by any means resolutions, just stuff I am excited about in 2013.

2013, is already shaping up to be better than 2012. 2012 was a good year, 2013, is gonna be great. Why? Because I figure I have at least the following to look forward too!





BB's first word - Its close, but not quite there yet. He understand some of what we are telling him, we know this as he has learned to shake his head when we say NO! n the next 12 months, I hope he will become the little chatter box I know he will be. I'm sure by my 2014 post, I will be wishing he would shut up!








Registering BB for a nursery - They grow up so fast. It seems like only a month ago (not quite yesterday) that BB was learning to turn himself over onto his belly and back and soon he will be learning so many other things when we register for him to start attending a nursery.



Get healthier - You wouldn't believe me if you met me, but I'm not that unhealthy. Under this facade of fat and hair, is a streamlined machine of a man. Unfortunately he cant get out because of all the aforementioned fat and hair. In, my time I have started more diets than James Bond has drunk Martinis, but hopefully this year, I can start to shed some of this weight and with some help and support from The Mrs, increase my overall healthiness.



Make our house a home - We moved into our current home 6 months ago and although we are very settled, it's not quite how we want it. We need a wall building here, another knocking down there, a new kitchen and some more bulbs in the bathroom. Like all of the things I'm looking forward too in 2013, it wont happen over night, but I hope it happens!



BS's being playful - I know its early doors, but one of the positives of having kids so close together, is that they can entertain and play with each other. Hopefully by the end of 2013, BS will be a little more mobile and he can chase BB around the house..who in turn, will probably be chasing the dog...who in turn, will probably be chasing BS, so it should all work out in the end!








Well, I'm sure there is more, but I might bore you with those in another post.

I hope you all had a great 2012 and an even better 2013.
What are you looking forward too in the coming months? Let me know in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading
FTD