Life with a Newborn and a Toddler

It's been almost two weeks since our second little girl (Bella) was born (8/1/2011). We must have prepared ourselves for the worst, because the first week really hasn't been as tough as expected. We've managed to make time for both of them separately and individually, a little time for the two of us, and we don't look like zombies yet. I'd say that's about as good as you can expect at this point.

We had anticipated a little jealousy from "you know who", but that really hasn't manifested itself at all. Abby has been an amazing big sister for a 21 month old. She already loves Bella so much it brings a tear to my eye. She always wants to hold her, feed her, fetch diapers for her, and whatever she thinks will help us with Bella. She doesn't get jealous when we hold, or otherwise tend to her... and that's been a blessing.

I can't say enough about how great Stefanie has been either. We've really made a great team. She does the nighttime feedings with Bella (I'm biologically incapable at this point), and I get up early with Abby and put her to bed at night. Abby and I handle the errands, and Stefanie and I allow each other to have time with each of the girls together and separately. This is how marriage was intended when God created it. I'm thankful for a wonderful wife and two amazing little girls.

The Origin of Isabella Capri

I've mentioned that our second little girl will be named "Isabella Capri". When I tell people this, the general response is that they "really like Isabella". They never seem to comment on the "Capri" part, except to say "Isabella what?". Obviously, most people don't understand that part of the name. I'm sure they're wondering what in the world went through my mind to name my child after an article of clothing that can't even decide if it's a pair of shorts or a pair of pants. So, let me explain...

It's a real honor to choose the name that will be used for the rest of someone's life. It's not something that I've taken lightly, and I sincerely appreciate my wife's willingness to let me sort of have my way with our daughters' names. I've put a lot of thought into it because I don't completely agree with Shakespeare's Juliet when she said "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

So, where did this "Capri" stuff originate? Well it sort of started a couple of years ago when we were expecting our first daughter, Abby. While Stefanie was pregnant, I first heard a song titled "Capri" by Colbie Caillat. The song is all about the beauty of a mother carrying a child. The baby's name in the song is Capri, which itself means "beauty". My sensitive side thought it was a very sweet song, sort of like a lullaby, and I would play it sometimes so the baby could hear it. As a result of the song and the meaning, I came to really like the name Capri. I briefly considered the idea of making it Abby's middle name, but we had decided on "Abigail Jane" many years ago, which is worthy of a blog post of its own.

Capri by Colbie Caillat

So, before Abby was even born, I had already planned another girl named "Isabella Capri" in my mind.  Who knew the difficulties I would face convincing my wife that it was a good idea?  I'm very grateful that she has come to appreciate the name and its meaning.  By the way, Isabella means "God's promise".  As I mentioned, Capri means "beauty".  Therefore, Isabella Capri means "God's beautiful promise."  We'll call her "Bella", but I look forward to telling her the story of how she came to have such an interesting, yet meaningful, name.

See?  It has nothing to do with a confused article of clothing!

"I Wanna Be Like Troy"

Do you remember the old Gatorade commercial from years ago with the catch phrase "Be Like Mike"?  It ran for a long time while I was a kid, and I really did want to "be like Mike".  I would spend hours playing basketball in my back yard, and I was actually an excellent dribbler and a pretty decent shooter. Several years later, when I stopped growing and still needed several inches to reach 6 feet, I cut my losses and moved on to other dreams.



Watching the commercial still brings back great memories of playing basketball in the back yard and watching Michael and the Bulls play on television. In the category of useless talents, I can do a great impression of the announcer for the Bulls from way back when... "AND NOW... the starting lineup for YOUR CHICAGO BULLS!... from North Carolina... at shooting guard... 6'6"... MICHAEL JORDAN!"

As nostalgic as that makes me feel, I no longer even keep up with basketball.  No matter how much the media attempts to hype them in an effort to create the buzz that surrounded MJ, Lebron and Kobe couldn't even carry Jordan's jock strap!

Troy Landry

These days, I'd kind of like to be more like Troy... Troy Landry that is.  He's the star of the show Swamp People, which centers on the back woods lifestyle of a select few alligator hunters from Louisiana.  Now, I don't want to be an alligator hunter "for a living", but I certainly would like to try my hand at it, even if it's just once.  Alligator hunting isn't as widespread in South Carolina, but we do have a season for it.  You have to get your name in the "hat" and hope to be drawn.  If you're drawn, you have the privilege of paying $100 for one alligator tag along with $25 for a hunting license, which allows you to harvest one alligator.  You can read all about alligator hunting in South Carolina here.  I've got my name in the hat, and I should find out in the next few weeks if I'll get to realize my dream this season or not.  If so, I will certainly post pictures.  If not, my chances are that much better for next year.  Wish me luck!

The Insanity of Yard Sales

While I sit here in bed, my beautiful wife is scouring our house at midnight trying to scrounge up the last bits of our "junk" so she can try to make a buck or two tomorrow.  She has gotten a little feisty about this yard sale of hers.  Apparently, I haven't shown a sufficient amount of interest in waking up before the rooster crows, driving to all local corners to install "Yard Sale" signs as I wipe the sleep from my eyes, and investing half of my Saturday trying to convince some cheapskate to pay 50 cents for something I got for 30 bucks.  I can already imagine wrapping the thing up at noon tomorrow, exhausted, but celebrating the $60 we managed to rake in for both of us working 6-8 hours.  Then, we'll still have just as much junk to haul somewhere else.  I can't wait!

However, there is some silver lining to the event.  The yard sale idea spawned from the need to clear space for another crib for our second little girl, arriving sometime around August 1, so we're getting pretty excited.  The time is near, and I believe Stefanie may be nesting.  Wish us luck!

Blogging the Good Life

I know blogging went out of vogue about the time that Facebook and Twitter entered the scene, but I didn't have much to say back then.  Now, I tend to have something to say every now and then, but I have trouble distilling it down to 140 characters.  So, I'm several years late, but I've created this blog upon my wife's suggestion.  Apparently, she's interested in what I have to say, and she thinks others will be as well.  We shall see.

So, I'm a software developer, but there will be very little talk about that.  I enjoy it, but I enjoy talking about it as much as you probably do.  First and foremost, I am a husband and a daddy.  I have a 19 month old little girl (Abby), and my wife (Stefanie) and I are expecting a second little girl on August 1.  Her name will be Isabella Capri, or just "Bella".  I will likely share stories about them and some other stuff that I'm interested in like gator hunting, sky diving, mud runs, traveling, and crazy stuff like that.

Lately, Stefanie thinks I'm going through some sort of mid-life crisis because I bring up some new interest on a regular basis.  Just this week I told her that I wanted to get a pet Ball Python.  She doesn't agree.  She looked at me like this...

So, I probably won't be keeping a snake in the house, but I'm almost definitely going to wrangle me a gator if I can get my hands on a gator tag.  I'll try to share more about that one later.