19.1.11

Things I learned last year

This last year has been a good one, up and down and lots of different things going on. Here are some of the top lessons that I have learned in the last year, in no particular order.

- When the baby is screaming in the middle of the night because he has bad diaper rash, make sure that your wife doesn't put the sunscreen in the same drawer as the butt paste. Just an FYI in case you didn't know, sunscreen on a bad diaper rash doesn't help, it actually makes things worse.

- Be careful tossing a baby up into the air right after him downing a bottle. It could all come back up, on you.

- Even if you are more calm than your wife while the kid is screaming, it does absolutely no good to point that out to her. Not sure why.

- It's pretty magical to hear the words da-da while getting a bear hug and the side of your face licked.

- You have about 3.2 seconds from the time the diaper comes off to get him into the bath before the pee starts flowing.

- It's a good thing kids are made of rubber.

- Babies in the hospital don't make for happy parents, even for something not too serious.

- The feeling of helplessness that has come quite frequently this last year is rather humbling, which I think is the point. That doesn't make it easier.

- We have lots of great friends and family all over the world, and it's perfectly fine that they are more interested in the little fat than in us.

- I think the slogan "Be prepared" was originally coined by mothers talking about the fact that one can never have too many wet wipes.

I've actually learned quite a bit more than that this last year. It has been a good one full of lots of love and laughs. I'm grateful for all of the great blessings that I enjoy, more than I rightly deserve. Happy 2011 all, may your days be full of this.