My Experiences as a Father... July 5 to August 4, 2001 (27th month)

[Home Page] - - [The Father's Diary index] - - [Maeve and Hilde's Photo Album index] - - [Our Web Links]

Friday, August 3, 2001
Maeve hasn't figured out that she should feel threatened by the new baby.  Maeve might skip that stage.  She helps out with Hilde, and even tries to stop her from crying.  Everytime she gets close to Hilde she wants to rub her head or kiss her.  I hope she doesn't just skip that stage to instead choose to be a third parent to Hilde.  I don't know which would be worse.
 

Thursday, August 2, 2001
Hilde's umbilical cord fell off today.  She's only eight days old.  It took Maeve three weeks.  She seems to be in a hurry.
 

Wednesday, August 1, 2001
I picked one of Maeve's shoes off the floor today and put it on my head.  Maeve got upset and said it was a shoe.  I told her it was a hat.  Maeve took the shoe and tried to put it on her foot.  I said hats don't belong on your feet; they belong on your head.  Then Maeve put the shoe on her head and called it a hat.

Jill, foreseeing a problem getting Maeve's shoes on her feet tomorrow, told Maeve it was a shoe.  Maeve corrected Jill, saying it was a hat that belonged on her head.  I was so proud!
 

Monday, July 30, 2001
Hilde had her first doctor's appointment today.  She was already 9 lb 3 oz.  Jill says they normally allow two weeks for the baby to get back to birth weight.  She's in a hurry to do something.
 

Sunday, July 29, 2001
I threw a pillow from Maeve's room onto our bed.  A while later Jill told me that I had thrown the pillow onto Hilde.  I hadn't noticed her there.  I guess it just looked like a pile of blankets or something.
 

Saturday, July 28, 2001
Maeve tries to keep Hilde happy.  When Hilde has been crying, Maeve has gotten a toy and a pacifier for Hilde.  Of course, those things don't soothe Hilde.  She isn't happy unless she is sleeping or nursing.
 

Friday, July 27, 2001 - Hilde and Jill came home
Hilde is making a lot of noise if she isn't with Jill.  With Maeve, we had a king size bed, so there was room for all three of us.  With the full size bed, there is only room for Jill and Hilde.  I have to sleep on the couch.  It's probably just as well, since my alarm clock is going off so early lately.
 

Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - Hilde Born
Hilde was born at 1:50 this morning.  It was another smooth delivery.  See the birth announcement at the bottom of the photo album index
 

Tuesday, July 24, 2001
Maeve was talking on her cell phone today.  We asked who she was talking to.  She said it was Pastor Mick.  We asked what he wanted.  She said he wanted dinner.
 

Monday, July 23, 2001
I sometimes call Maeve a Warrior Queen, like Queen Maeve in Irish folklore.  Tonight I told her there was no Warrior Queen on my back, referring to the way that she likes to stand on my back, and then drop, like a professional wrestler or something.  

She laid down on her stomach like I do.  Then she stood up and dropped, just to show me how she usually treats me when she's on my back.
 

Sunday, July 22, 2001
Jehovah's witnesses visited.  Jill had them in, and I'm not sure they will ever come back.  First they showed Jill some Bible verse that they misinterpreted to mean that after you die, you wait until Jesus' resurrection to go to Heaven.  Jill used other verses to show that your soul is in Heaven immediately, and it's only the physical body that waits for Christ's second coming.

Then they had some other obscure concept that they got from a misinterpretation of Revelations.  Jill used several examples from Paul's letter to clear that up.

After only ten minutes they gave Jill two pamphlets and left.  Jill told them they were welcome to come back to discuss the Bible any time they wanted.
 

Friday, July 20, 2001
A few weeks ago I traded my pager in for a cell phone that also had all of the features of the pager.  I also get an earphone/microphone, so I can talk without having to use a hand to hold the phone up to my ear.  Maeve got a Walkman earphone to use with her cell phone, just like dad.

Maeve also wanted barbecue sauce on her hotdog for lunch.  Jill said that was just like me.  Grandma corrected her, saying that I would have barbecue sauce and everything else on it, and I would eat it for breakfast.

I called during the day today and Jill asked Maeve if she wanted to talk to me.  I could hear her yelling in the background.  She said she didn't want to talk to me because she was working.  She had screws and a screwdriver and needed to put new screws in the folding chair.
 

Thursday, July 19, 2001
I was explaining to Maeve that new babies are like Japanese beetles on their backs.  If you put them on the rug, they just wave their arms around; they can't figure out how to get up or move around.  Unfortunately, that is as developed as Japanese beetles ever get.  I told Maeve there is a lot of teaching that a big sister needs to do.
 

Tuesday, July 17, 2001
Jill wants Maeve's and Hilde's rooms painted before Hilde is born.  We got Greg Meyer from church and a friend of his to do most of it.  After I got home, I was showing Maeve where the spackle needed more sanding, spots which were missed, and the paint on the front steps.  Maeve said, "Silly guys".  Still, they have done a lot of work, and saved me a lot of time.
 

Monday, July 16, 2001
Jill's mother arrived today to help after Hilde is born.  Somehow Maeve decided that cigarettes should be called "Yucks".  When Grandma goes outside, Maeve tells her to remember her yucks.  Grandma threw a cigarette in the mulch in front of the house, and Shannon from across the street asked why she was throwing a cigarette in our "flower garden".  Jill thought that Shannon needed to take a closer look to see that there are no flowers in our flower garden.
 

Saturday, July 14, 2001
Maeve was sticking her stomach out today like she had a baby, just like I showed her.
 

Friday, July 13, 2001
Cards for special occasions are a big deal for Jill.  Today is Jill's birthday.  During a call home during the day, I talked to Maeve and her doll Big.  They both told me to buy a card for Jill.
 

Tuesday, July 10, 2001
Today was our 8 year anniversary.  Jill asked Maeve, "How did that happen?  It doesn't seem like it's been 8 years."  Maeve didn't have an answer.
 

Sunday, July 8, 2001
I forget what prompted it, but Jill asked Maeve, "Is your dad always silly?"  I said, "You wouldn't love me any other way."  Jill replied, "I would like to try."
 

Thursday, July 5, 2001
Jill called me downstairs to see what Maeve was doing.  I asked Maeve and she said she was going to the store.  I asked what she was going to get at the store.  She said she needed parts to fix her stroller, like I go to the store to get parts to fix my car.  I was so proud.  I hope she keeps this up, and that Hilde will get involved in fixing up the cars and the house.
 


Contact Daniel at daniel@splatcat.com or Jill at jill@splatcat.com
Copyright © 1999 - 2024 by Daniel and Jill Perrin