I'm walking!

And he's off! Dominic took his first steps this week, and I guess that means there's no going back. He's not exactly Fred Astaire... he's more like Frankenstein. Still it sure is exciting... and stressful.

My Grandpa

My Grandpa, Dominic, and my dad

In the same week Dominic turned 10 months, I learned my grandpa has a rare form of skin cancer that is ultimately going to kill him. Not to sound too "Lion King" about this, but it really does make you think about the circle of life. As one life is just getting going, another is coming to an end.

Unfortunately, Dominic will not likely remember my grandpa. Even if he does, it won't be the same man I remember... and nothing makes me sadder.

He'll never get to hear my grandpa order his coffee and tell the waitress to "hold the mayonnaise"(I don't know why he said it, but he said it. EVERY time). He'll never play cards with my grandpa and wonder the entire time if he's cheating (he probably was).

He'll never call my grandpa and say "let's take a trip" and no matter what he was doing he was ready to go. We went all over. Riverside to see family, Mariposa to go fishing, Yuma for God know's what. We even drove all the was across the country and back (can't believe we didn't kill each other).

He'll never hear my grandpa tell him (and truly believe) he was the best at whatever it was he was doing. My grandpa thought I was Pele on the soccer field and Michael Jordan on the basketball court (I was neither). He never missed one of my high school soccer games (home or road). Even at soccer camp, in 100-degree weather, he was standing on the sidelines (I'm not even sure he was allowed).

I will make sure to tell Dominic how his great-grandfather was always there for his daddy. Once I took my Subaru station wagon off-roading (it was 4-wheel drive) and got stuck. I called my grandpa in a panic to help me get it out before my dad got home. He raced over and we got to digging. We were still digging when my dad drove by.

I want Dominic to understand his great-grandfather has a huge heart. When I was in elementary school we had "grandparents day". My grandma and grandpa came every year, and every year they would adopt everyone in the class who's grandparents couldn't make it. They would invite all those kids to sit with us at lunch, and my grandpa would spend the hour making jokes. (Years later when one of my friends got married, he invited my grandparents to the wedding. Their invitation read "Grandma & Grandpa".)

Dominic will only have the art on our walls to know how talented my grandpa is. My grandpa is a true artist. He paints, sculpts, draws, you name it he could do it. When I was in high school, he really got into make walking canes. His best had a bear on the top. People always told him he could make them and sell them, but he was always more interested in giving them away. The same with his paintings. Now I wish I had taken more.

I will make sure that Dominic knows how important my grandpa is in my life. How some of the best parts of me, are the best parts of him. I want Dominic to know, that Vic McKean may not have always been the best man, but he was always the best grandfather I could ask for.

I love you grandpa.


Now that I have you depressed... I have a movie for you to watch. Dominic is becoming VERY mobile. See for yourself.

Dominic's on the Move

Dominic's is definitely on the move. Strangely, he's usually headed to where ever the dog happens to be. Once Dominic can walk, the dog will never get another moment of rest. Too bad.

Dominic's New Toys

Dominic is enjoying his new Christmas gifts. I won't lie, I'm enjoying them a little myself.

The first is Dominic's new piano. It plays music, says numbers and colors and it also hooks up to the TV somehow. We're still working on that part.



This racetrack daddy can really get into. It involves cars, racing and more importantly crashes. Plus it makes Dominic laugh.

8-Month Update

Late in Melissa's pregnancy someone said "I want to see you keep the blog going once the baby is born." At the time I thought, "no problem".

I was wrong... clearly. This is the first "real" update in months. Oh well... so goes the life of a busy dad.

It's not that I don't have the time. There are plenty of free moments, but I use those to do other things, shower, eat, and most importantly sleep (I'll tell you what we don't do... watch movies. We've had the same DVDs from Netflix for months).

The good news is-- eight months later, things are getting easier. Dominic is sleeping more of the night. He can sit up, which means he can play on his own. And he loves toys, especially the ones that play music (and what's not to love about hearing the same song over and over and over again). He loves to laugh, and we love to laugh with him.

The bad news-- I think things are about to get harder. Dominic seems to be on the verge of crawling (or walking, I really not sure which he's going to do first). Mobility scares me... a lot. Someone else said to me, "once they can walk, you're always one fall away from the ER". Great!

And let's be honest, there's nothing more painful than watching your kid be in pain. Dominic bumped his head pretty good the other day, and it took all I had not to cry, while he was crying. I guess that's how it goes.

Praying for toys perhaps?

Now we're getting ready to share our first Christmas with Dominic. Can't wait... even though he's already the best present I've ever received (although, that Josh Freeman jersey I got from my birthday was pretty nice too).

Give me a Kiss

Dominic has apparently has mastered blowing kisses. What concerns me is that he learned it at daycare. And today one of the girls (an infant, not a daycare worker) kissed him. Maybe he's a ladies man in the making. Just like daddy!

The Lost Blogs: Dominic's Baptism

I'm not exactly what you'd describe as a "religious" (imagine me doing air quotes there). In fact, you can count the number of times I've been to church on one hand (maybe two).
So when Melissa said she wanted to get Dominic baptized I was mixed. But since she grew up going to church and it was important to her, then I was all for it. Besides, I figured it at least meant more presents for Dominic at Christmas and birthdays (again, not that religious).

What I didn't realize is that I'd have to follow all these rules. First, you have to pick Godparents. No problem. Oh wait... they have to be Catholic? And confirmed? What does "confirmed" even mean?

Next you have to go to a baptism class. By the way, this was pretty silly. All they did was show us a movie made in 1985 that ultimately told me I need to show up, bring the baby, and the Godparents. Done and done.

Proof that I went to church and didn't catch on fire.

Then comes the big day. All our family came including grandparents, great grandparents, Godparents, and aunts and uncles. We all went to the church and ironically on a day Dominic was going to get water poured on his head, he needed an umbrella to keep him dry.

We attended the full mass. That's a pretty good workout. Lots of standing and sitting and standing again.

(Side tangent: Obviously it was a Sunday and football was on. Do you know who didn't look at his phone for a score or fantasy update once during the service? Me. I can't say the same for everyone in our party.)

At one point the church got quiet and what wouldn't you know... Dominic let one rip. A big one, people actually looked. Again, I'm not very religious, but I don't think you're supposed to do that in church.

Finally the service was over and it was time for the baptism itself. That took a long time. Nearly an hour. About three-quarters of the way threw Dominic fell asleep... so imagine the rude awakening when the water was finally poured on his head. He cried, but just for a second.

Afterward, we headed home for a nice afternoon of football and delicious food whipped up by my beautiful wife.

All in all, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. Thank God!