Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Improvising Fatherhood: Shake, Rattle, and That's How I Roll

I have a new Blog BFF.  Like, officially.  We are having necklaces made and everything, except in the shape of a laptop instead of a heart.  BB on one side, and FF on the other.

And do you know what?  My new BBFF is a boooooyyyyyeeee

*ahem*

He is a daddy blogger.  And he is funny.  His name is Nate and his blog is called Improvising Fatherood, and he has a totally NOMable little boy named Chandler.  And a wife named Ashley who likes my blog, so obviously she is da kewlest.  I am admittedly new to his blog.  But, after exchanging a few funny emails and reading up on archives, I've become a big big fan.  Example of The Funny emails that made me want to read his blog:

Me: I can't return emails on my phone, because either Apple or Hotmail is a dick.  I'm not sure which.

Nate: I work for Apple.

Me: * facepalm *

(he tells me how to fix problem, I thank him.)

Nate: Glad your Hotmail is working.  We all know who the dick really was.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

We have done a bit of a blog swap today, so head on over to Nate's blog and read about the trouble I have caused in his marriage.  But first, enjoy this post about his preshus baybee. 

--
Shake, Rattle, and That's How I Roll, by Nate Smith of Improvising Fatherhood
Today the whole family went back to the Lake Oswego Public Library music class. In a previous article I wrote about my experience taking Chandler to this class on my own. This time all of us went together.

We were a little late and missed out on some of the opening songs. That didn't phase us though, because today' trip wasn't about the music. Today we were there to show off Chandler's crawling skills.

Chandler has really got this crawling thing down, and he's already trying to leave that mode of transportation behind as he attempts to stand and walk. So today as we snuck in to the class and found a spot in the "happy circle" we didn't waste anytime. I put Chandler right on all fours and released him into the wild.

I think Chandler could tell it was time to perform. He put on a dazzling display of crawling, sitting up, switching back and forth from the crawl and sitting positions, and even threw in a few face plants as comic relief.

And the crowd went wild!

We got a ton of comments like, "How old is your baby? Only 5 months! This guy is 7 months and he's nowhere near crawling yet," and "Wow, he's really advanced!"

I'd be lying if I said Ashley and I weren't LOVING it. I wrote in a previous article about how I hate when parents talk about how great their own kids are. So Ashley and I have made a conscious effort not to talk him up too much. We just let his actions do the talking. And as people are fawning over how amazing he is we will often deflect the praise by saying something like, "Well he's still not sleeping through the night."

Of course, being the doting parents that we are, we can't help but want to promote our child a little bit. Ashley has joined the BabyCenter.com forums and we are actively sharing our son's achievements. We still avoid any "our son is so special" type comments, and instead we upload videos of him in action and simply say, "He does this now. Is that good or something?"

It's pretty obvious what we're doing. We're bragging. But at least we're backing it up with solid evidence. Another mom posted that her baby was the cutest baby ever. But she didn't post any pictures. This of course sent the forums into a tizzy as a slew of other moms posted pictures of their babies and declared their child the victor. While Ashley and I agree that Chandler can probably take all of those kids in a cute-off, Ashley went a different route and replied that ours was the most athletic baby ever. And we provided video proof. The decision was unanimous. Chandler wins.

Oh, and that comment about Chandler not sleeping through the night? Well he slept for 5 hours straight last night. So that will soon be a thing of the past.

BEST BABY EVER!!!!!!



14 comments:

Strawberry said...

After reading his blog, I think I have a lesbian crush on him. AND he's a redhead. Dude.

laurieb145 said...

Seriously Jen...you are too funny! I just re-read your post on his blog and I laughed harder than I have in a long time..I remember laughing when you originally put it on your blog..but reading it this time I am crying lauging..You are awesome!

Anonymous said...

I found Nate and his bragging ways really annoying...

HereWeGoAJen said...

Clearly a genius baby.

twinkietotmom said...

Love it! Thank for introducing us all to Mr. Mom over there ;) Oh, and btw, don't you just love how people who leave rude comments only do so as "anonymous"?

juliane2004 said...

Oh Em Gee. Thank you Jenn!!! He is hilarious. I had a crap-tastic day and I just laughed out loud like 5 times just now. Thx.

La Mere Joie said...

He's really funny! And how do you send mail from hotmail on the iphone. It always goes from my gmail account...totally annoying! LOL

Nate Smith said...

Okay, I've been watching the comments but refraining from joining in. But now you've asked an Apple question, so I can't hold back.

First of all, thank you Jennepper, and thank you everyone who have left such nice comments.

To those who might think my bragging is annoying, please know that it is all a joke. In reality my child is a really horrible kid and we hardly ever take him out in public for fear of the shame we will have to endure.

La Mere Joie, I'll email you....

Two Moms, Two Monkeys said...

He is a riot! I love hearing dads brag about their kids, actually...and the baby is adorable! :)

kimbosue said...

We will have to get Miles and Chandler in a cute-off because I know Miles wins, HANDS DOWN. Oh and my baby eats more than your baby. And my baby has been sleeping through the night since 9 weeks. And...ok that's enough.

Can't wait to check him out! And anonymous commenters are such douches!

Nate Smith said...

Kimbosue, Chandler accepts your challenge! Leave a comment that includes some contact info at improvising fatherhood and we will arrange a cage match.

Kristen said...

Too funny. I will be checking out his blog. :)

Kristin said...

THANK YOU JEN/NATE!(you see I put Jen first b/c ladies first!

This is a great post on a topic that I absolutely hate. Our Mommies group have banned the word "advanced"! My SIL constantly barraged us w/how advanced her son was considered and we just sat back and smiled till a year or so later had to watch them bar-rate their own son w/"Why can't you sit at a table like Amirah" (our daughter) and much much more.

Each kid is on their own schedule and let it go. If you have a good pedi they will tell you when to worry. Now lets all relax and go chew on lead pipes people!

Nate your son is very very adorable keep him locked up or you will have lots of other fathers calling you looking for their own daughters!!!!

Anonymous said...

i found the babycenter thread i believe nate is referencing.

http://community.babycenter.com/post/a21307811/my_baby?&intcmp=SPGroupSearchResult_SPGroupSearch_textlink&cpg=1&csi=2105114849&pd=-1

there's no mention of an ashley or a chandler in the entire thing. or is there another thread?