That's A Cool Feeling Parent Edition: Episode 1

Growing up in Houston, TX I remember there was a radio station (104.1 KRBE??) that had a segment where people would call in and talk about embarrassing things that happened then they ended the call with,"...that's a cool feeling".

Well I am going to attempt to do the same but with real-life things that have happened to me or my wife in our short time of being parents. Enjoy!

THAT'S A COOL FEELING

• When you are in the middle of Mass at a nice cathedral and you feel the warmth of your six month old baby's pee running down the side of your pants and all over the floor.....that's a cool feeling.
• When you are at an event and you take your potty training toddlers to the restroom and minutes later they ask to go again but you believe they are bluffing so they just do their business all over the place in-front of an audience.....that's a cool feeling.
• When you go to Mass and suddenly smell the stench of a very full diaper, you look for the diaper bag then panic at the horror of not having it, leave the service, drive home, realize you somehow don't have a house key on your car keys, drive to the local Target, buy a box of diapers, wipes and new outfit, pay, go to the change the baby and realize there is poop all over her back and car seat...yeah....that's a cool feeling!
• When you leave your twin children for literally five minutes to then return and find butt paste all over the walls and their bodies...that's a cool feeling.
• When you have a 'loose' sliding door lock and your young child decides to lock you out when you stepped out for a few minutes to your back yard in the middle of a hot summer day....that's a cool feeling.
• When your eldest twin decides to sprinkle water on your six-month old baby's head because ,"she likes it daddy..." .... that's a cool feeling.
• When your young child knocks on your bedroom door while you are 'sleeping'...that's a cool feeling.

What are some of your 'cool feeling' moments?

- The Babies' Dad

The World is Watching

Flickr photo by. craig

I wake up every morning and the very first thing when I open my eyes is do the sign of the cross. I remember dad doing that when he got out of bed and I picked-up this "habit" from him. I doubt he knows that I do this every morning because I remember seeing him do it every morning growing up. It is interesting the things that as a kid you pick-up on that your parents don't have a clue you know they do or still do. As you grow older you realize you become a version of them in all things; good, bad and ugly.

As a dad this is a scary thought because there are habits that I don't want my children to learn from me. If we as parents sit back to think about the obligation and responsibility we have being role models for our children it sometimes feels like the weight of the universe on our shoulders. I want to be the best daddy for my children and sometimes the pressure gets to me because I feel that the whole world is watching.

I hear it often,"Oh you are such a good daddy!" but inside I want to tell them,"Sometimes. You haven't seen me tired or when the kiddos are acting out." I am not very pleasant but it is getting better (I hope).  I fall to the "template" I grew up with which is my dad. I am a light version of him and even though I love my dad, I want to be better than him. I want my children to know that I am not perfect but I am going to be the best daddy I can be.

The funny thing about kids is that they think you are the coolest cat around. For example, I am NOT a handy man (ask my wife about that) but my girls think I can fix anything. I often hear them pretending to "fix" things and one will always say,"I can't fix this!!" and the other always replies," It's ootay sweetie, daddy can fix it." That makes me feel pretty awesome, even though I really can't fix a lot of things but I can "fix" their invisible toys. I like to yell,"Can we fix it!?", and in twin-sync they yell back,"YES WE CAN!"

So girls Daddy is going to keep being there for you, hold you, carry you, laugh with you, cry with you, hug you, teach you, hold you accountable, feed you, clothe you and love you....especially when the world is watching.

- the babies dad

It taste like chicken! And other random thoughts

Photo is from zazzle.com.

I am going to try something new and just post whatever comes to my mind in the next 10 minutes about being a dad, life and random stuff. Ready, set, go!

• Katherine had tear duct surgery and it traumatized my wife and I. She on the other hand did really well and didn't cry at all. She did throw a fit about the scrubs that they put on her after she woke up from the anesthesia but that is my girl.
• Josephine (our non-twin kid) is a very easy baby (maybe after you have twins the first time it just seems easier) she eats, sleeps (a lot, thank you God!) and poops a lot. However, she likes to smile, coo and overall is a happy baby. Her older sisters love her each in their own way. Katherine is very touchy feel-y with her to the point we have to tell her to back-off a bit. Layla is more like this, "Okay, cool you are here and I love you but you just stay away from my stuff and we are cool. I will come and bring you toys and stuff but just stay in your lane."
• I have to brag about our older girls because they make me feel very dumb at times. There are things that they do like puzzles, count one through ten in Spanish and English, know their primary colors and call us out when they know we are skewing the truth a bit that I don't recall being able to do at their age. My wife on the other hand probably was reading Tolstoy at their age, maybe that is where they get that from. Side note: "My wife things Tolstoy is an evil man because of the way he wrote."
• The parental unit (my wife and I) have made the decision to start potty training this weekend, please Pray for us, may the pee and poo be toilet bound and not...other bound.
• I started trying something new that has benefited our little family, I wake up an hour earlier than I usually do and work on side projects (freelance, some life dream stuff) and when I get home from normal work I don't think of work or side work. Instead I become a fictional lion and ROAR!!!! In the jungle called "Casa de Eloy" I hunt for little monkeys, frogs, rabbits and whatever other animals the girls decided to be that day.
• We introduced the girls to señor "Bob the Builder" needless to say they are always trying to "fix" things. I believe their grandpa would be proud as they use baby bottles and pretend they are hammers, flip their play stools and use "glue" to put them together, finally my favorite they work together and ask one-another to pass the "hammer, screwdriver etc." to get the job done.
• It is lent and my wife and I decided to "give up" Facebook and I must say....it is nice, we read more and seems like we are engaged with our little family more. It might become permanent but then again like any "addiction" it comes and drags you back.
• Saturdays are daddy-daughter mornings. Momma and little baby stay home and sleep (well if little baby decides to be nice to momma) and Daddy and twins go for Saturday morning donuts with their favorite, SPRINKLES! (note: they just eat the sprinkles not the Donut.) Then we go to the library and get books and usually a couple of movies. 
• Hakuna Matata is our a song I started singing one night at bed time then played it on the iPhone and now it is a favorite. The best part is seeing Katherine get out of her bed and dance. Layla just sits there and looks at me confused because she is expecting the iPhone to show the cartoon. However, she makes comments about what should be happening at certain parts of the song. Their favorite line is one from the actual video,"It tastes like chicken!" the reason being I kiss them and act like I am eating them and always say,"Hmmmm yummy you taste like chicken!" Makes me smile every time.

Okay I went over ten minutes...it was more like 15 minutes. Please comment so I know people are reading since I can't post a link of the new post on facebook.

And then there were three

And then there were three
Three mouths to feed, three smiles that hold my heart's key
And then there were three
Three minds in need, three growing beings that will be better than me

And then there were three
Three loves in my soul, three lives full of unknowns
And then there were three
Three loves, priceless even above precious stones

And then there were three
Three joyful children writing on walls, three million sleepless memories most I can't recall
And then there were three
Three beautiful women, three beautiful daughters above all

And then there were three
And then there were three
And guess what?
They all three love me

Mommy Loves You, Daddy Loves You

Dear Girls,

We are only a few weeks away from meeting your new brother or sister and you all are very excited. We bought you a couple of "Big Sister" books and both of you know them really well. We have two of these books and you love both of them. I keep asking you the gender of your sibling to be and you both always answer with a very matter-o-fact,"GIRL!" I also ask you what the name of the baby will be and you both usually reply our last name. Your mom and I think it is very funny. I believe you all will be great big sisters.

It has been great seeing you grow, laugh and love over the past couple of years. I have to say that your mommy and I are very blessed individuals. I hope that when you get older you understand how much love you have brought to our lives.

I also want you to know that every day I wake up and go to work the thought of coming home to you keeps me motivated. I know that no matter how bad a day I had at work when I am done I am coming home to pure, raw love. I cherish opening the door and hearing,"Daddy is home!!", as you both run to meet me at the door.

Katherine you always ask if you can pick the t-shirt I am going to wear for the evening. I believe after you say,"Daddy is home!", your next thing is,"I pick daddy's shirt?" It never gets old (even if you pick old ratty shirts, I wear them with pride). You usually run as fast as you can to our room and start giving me options. These options are more of a courtesy because you tend to guide me to the shirt you want me to wear.

Layla, I always ask you about your day and your little face begins to frown as you think of all you have done. I usually get really accurate responses but sometimes (if the day wasn't very exciting) you make things up i.e. "I went to the zoo!" I love when you get to go to the local library's story time. It seems to me that you really enjoy it because you can always tell me what the stories were about when you go to the,"Libeby."

I hope I can keep writing on this blog that has been dormant since you were born. You keep us busy but even if I can type bullet points of things you all are doing it will be better than nothing.

Love,
Your Daddy

p.s. You love "The Great Big Dog" by Laurie Berkner and you ask for us to play it on the "little iPod"

"Mama loves you / Papa loves you / Everybody loves baby"

Living the Dream

Photo from Flickr bitzelt

It's about 4:30 a.m. and one of my little girls is hungry because she hasn't eaten since she went to bed at 11:00 p.m. My wife wakes up and begins the routine of getting ready to breast feed my child. This doesn't sound too bad but when you do this every night and you only get a few hours of sleep your sleep bank becomes like the United States deficit, it keeps growing the wrong way. However, the kiddos will grow and hopefully like the United States deficit there will be a surplus down the line. I can't complain too much because I am like a crooked politician I steal but instead of money I steal sleep. My wife is like the middle class she is the engine that keeps our family moving. She has to feed the twins so she has to deal with a lot more sleepless nights and still has to provide the goods to keep the girls growing. I try to help but since I don't have the goods it is hard. I am however trying to talk my wife into letting me feed some formula every now and then so that she can get more sleep. I think the idea is starting to sound better one sleepless night at a time.

My wife and I talk about the days when we could sleep until noon if we felt like it and now we are really pumped if we can sleep in on weekend until 8:00 a.m. Our girls are growing very fast and it is crazy! They both have started to coo and smile when you talk to them. The other night they actually looked at each other and gave each other a smile. It was pretty sweet because usually Layla is the one smiling at Katherine but this time Katherine shot her a smile back.

Speaking of Katherine the little trooper was put on her belly to get her to work on her neck strength and she was so mad that she willed her self to rock her body to flip over. My wife and I were being really loud as we cheered her on to keep going. If someone had a video camera on us I am sure we would have been on YouTube and people would be like look at those fools! When she finally flipped over on her back she looked very surprised and she just smiled!

As a dad I don't realize how much poop and puke my wife has to put up with. I help with a lot of diaper changes but since I have to work she takes care of a lot more than I do. She also has to smell like sour milk for long periods of time because she is by herself with the twins during the day. I get puked on a few times and I have the luxury of changing right away because she is there entertaining the kids. The good thing is that my kiddos puke is not as nasty as it probably could be because it is just breast milk and not solid food yet.

One thing I want to make sure everyone reading this knows is that kids are amazing! I wouldn't change anything we have gone through for not having them. People can say all they want about "don't you miss when you and your wife had more freedom of sleep, going to events" etc. The reality is that yes we would like more sleep and like to go to places but no we wouldn't go back for anything. I think when my girls smile at me and coo at me I forget that I haven't slept or done other things in a long time. We are blessed and life is great, we are living the dream!

- The Babies Dad

p.s. hopefully more writing soon as you can tell kind of busy as of lately!

About The Names

I wanted to write a quick post about how we came up with the names of our two little darlings. There was a long period of discussion when it came to boy names but for girl names it took us a few chats.