Sorry for the long gap between posts; work suddenly hit an insanely-busy patch, which was then followed by a 10-day family vacation.
Firstly, the vacation. Mrs. Taylor, Baby Ethan and I went to my in-laws’ cottage for the long weekend to spend some quality time together. Ethan was able to meet some of my wife’s family’s closest friends. In particular, my mother-in-law’s best friend was Ethan’s favourite. He absolutely lit up every time she came near, and he couldn’t stop smiling at her all weekend. It was hilarious!
During this weekend (where Ethan hit the 10-week mark), Ethan also discovered TV. Apparently baseball is a huge hit; I suspect it is all the bright colours (blue seats and walls, white and dark uniforms, bright green field) that caught his eye. But whatever it was, he would go virtually motionless in his bouncy chair, and stare wide-eyed at a baseball game for 20-30 minutes at a time. My father-in-law was thrilled, since baseball is his favourite sport (after golf).
Then my wife and I got a nice treat; as an anniversary gift (we have been married for five years now), my in-laws took Ethan back home and watched him for four days. The wife and I were then able to enjoy the cottage on our own (well, plus the dog too; she didn’t fit in the in-laws’ car with all the baby gear and their dog). I know some new parents go through crazy baby-withdrawal, and we were expecting that. But while my wife would look at pictures on our cell phones occasionally, we were pretty much okay. We definitely missed him, but it wasn’t the “oh my god, we need to get to the baby!!!” hysterics that some people have warned us about.
It was also nice to have the break, and go back to “just us” for a few days. Don’t get me wrong, we completely love Ethan, and I wouldn’t change a thing about him. But it was great to be able to sit and read (I polished off nearly three books during the week off), or watch a 20-minute TV show without interruptions (typically it takes us 50-60 minutes to watch a 20-minute program with all the pausing to take care of Ethan).
My in-laws loved having him over, but they were completely exhausted when we got him home. We had them over Sunday for a thank you dinner, and they could barely keep their eyes open.
That’s all for now; thanks for stopping by!
Jason Taylor (New Dad J.T.)
This post brought back so many memories of when my 19mo old was first born. We had the hardest time leaving him and taking some time for ourselves. Good for you to make that happen. My son also had the fascination with sports, although his was football (different season).
John
learningfatherhood.blogspot.com
My favourite sport is hockey, and Ethan was born JUST in time for the Stanley Cup Finals. I made sure he was with me on the couch for every game… although at that point he did little more than sleep or eat. =)