Tag Archives: Special Days

Father of the Year

Me and CaseyShortly after noon tomorrow I will have been a father for one year. Yep, Casey’s already one year old!

I can hardly believe that we’ve hit his first birthday already. Oddly, at the same time, it feels like a century ago I was in that hospital room marveling at his wrinkly hands and unpracticed cries. Most amazingly of all, we’ve made it through 365 days of parenting and still have a healthy little boy to show for it.

Four Years

At sunset four years ago today I was stumbling my way through bilingual vows on China’s most southern sands. I can hardly believe that four years has passed since then.

All about the babies, and a son to be

Maggie and I are in our final week of a 5-week visit to Canada, and it has been a whirlwind — both physically and mentally.

It has been wonderful being home for the holidays, and a visit that has been full of firsts. It was Maggie’s first time seeing British Columbia (as we flew into Vancouver rather than Toronto, simply for the experience and to visit family out west). It was also our first opportunity to meet my 20-month-old nephew who was born shortly after our last visit to Canada.

My nephew is not the only new addition to our clan since our last visit. My cousin and my step-brother have both had children since we were last here, and being home has given me a chance to sit down with all the somewhat-new parents and pick their brains on being first-time parents.

That experience alone has made this visit home invaluable. We have lists of recommended reading, bags of baby gear, advice layered upon advice and, perhaps most valuable, the opportunity to spend some up-close and personal time with babies and little kids — something that has given us both a much stronger sense that, despite the regular fears I imagine all new parents-to-be have, we are ready for this.

Hands down the best part of being home though came in the form of a short trip to a small office in Oakville on December 23, 2009. For Christmas my sister and my mom decided to take Maggie and I to 3D Baby Vision, a fetal imaging clinic that specializes in keepsake 3d ultrasounds.

16 Candles x 2 = Some Serious Wax

So, it’s my birthday — and shaping up to be one of the best ones I’ve had in years. As mentioned in the previous post, my best friend Cory arrives from Canada today for his first visit to China. I leave in a couple hours to grab the shuttle from Suzhou to the Shanghai Pudong …

Sacralicious

It’s been a busy week since I left Belfast, and leaving Belfast proved no small challenge. Last Monday Carol left for Prague for the New Year celebration. I too was supposed to depart, but because I had stayed up the entire night before scouring the Internet for flight deals to Bangkok and various other travel …