A Dash of Dash a Day for May: May 4

A bit of a photodump today only because Dash spent some time charming a host of my favorite ladies at a baby shower yesterday, and at one point some fairy wings were found by Dash and, well...

Tiffanie really takes the best pictures...

A Dash of Dash a Day for May: May 3

Ann sent this picture to me with the simple line "this is what Dash does while I poop." I guess I'm proud that he can find a way to occupy himself even though the cabinet locks are spreading around the house...

A Dash of Dash a Day for May: May 2

Being in this house, with the literally thousands of books we have, it was assumed/hoped/desired that Dash would be literarily-inclined. I know you can't really force these things, and Ann always feels the need to remind me that the fact that I was reading at a high level before my third birthday is an unlikely expectation for Dash, but I still hope he loves books at least a little bit.

It didn't really start with books, though. It really started with bookmarks:

I have a habit of leaving my books in accessible places when I go to bed, and that means that, far too often, Dash gets to them first. Thankfully, I have a ton of bookmarks, but he is just so fascinated by these little pieces of paper it's kind of hilarious. They must be the perfect size of things for his hands or something.

Thankfully, and recently, he's started showing a lot more interest in actual books to the point of being able to sit down and read. He also has his go-to board books with cute little animals in them and such, and he shows more and more interest by the day.

The funniest thing he's started doing, though? Reading books in his crib after we put him to bed. He's just like Daddy!:

I fully realize that I need to do more to be reading to him above and beyond what he's already getting, but it is pretty good to see that access to a lot of books plus seeing your parents reading equals wanting to do so yourself.

A Dash of Dash a Day for May: Day 1

In an effort to kickstart my brain and this blog and to not miss out on pretty much every awesome achievement of my son, I'm going to do another monthlong project. I apologize in advance for those who will tire of this by day four.

Anyway, with so many people coming to my life so much later in my life than back when I was in high school and college, it's a little known fact that I actually went to college for music education to start out. I wasn't a very good music major, truth be told, but I didn't lose all my abilities either. I was still a good singer for a while, can still play a variety of instruments (although my guitars have been collecting dust for quite a while now), and I'm still fairly musically inclined.

Everything I know about babies tells me that babies responding to music is not exactly a special or unique situation, but I'm constantly amused at how well Dash has taken to music.


If Dash has a favorite song these days, it's Leyla McCalla's "Rose Marie," a take on a more traditional Haitian folk song. I'm not sure what it is about the song that gets him going, but whether it's a live version Ann finds on YouTube while in the woods of Maine or the album off of Spotify, he will stop what he's doing and start doing whatever dance that is that he's doing, then flapping the arms, and then playing percussion on a nearby lap. It's pretty hilarious.

The first song he ever really dug was Katy B's "5am", a Europop song that's amusing on its own. I've resorted to starting a Spotify playlist specifically for songs he loves, and it ranges from indie rock like "Waiting on You" by Future Islands all the way to actual children's songs like "We Are the Dinosaurs" by Laurie Berkner.


I wish I could say he has great taste, but alas, he also has a toy motorcycle that plays Smash Mouth's "Walking on the Sun" that also gets him excited. Meh, we all have our heretical musical tastes, right?


That still doesn't excuse his dancing with Mickey Mouse with this toy, but hey.

He's been going to a toddler group music class in town and apparently really enjoys guitars and rhythm sticks, so I guess it's time for me to learn some songs again, but for now he seems to just be letting the music speak to him a bit. Nothing wrong with that.

11 Month Photodump

I've been slacking in terms of writing here, partially because I've been sick, partially because I've been busy, partially because I can come up with all sorts of good excuses. But I do have a ton of photos sitting in my inbox that I need to jump dump out, so...

What's New, Dashycat?

So Dash is nearing 10 months old right now, which is just kind of mind-blowing. I'm glad he's growing up quickly, because the older he is, the more I can do with him. He's so much more responsive now than he was 5 months ago, and I'm just more comfortable with older kids.

It's pretty cool. He's mimicking us a lot now, and he's kinda sorta learned Patty Cake, which is hilarious. It's just a lot of fun to see him making more and more connections, developing his own interests, and so on. It's great!

Dash's first Christmas was this past year, so it was fun to see him with wrapping paper and balloons and such. My mother was put in a nursing home that is supposed to be a respite stay, but may very well end up being something more permanent, so the run-up to the holidays, something I generally love, was a bit of a downer. It's hard to focus on the good when you're completely unsure of the more negative stuff, so we did our best to make the most of it. Dash has been a loyal visitor to his Nanny, though, and we tried our hardest not to let the entire situation bring the holiday down.

We got him some smaller toys, but the biggest win for him were two balloons. I've never seen a kid enjoy balloons as much as he does, but go figure. He's an absolute maniac when it comes to them. Such a simple boy...

Dash has also finally figured out crawling. We had sort of convinced ourselves that Dash would skip the crawling altogether and go straight to walking given his interest in standing up all the time. It's kind of obnoxious in that cute way, but what was amusing about his switch to crawling was that he spied a can of Manwich on the floor and decided that was worth crawling to. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

He's very mobile now, though. Has a great interest in wires and cell phones and television remotes. It's great, really.

Oh, and the dog. And the dog's food. That, too.

While he still doesn't sit attentively enough to really enjoy reading a book, he has really taken to having books all over the house. He has little baby-sized books he plays with constantly, and whenever I walk by with one of my own, he is so excited to see them. I can't say I'm 100% good at modeling good behavior for him yet (or even 50%, let's be honest), but if he figures out early that it's never wrong to have a book with you, I know I've left him with something of value.

Essentially, Dashypants is a full-on troublemaker now. This is a mixed blessing, but we're really getting a sense of his personality now, and it's great. He's not anxious around strangers, he flirts with every old lady at the supermarket or at Dunkins or anywhere he is, he gets all up in our business, he plays with toys and paper and stuff as if he was a little kitten, and we really couldn't be happier. He's a bright spot. Someday we'll be able to explain to him exactly what that means, but until then, it's his world. He's our soldier leading the charge...

...and we're so, so screwed.

A Merry Dash-mas to All

We're approaching our first holiday with Dash, and it's been a lot of fun even though it's been kind of difficult at the Raymond Compound as of late. My mother was admitted to a nursing home for a respite stay that might end up being something more substantial than that, but, as of writing, it means that we don't know what's going on and it becomes a waiting game. Prior to this respite stay, though, she was really difficult, and, to be frank, it makes it hard to enjoy the holidays. We're a week away from Christmas and it barely feels like it at all.

Thankfully, we have Dash.

Dash has embraced Christmas like any baby would. We put him in ridiculous outfits, he's ridiculously cute in them (as seen above), and we pretty much exploit him for our own personal gain. He's in love with the Christmas tree, especially the lights. At our family Christmas party, there was a singing centerpiece that confuses and enthralls him all at once. He even got to open his first Christmas gift!

Sadly for us, he was much more interested in the plasticware.

Dash will be nine months old this weekend, and the time really does fly. He's not crawling yet, but he really wants to, but the fact that he can lift himself to a standing position and wants to walk around with us constantly is almost certainly holding him back. He's more interactive by the day - he does this weird Shakespearean hand motion a lot where it's as if he's doing a monologue with a skull, and he learned how to clap, which is a constant source of amusement for us (especially when he applauds toilet flushes). He's also still not sleeping - we're on 6 straight months now where he hasn't slept more than three hours in a given chunk, and we're choosing to chalk it up to the fact that he's had 5 teeth come through over that time with more still coming. We might be in denial, but I'm to understand that it's what parenting is all about.

He also eats better and better every day. Loves mashed potatoes and avacado, kind of iffy on pasta and rice. We're trying to make it more of a habit for the three of us to eat together, and it's really shown in regards to Dash's interest in food. I'm really interested in trying to model a lot of things better for him now that he's becoming more aware, but it's hard when you're dealing with a lot of mental health issues that go along with uncertainty with your mother's condition. But I'm trying.

One thing he's not into, though? Snow, or at least his snowsuit:

At the end of the day, he's worth it. He was always worth it, but he becomes more and more worth it every day. When he starts laughing at new things, when he starts noticing more things around, he becomes more fun. Ann is horrified about Dash's impending mobility, but how can you not be charmed when he finds a random gate and starts banging it maniacally against the metal leg of the desk?

It's hard not to love a kid like this. He's really become the bright spot in our lives, and to think he'll be talking soon and walking sooner and all sorts of craziness is coming down the pike? Time flies, man. Time flies.

And this guy is our pilot. We're screwed.