I Am That Dad

Over the last couple of weeks Noah has become much more daddy oriented. I am definitely the one in favour at the moment and I have to admit, I quite like it. It can be tiring of course but its lovely when I get home after a hard days work to be excitedly greeted as I walk in the door. Little feet scampering as my key turns the lock, excited cries of "Daddy,daddy, daddy! Happy! Happy! Daddy, happy!" Ahh my little Noah! I exclaim. I'm happy to see you too. Did you have a good day? Come and give daddy a big hug and tell me all about it. We let Noah watch Despicable Me 2 recently, realising too late that it was probably somewhat inappropriate for a nearly two year old.  Since seeing it though, he has become completely obsessed with Minions. If you are unfamiliar with the film, the Minions are Dr Gru's (the main character), well, minions or henchmen if you prefer. They are cute little yellow things that generally mess up most of the time in a lovable way. Noah has a...

Sunday. It's raining and windy, a bad combination, cold. We wanted to do something fun with Noah, something out of the house, but it's raining and the previously planned outing to the park with the swings is a definite no go. I cannot take any more Pepper Pig and I want us to get out of the house and do something, anything. February is the shortest month yet manages to feel so very long. 'Never mind, why don't we go swimming, you can show me your excellent kicking.' I say. Noah had been telling me quite emphatically how well he was doing at his swimming lessons and by that, I mean he said 'kick, kick ,kick' and proceeded to demonstrate his very good leg work whenever anyone talks about swimming. 'Would you like that Noah?' I asked. 'Would you like to go swimming with daddy?' 'Kick, kick, kick' he said again. I took that to be a yes. Arriving at the leisure centre training pool, we were hit by a wall of heat and humidit...

Several weeks ago, on a morning much like any other, you know the ones, the kind when you are rushing around getting ready for work, the little one asleep upstairs, his grandma also asleep in her bed, and we were whispering to each other in the hushed, yet urgent tones reserved for tired and irritable parents trying to get out of the house to go to a job neither of us wanted to go to and without waking up the household in the process, all while still half asleep. That particular morning went something like this: 'Have you unlocked the door?' Nikala asked quietly. 'Yes.' I respond. 'What?' 'Yes, I've unlocked the door!', I hissed back. 'Ok. I need to get the change bag out of the car for mum.' 'What?' I ask. 'I need to get the change bag out of the...nevermind' 'Oh, the change bag. You need to get it out of the car for your mum remember', I whisper back. 'I know! That's what I said!' Nikala whi...

As has become somewhat customary, I shall begin this post with an apology for not writing more regularly. I actually have a number of half written posts that never made it to the light of day (or flickering light of an old monitor as the case may be), chiefly due to a simple fact I had previously overlooked, that being a dad is exhausting. Or perhaps I did write about them and have forgotten, as that is also a very real possibility with my soupy brain. Here are some of the topics I was going to write about but instead drooled in a corner: First steps / New shoes Summer holidays First flight in an aeroplane More water baby antics / getting his first swimming badge Learning to use a spoon / There is no spoon (a little Matrix quote there for you) The desperation of a parent on a road trip with no food and a starving toddler / My Kentucky Fried Shame Will we ever sleep again / I no longer have a bed. As parents we all eagerly await the next developmental stage for our children,...

At the weekend Noah's little cousin Imogen came to visit which was lovely even if it was too brief.  We haven't seen her (or her mummy or daddy) for ages and being nine months younger than Noah, she has just entered that stage that all babies go through, the "you're not the usual adults that hang about the place" stage. Specifically she was wary of the big, looming, beardy man claiming to be her so called "uncle James" that excitedly whisked her into his arms for a cuddle. It wasn't long however before she was practicing her standing and clutching on to my fingers for support. It was also at this point that Noah displayed a new kind of behaviour for the first time. He became jealous. He made some sort of screechy grunting sound and ran over before interjecting himself between little Imogen and myself, waving his arms like he was warding off a tiger. Perhaps that is exactly what he was doing, maybe he was being protective, keeping me safe from this ...

This weekend we celebrated my father's 60th birthday. Apart from the sobering thought that if I had become a father at the same age as my dad, I would have a 17 year old son by now, it got me thinking about Noah's heritage. Happily my dad and our relatives before him have also been interested in this subject and have already compiled a mountain of information; it's truely like an episode of Who Do You Think You Are. I won't bore you with it here, but it turns out that Noah is the first and possibly only Reilly of his generation and thus the responsibility for the continuation of our line lies with him. The name of Reilly we can trace back to the early 1700's and there have been a number of prominent people along the way, lords and sirs and Captains and Colonels. I feel more research is warranted for the Reilly family, but the real mystery is my mother's side. Who are the Robinson's? I know nothing beyond my grandfather whom was a carpenter and car factory f...

So, it has been a long time since I have written anything about being a dad.  In that  time Noah had learnt to walk, continued to not eat much, spoken a couple of words and sentences he seems to have subsequently forgotten and become incredibly clingy to his dad (yes that's me). I can't go to the toilet, let alone work without much crying and griping. Which is strange in itself, I feel enormously good in myself when all Noah wants is his daddy, and then extraordinarily tired when the realisation hits that 'daddy' is the only one that he wants. As a father this is a pivotal moment, something to be cherished, something to be remembered. This is the moment you are important, you must remember this, seriously, it's a turning point in your baby's development. This is the first time that you trump the boob and if your child is a boy, possibly the last time you come before a boob for years to come. Yes, for the first time in 14 months I am wanted before mummy and...