Splish Splash

It's fun to swim at the Y-M-C-A! Jeffrey started swim classes today at the local YMCA. We were unsure how he was going to react. Over the summer, we took him to Six Flags Darien Lake for the Gates Ambulance picnic and he certainly did not like the kiddie pools there. But in his defense, they were very cold and full of obnoxious children.

Armed with towels, a camera and a bag of swimmie diapers, we ventured forth to the pool where the class was held. At first, he was a little concerned by the water. Thankfully, it was pretty warm. Soon, he was splashing and kicking with the other babies.

As you can see from the picture, it's not really swimming lessons. To my dismay, Jeffrey will not be able to do the 400m Butterfly after this. The whole class consists of parents walking around the pool while singing to the babies as they hold them. Sometimes they get to sit on a floating mat in the middle of the pool – that's when we sing "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed". Sometimes we put the mat on the edge of the pool and "slide" the babies into the pool.

Jeffrey especially likes singing "Pop Goes the Weasel". Mom & Dad have had a tough time, forcefully pushing out the words "Pop pop goes the Weasel, the weasel… pop goes the weasel cause the weasel goes pop" in favor of the more traditional verses. This has posed the toughest time for Danielle, as we're not sure she ever really knew the real words. Her verse sounds like this:

Round and round the mulberry bush,
The monkey chases the weasel.
Something happened, I don't know what,
Pop Goes the Weasel!

We have hope for Jeffrey that he may yet learn the real words to nursery rhymes. After a half-hour, we said good bye to our class instructors and brought him home for a well deserved nap.

Down With the Sickness

It only took Jeffrey 3 days to get kicked out of daycare. He's been having a lot of fun with his friends, squealing, sharing toys and swapping viruses. I received a call from Miss Ana while I was in class to come get Jeffrey, he's got a fever of 102.

Thank goodness we have such an awesome pediatrician. They've got weekday hours until 8PM and weekend hours both Saturday and Sunday. Dr. Smith-Burke took a look at our little boiling boy and told us that his ears look fine. His throat, while it always sounds junky, was clear and there was nothing in his lungs. Therefore, he most likely had some sort of virus and it would be gone on its own in about 6-9 days. Then she shared with us the magic of baby Motrin.

Even though he was sick, Jeffrey was fairly playful the next day. I didn't have any classes until afternoon, so our friend Heidi helped us out by babysitting for Jeffrey. She's a pediatric nurse and she shared with us some advice on keeping him comfortable while he gets better.

By Monday, Jeffrey was ready to go back to school and play with his friends.

Wheels

Jeffrey got a new car this week. More accurately, we got Jeffrey a new car this week. Most accurately, Jeffrey’s parents got a new car in which Jeffrey will actively participate as a passenger.

In the past 8 months (can you believe it’s been that long already?), there’ve been a lot of times I’m amazed that I’m a parent. How can this be?

• I wearing jeans and a t-shirt from Pearl Jam’s “Ten” album.
  
• I play video games.
  
• I still like cartoons.
  

This is the point where my wife reminds me that:

• Pearl Jam released “Ten” in 1991.
  
• I use my Xbox to run emulators for video games systems from the late 80’s.
  
• My favorite cartoons are The Simpsons (c. 1989) and The Transformers (c. 1984)
  

So, if I’m not feeling like a parent all the time, at least I’m feeling old. My wife used to write me love letters. Now she writes me shopping lists. But nothing makes you feel more like a bona fide parent than driving a minivan.

Danielle and I spent the last few weeks researching vehicles. Minivans seemed out of our price range, so we initially looked at a wagon or compact SUV on a lease until I got out of school. The short list included the Chevy HHR, Pontiac Vibe, Saturn Vue and the Subaru Outback. We did test drive a nicely equipped ’06 Kia Sedona (the safest minivan on the road!), but at $27,000 it was unreasonable. But one by one, as we tried to fit Jeffrey’s car seat into the back seat of each vehicle, our options grew slimmer. It wouldn’t even fit in the Vibe and was pretty tight on the HHR. Neither allowed the passenger seat to recline, a must for the long trips to visit our parents. And most wouldn’t allow the car seat to be placed anywhere but the center, which is good for now but bad if another child ever travels with us.

Fortune shined upon us when we found a used ’06 Sedona at a local dealership. It had been a rental car previously and was in great shape. We were so close to buying it until Danielle began to get worried about finances. So I searched online to show what current Sedonas were going for on some auto-sales websites. That’s when I found another one for sale in Victor at Heritage Motors. With only 1100 miles on it, it was practically new! I called the dealer. Dave offered me a fair trade for my ’98 Dodge Neon (118K miles) and that night we drove our new minivan home. I like the comfortable ride and storage. Mom likes the seat recline and numerous cup holders. Jeffrey likes sleeping in it.

We put our first tank of gas in it tonight. That’s going to continue to be a shocker for a former compact coupe driver. We can’t wait to take a trip for visit the family!

I’m proud to be a minivan Dad.

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