Fatherhood Update (My Son Is 2)

I've learned that timing is one of the most important aspects of writing a blog. For example, it would seem a bit silly to write a review now of the FOX television show The Mob Doctor seeing that the show was cancelled months ago. (When I read this post again in a few years, I'm going to regret using a Mob Doctor reference.) Of course, I don't always follow my own advice. Earlier this week, I wrote a recap of the New York Red Bulls-New England Revolution soccer game I attended three weeks ago. And today, I'm writing about my son turning two even though that occurred nearly two months ago.

- Let's start with the tale of the tape. At his two year appointment, my son was 27.2 pounds (41st percentile) and 35 inches tall (68th percentile). 68th percentile! WOOOO! I'm 5' 7" so I'm hopeful that he's taller than me. Someone told me that you're supposed to double a child's height when they are two to determine their adult height. If that's the case, my son will be 5' 10". Again, WOOOOOOO!

- My son has a girlfriend at daycare. Actually, while they don't want to define their relationship, they are extremely funny and cute together. When they see each other in the morning, they do some type of happy dance. There are also hugs. They have both met each other's families and my son even slept over her house. This could be considering scandalous and may be a plot development on the next episode of Scandal, but we're okay with it.

- I wouldn't necessary write that my son is shy, but it takes him time to warm up to people. I guess this is a good thing. We take neighborhood walks nightly and he's cautious around other people and dogs. He sees some of the same people and dogs regularly, but he'll sometimes move closer to me. (In case you're wondering, when he spends significant time with a dog, he's fine with them though he's not a big fan of getting licked on his face.)

- With all of this dog talk, don't worry about his allegiances. He still loves Ziggy.

- My son's primary interests are books, puzzles (especially the Melissa & Doug ones) and anything with wheels. His favorite toys are cars, buses and trucks. Again, anything with wheels. He also is fascinated by real life buses. Maybe he associates buses with me since he has seen me get off a bus from my commute. Regardless, he gets so excited when he sees a bus.

- My son's favorite stuffed animal is the uniquely named Bear Bear, who granted me permission to share his (her?) picture.

- When I mentioned earlier that he may be shy, he is also cautious. He will hold our hands to go up and down stairs and he's never tried to climb out of his crib.

- It's very scary to me that he knows how to use an iPad. From the sleep mode, he knows what button to press to turn on the iPad, and then he can slide to unlock the iPad. He knows what apps are his too. Again, scary.

- To conclude the bedtime routine, we sing Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight by The Spaniels. I'm not sure if my parents sang this to me or if I got this from a movie. If the second choice is the answer, I can thank Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson.



Overall, my son is a sweet kid. He has a wonderful laugh and he gives great hugs. He is usually calm and simply likes to play. There have been a few more meltdowns now that my son turned two, but I'll write about that some other time. Probably when he's about to start kindergarten.

Housekeeping & Random Questions

- Thanks to some excellent IT assistance, the iPad is now up-and-running. I barely know what I’m doing and haven’t spent much time playing with it, but what (preferably free) aps do you recommend? In addition, is there an off button or does the iPad turn off automatically after a certain amount of time of inactivity?

- I’m working on a rare political post and am looking for some folks to answer a question or two. Some extremely basic knowledge of Virginia politics (or even Virginia) is preferred. Please note that I will likely publish your response, so you can obviously say no once I send you the question(s). Opinions from across the political spectrum are welcome.

- Why does the Women’s World Cup only have 16 teams when the Men’s World Cup has 32 countries?

- If you had only one day in Pittsburgh, where would you eat?

- Finally, it’s about time to update my blogroll. If you have a blog that you would like me to add, please let me know. I hope that you also add a link to Sean’s Ramblings on your blog. In addition, I’m happy to follow folks on Twitter that read my blog.

Frustrated

It’s time to vent. I recently won an iPad. Hooray! I’m so happy that I won this product rather than spending several hundreds of dollars to buy it. I can’t turn the thing on. Apparently, I need to download iTunes on to my home computer and then connect the iPad to my computer. Why is this necessary? Name me another fairly expensive product that you can’t use unless hooked up to another product.

Anyway, I have been unable to download iTunes. I consistently receive a message that "the installation of Quick Time did not complete successfully. iTunes requires Quick Time." I’ve tried downloading Quick Time separately but that has also turned out to be unsuccessful. Therefore, the iPad is doing a wonderful job of serving as a paperweight. I could have gone outside and found a rock that would have been just as useful. Angry Birds will have to deal with Angry Sean!

Today is the second day of summer. Hooray! I have a sinus infection. Boo! Being sick in the summer is no fun.

When I called to set up an appointment with my doctor, I learned that he left the practice a few weeks ago. Shouldn’t your doctor give you notice when he/she leaves?