Yaletown Dad

Man this kid can talk. It’s useless trying to keep posting all the new words she learns as she learns them. I’d be at the computer every day. Actually maybe I should. I wish I had more time. Anyways 3 and 4 letter sentences are the norm, “I love baboo” – translation- I love my bottle, is a regular phrase. “I love you Mama/Dad” regularly comes out as well. It’s enough to melt your heart.

The above is a picture from our recent trip down to California for 3 weeks. It was great, a lot of driving but great none the less. Actually the picture was taken in Oregon while she was wearing her Muddy Buddy outfit and rubber boots. That being said Oregon still seems like a home away from home. Most people know Cannon Beach and Tolovana, but a short 20 mile trek further south really opens up a jewel of the Oregon coast that only the locals seem to know about. It’s called Pacific City and we stumbled upon it by mistake last year, if you can get a chance to go there it’s totally worth it. Here’s a pics from one of the great local Brewpubs there, the Pelican Pub:

And here’s the other side of the camera about 5 seconds later:

For those of you who don’t recognize, that’s me in my happiest state. Just my beautiful wife, my amazing kid, the rolling surf, a crackling fire and a cold craft brewed beer. That my friends is my heaven.

That’s all for tonight, inspiration got it’s grip on me tonight as Sage was asking for chips and DIP! Very loudly I might add.

Side note: Sage will be 2 in 11 days, where does the time go? I’m still trying to find the answer.

Now playing in Daddy’s iTunes: The New Pollution – Beck

A fresh haircut, courtesy of Farzad and who’s the first person I’m told I look like? Stephen Baldwin. Stephen bloody Baldwin! It could be worse, but it could be better too, Alec Baldwin and I wouldn’t be so upset, or even Christian Slater (believe it or not I have had the comparison made) and I wouldn’t even have been blogging about this. But Stephen Baldwin? Really? I don’t see it. Nor was it the look I was going for.

Might be time for a new hair style.

Now playing in Daddy’s iTunes on his new Macbook: Bulletproof – La Roux

Yaba? Saba?

To anyone else those two words don’t really mean anything, they probably aren’t even real words in the English language. To Michelle and I they mean please and thank you, and recently we’ve discovered Saba may actually mean seven, at least when Sage says it. To us it’s an amazing thing, after nearly 2 years of communication through crying we actually get something resembling real words and we go with it. But really it’s only something special to us, to anyone else it’s just jibberish.

Along those lines I’ve noticed parents nowadays seem to think their offspring are the next Nicolaus Copernicus or Lauren Jackson no more than a few hours out of the delivery room. Phrases overheard in the hospital go something like – “My son is in the 95th percentile for head diameter” or “My daughter is in the (insert your own Number) percentile for height”. What it most likely means is that your son just has an abnormally large head, most likely suitable for Rugby scrums in some hicktown beer-league game, and your daughter is probably going to grow up to be an Amazon woman. Her chances of making the WNBA or the WNBA actually existing when she’s old enough to play are probably about as likely as, well, the WNBA existing in 15 years.

Now I’m not saying there isn’t any reason for parents, rookie or seasoned to be proud of what they have produced. I sure as hell am. Is my kid tall for her age? Yes. Will she be in 15 years? I doubt it. Maybe taller that average, but the WNBA? I think I’ve beat that joke to death. I just find it comical to see what other parents seem to think is amazing, and nod my head assuredly when they tell start listing figures.

Denis Leary rant mode off….. for now.

Speaking of Denis Leary I’m just about finished reading his book “Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid”, and if you are a fan at all of his comedy routine, his acting or just him in general I definitely recommend giving it a read.

What’s new with the family you ask? You would be better off asking what hasn’t changed. I’m still working myself to the bone (450 hrs in the past 5 weeks), still trying to spend every spare moment I can with my beautiful wife and amazing daughter and trying to get in a little “me” time if I can.

Speaking of “me” time, some things have fallen by the way side. I haven’t played hockey since the first week of July. Partly due to circumstances and partly due to choice. And I won’t be playing until the last weekend of September. And for those who know me even remotely you will know that this sort of absence from the ice is nearly heartbreaking for me. I love playing. Oh well at least it will give my body a chance to heal from a few nagging injuries.

Golf? Hahahahahahahahahaha……… The closest I have been to golfing is going out and hitting a bucket of balls at the driving range ONCE this year. Pathetic.

However I have been at home to see some pretty cool and tear jerking moments with Sage. Roaring like a dinosoar being among the latest memorable moments:

Go Diego Go!

Watching that episode for the 50th time is starting to wear on my nerves, I can now repeat it verbatim. And just when you think she’d be sick of it we hear ” De De, De De, De De”. And if you don’t have that show playing from the PVR in less than 10 seconds you’re in trouble.

I still love every inch of her none the less.

Now playing in Daddy’s PVR: The Great Dinosaur Adventure – Go Diego Go!

Hold on to your socks, I’m about to get profound here, at least I think I am.

When is the point in time where you stop looking forward to things, events and moments, versus looking back at the good times that were? How old is a person at that point in time?

Right now I consider myself a person “Looking forward” to things, for example our trip to California this summer. Yet, sometimes I already look back to the times when Sage was a baby and I’m looking back at the good times that were. I realize there’s plenty of great times to come and I’m looking forward to every one of them, I guess the secret is to fully enjoy the now so that I can look back with no regrets.

That’s enough of being profound for now, I’ll save some for another time. For those who know me I’m not really full of these moments.

Normally around this time in one of my blogs I would tell you all the new words Sage has learned and uses regularly but there’s so many new ones now it’s hard to keep up. She says Hi and Bye, also see ya as an alternative to bye. She calls here Grandpa Ryne Papa, and their dog Kona she calls Koko. She says apple when she wants some, she says Bird and Tree, and also weee weee weee when she see’s a playground. It’s amazing to see a learning mind at work.

Speaking of great moments that was her first baseball game, and the Vancouver Canadians beat the Salem – Keizer Volcanoes 14-0 that night. What a great night of inexpensive family entertainment. I highly recommend going to a game if you can. Also Nathans Famous hotdogs come in a close second as far as reasons to go are.

That’s all for now, I’m just starting another really busy set of shifts over the next 10 days and I need my rest.

Now playing in Daddy’s iTunes: Perfect Exceeder – Mason Vs. Princess Superstar

Just back from 9 nights out camping at La Conner in Washington, and I think the true sign of a great vacation is when you would rather stay there for 2 more weeks rather than go home. I’m back refreshed and relaxed, plus I had a great time bonding with my daughter. Michelle went back to work for a day and I was able to have about 30 straight hours of Daddy/Daughter time. I taught her how to throw rocks in to the Ocean, burn sticks in a fire, set off fireworks, you know the typical things every kid should know. I want her to grow to be daddy’s little girl, but in reality it looks like she’s going to have a lot of Tom-Boy in her. And I guess that works out well for me seeming that I probably won’t have a son.

By the way what happened to fireworks since I’ve grown up? When I was little and my dad would take my brother and I down to the states around July 4th and all my dad would have to do is ask them where they keep the good stuff, you know things like cherry bombs and M-80′s. They would always take us around back of their stands to their truck and sell us the real stuff. This time I begged and pleaded with them but to no avail, I guess I look too much like a cop, must be the hairstyle. I was still able to buy some that you could feel the shockwave from but it just wasn’t the same.

Had a great time nonetheless. How relaxed do I look here?:

Had a great time and great beer at “The Pike” brewery in Seattle:

Mmmmmmmmmm, raspberry XXXXX Stout:

And here’s what it’s all about:

That’s all for today, we’re quickly approaching this little kids bedtime, and by little kid I mean me.

Now playing Daddy’s iTunes: Fancy Footwork – Chromeo (Crookers Remix)

Stroller life around this house is the way of life, wherever we go there’s a stroller made for the occasion. And for every occasion my wife owns the stroller. Some would think it’s a bit extreme to have upwards of 7 strollers for one kid, but as long as she’s happy, I’m happy. (2 Cameleons, 1 Bee, 2 Urban mountain Buggys, 1 MEC Bike trailer/stroller, and a Maclaren for those who are curious)

Here’s a pic of the daily, Paul Frank 2009 X Denim 2007 Limited Edition custom:

My garage on the other hand is not so happy being full of strollers. The man cave demands cleanliness, organization and a well stocked beer fridge. The fridge is fine, the cleanliness and organization on the other hand……….

I guess it all comes down to time, there never seems to be enough of it. Especially when you have a kid as active as we do. If you could package it I’m sure you could power most of the Greater Vancouver area. She just runs non stop, and now when we are out either on bikes or walking the stroller passing by a park is not an option, unless you want to deal with the screaming. Whatever tires her out I guess, she does seem to be going to bed earlier and that’s a plus for us. I miss just hanging around with my wife sometimes. Maybe Sage needs to go visit Glamma and Papa’s house soon for an overnighter.

We just miss her too much when she’s gone, with a face like this how can you disagree?:

She seems to have the posing thing down to a science, I guess that would come with the nearly 8000 pics Mom has taken of her. Maybe modelling as a career? Time will tell.

Have to cut today’s post short, going out for Lunch with Le Chiffre (of the James Bond type) at Phat, actually it’s really the Cheif, just my new take on his nickname.

Now playing on Daddy’s lunch menu: Schwartz’s Ruben- Phat

When I am relaxed, you can tell. The bags under my eyes fade, my smile is a bit sharper and the facial hair comes in full force.

I’ll bet you would be hard pressed to find a person who enjoys shaving, whether it be a man or a woman, nobody truly enjoys the task. That being said there comes a bit of serenity in growing a bit of a beard, or for the ladies letting the legs go a little furry. When no one around really knows you, or when you really don’t care a certain amount of foliage is quite acceptable. Well the beard is in folks. After a hearty week of dirtbiking in the middle of no-where with good friends I decided to experiment with a new facial coif, and I have to admit the response is not quite what I expected. People do a bit of a double take, I even had some girls in a pick up take a picture of me in passing traffic, people stop me in conversation thinking that I remind them of someone they know.

Maybe it’s in my genetics, my dad has had a moustache for as long as I can remember. In fact he looks like a little kid without it, I still remember him shaving it off some times around my parents anniversary and thinking he looked odd without it. My brother on the other hand couldn’t grow one if his life depended on it, odd the way genetics play out.

I think it’s a sign that I’m finally relaxed, work is not as stressfull, and I’m set to have the best summer holidays I’ve ever had in my career due to extenuating circumstances, but I’ll take them regardless.

The million dollar question is who do I actually look like? Realistically I was going for a Paul Jr./ Orange County Choppers type thing. This morning I was compared to young Wendel Clarke/Toronto Maple Leafs star and that I can live with, but if I actually had to field my own opinion of who or what I look like it would be the Vice Magazine’s don’t list. For those who aren’t familiar with who that is, it’s a really odd group of people who take pictures of people and comment on their features/style, etc, etc and publish it in a magazine. I’m sure in my current status I would make their list for sure. As a side point I’d love to write for the magazine, some of the writers wit is off the charts.

Well here’s the authors handlebars, field your own opinion:

And from the epic trip here’s a Daddy/Daughter art time in front of our trailer shot:

We’ll see how long I can stand having this thing on my face, if I am really determined I’ll go for the full on Connoissuer stache, it would be quite the combo with my 1920′s esque slicked back hairdo.

And in the daughter development department Sage has added some new words to her repertoire, Juice, Mama and Dad are all clear, cheese and Nana (Banana) are also said quite often. Also the phrase “what is that?” or “what is this” come out every 15 or so seconds. We’re trying to always answer so she will actually learn. I’m sure she’ll be a smart kid.

Now playing on Daddy’s PVR – The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

So the further I get in to fatherhood the more routine some things seem to get. The things I don’t have control over such as nap time, #1 and #2 time and whatever time it is that she seems to want to get up in the middle of the night (most likely either nights we have to work the next day, or the night before my early morning hockey games) are out of my control, but the things I do have control of such as Gelato time are my favorite.

Each night roughly an hour before bedtime I break out the 1 litre container from Yaletown Gelato, which has to be about the best gelato ever seeming it’s actually made by 3 real Italian brothers and Sage and I sit together watch some TV. In case you were wondering what we watch, it’s usually House or Yo Gabba Gabba depending on our current mood or maturity level.

Here’s a pic of Gelato time, and for those wondering what the flavours in the picture are, the brown one is Donatella (Delizioso) and the pink is Lemon Razz, which is our other favorite:

She’ll just sit there quietly for as long as I keep spooning her the Italian goodness, sometimes for up to 1/2 an hour. And if you’ve ever been around her you’ll understand that quiet time is quite precious.

That’s it for tonight, my back is too sore to keep typing, but that’s a story for another blog post. Stay tuned.

Now playing in daddy’s iTunes: Momma’s Boy – Chromeo

Should I be plunking down money in to an RESP for Sage or should I just save up for her future phone bills? The video is a little long but definitely worth the watch, the real shame is that we missed the first 2 minutes of the convo trying to find the camera.

Enjoy:

Now playing on Daddy’s PVR: Yo Gabba Gabba – Friends

The keen eye may be able to spot our penchant for Herman Miller furniture in my pics within this blogroll, well our newest acquisition the “Cognita” storage bench which we use as the coffee table/toybox/Bluray storage/remote control storage/foot rest is one of our favorite peices thus far.

Well PR has found another use for it – drawing table. Thank goodness there’s some intelligent people at Crayola because they have now made crayons completely washable with just a cloth and water. Now she does her artwork on the white top and when she’s completed her latest masterpeice we just wash it off.

And for the hockey fans out there she’s doing her best impersonation of AK27 (Alexei Kovalev) jersey and all. And this picture basically describes what just happened as she wacked her head off the corner of the above mentioned coffee table:

And off to the Emergency Room we went with her bleeding profusely bleeding from her forehead. A cut even Todd Bertuzzi would be proud of, 1.5 cm long, 3 sutures later and she’s back in business, my near heart attack after seeing it though is not so good. I don’t think I have moved so fast in the last 10 years. Thank goodness for Universal Healthcare here in the Great White North.

Hopefully she doesn’t have a noticeable scar, the doctor wanted to give her 2 actual stitches, but I think she’s heal up just fine.

It feels like today will never end, and it’s only 1:30 now. They say bad things come in 3′s, what’s next? I’m due for 1 more, not that I’m superstitious or any thing.

Now playing in Daddy’s iTunes: Freak On A Leash – Korn