Mobility- fun for some

Sophie has gotten fairly mobile in the last few weeks.She still isn't crawling in the classical sense, but is using a modified technique where she gets on her hands and knees, lunges forward onto her belly and then scoots forward due to the momentum from her legs. It isn't what I would call pretty, but it works. It works very well.
I haven't lost her yet, but I have a feeling that day is fast approaching. I've started working on the excuses I'll throw at Christie when she comes in from an errand and Sophie is nowhere to be found. Thus far, none of the excuses I have developed have a chance of working, but I keep coming up with 'em. We'll see what happens when the dreaded moment arrives.
She is pretty creative when it comes to playing with her toys, which apparently is a trait many only children develop. She enjoys playing drums on the container the blocks came in more than playing with the blocks themselves and really seems to love the sound the lid makes as she scrapes it across the floor. She's even gone after a few of Gizza's toys, but that's okay, he doesn't mind sharing.

Tasty, tasty rawhide!

Uncle Connor

I can't really remember the first time I heard someone say that becoming a father changes the way a man looks at the world. When I first heard that said, I probably made a joke or two about the various ways I thought fatherhood would impact me. I can see myself now- firing off a few quips about the loss of my identity as a person and no longer having the time or money for things I had always enjoyed.
To be honest, I always knew fatherhood would change me, and I was actually looking forward to it. Becoming a father meant that growing up was no longer optional. There is no rationalization for a new bike or a rare bottle of Scotch when it is time to pay for day care. Incidently, a month of day care falls right in the middle of the price of a nice bottle of hooch and a decent road bike. Funny how things work out isn't it?
What I wasn't expecting was the deeper ways that fatherhood changed the way I look at the world. Dating or being married is one thing- Christie and I depend on each other, but our very existance does not depend on the other. That isn't the case with a baby. Sophie completely depends on us. I know that won't always be the case, but it is right now and will be for several more years. Having that responsibility affected me a great deal in other ways as well.
I feel much more tuned into the world and its rhythms since becoming a father. Having a brand new life in the house and watching the myriad and sundry changes that she goes through on an almost daily basis seem to make me feel more tuned in to life than I ever have been before. I think some of it is tied to our worries that as a newborn she was always so close to death. Babies are so tiny and helpless and can just die in their sleep for no obvious reason at all. The thought of it still makes me wake up at night on occasion and I lay there quietly in the dark listening for her breathing to reassure me. I guess what I'm trying to say is Sophie has taught me about the frailty and preciousness of life, even though she is perfectly healthy and happy.
The fleeting nature of our time here on Earth became all too real for me Tuesday when Roger called to share the news about Connor. I didn't have the pleasure of knowing him as I was growing up, but over the last 15 years I am really glad that I got to know him. Many of my cousins have told me he was their favorite uncle growing up and I can see why. Quick witted and jovial, chreubic in nature and appearance, he always made the room he was in come alive. He told what I consider the funniest joke I have ever heard. I told it to a friend last week who was having a really bad day. When I told her the news of his passing Wednesday morning, she asked me what he was like. "Remember the joke I told you about the Brazilian Bullfrog?" I asked. She nodded and I added, "He told it to me." She smiled. So did I.

I hugged Sophie just a little bit tighter and a little bit longer each morning this week and I had a hard time letting her go as I headed to Connor's funeral in Tennessee. She's taught me just how precious life truly is and has helped me appreciate the times I had with Connor more than I think I would have if she wasn't in my life. Not bad for a little girl who hasn't quite mastered crawling yet.

Sophie and her Uncle Connor