Lucky 13

We just passed a couple of milestones with Kyle. Yesterday marked 13 weeks since Friday, June 13th, the day Kyle was born. Today is September 13th, which means Kyle is now 3 months old, which just so happens to be 13/52nds of a year. Isn't that something? Heck, if you put a "1" in front of 3 months, you get "13." So, as you may guess, 13 is a key number in Kyle's life. Just take a look at 6/13/21, the day when Kyle will become 13 years old. If you add the numbers of that date together, 6+1+3+2+1, you get 13. Weird.

So, to mark this week's milestone, we're changing things up. We're ending Kyle's weekly chair photos with week 13. We'll continue taking those pictures, but now on a monthly basis - on the 13th of each month. That means the next time you see one of those photos is October 13th.

I'm guessing we'll keep doing the monthly thing at least until he's 13 months old, and then we'll probably do the yearly thing until he turns 13 years old. From there, we'll go decades until he's 130. At that point we'll probably have to stop doing the pictures altogether, since I'm guessing by then the bear will be a valuable antique, and we'll probably have to sell it to pay for gasoline.

Anyway, speaking of pictures, we have a new round of photos from Kyle's third month, complete with captions. You can view the slide show below, or click this link to go to the photo album: Kyle's Third Month.

With this milestone, I figure it's a good time to stop writing a weekly post on the Baby Beaudry blog. I will continue to write here, but only once a month, when we have pictures to share. Instead, I'll write most of my Kyle stories on my new blog, Daveweekly.com (for the dyslexic: WeeklyDave.com works, too). So, I hope you continue to join me there. If you're receiving posts from Baby Beaudry via e-mail, you'll have to sign up on the DaveWeekly site to get e-mails from there (I can't transfer the e-mail list). Let me know whether you have any problems with that.

Enjoy the photos, and see you at DaveWeekly.com!

(Diaper) Change you can believe in

The past two weeks were "Politics Gone Wild!" in our household, and by "wild" I simply mean politics had invaded our television. There was really nothing else wild about the weeks, unless you count the squirrel that's been scratching at our apartment window. Each night, after putting Kyle to bed, Jennifer and I would try desperately to stay awake through both the Democratic and Republican conventions, either by hitting each other in the shoulder or throwing beer in each other's faces. After all, this is HISTORIC stuff, and we didn't want to miss any of it... unless, of course, there was a good movie playing on cable.

After this election, Kyle will be living in an America that has either elected an African-American president, or a female vice president. This is phenomenal, and it makes me proud of our country. I'm hoping that either way, this election will open the floodgates, and every president and vice president afterwards will be either female or a minority. That way, in about 40 years, it'll be rare to see a white male receive a presidential nomination. That's when Kyle can step in and be a candidate of "change."

I don't want you to think that we have outlandishly high expectations for the little guy. After all, I'd be perfectly happy with him becoming just the Secretary of State. However, a parent can dream about the possibilities, and I have reason to believe that Kyle would be a great president, even if he was elected today.

First of all, Kyle is not afraid to stand up to authority. It doesn't matter who's holding him - if Kyle sees an injustice or wants food, he will let it be known and won't stop crying until a solution is found. Second, he is willing to work across party lines. I have seen him coo and smile at Republicans, Democrats, Independents and Socialists, and he has treated each one fairly. He's also not afraid to spit up on someone from his own party, either, if it means achieving what's best for his country. Third, he's a great asset to the American GDP: since his birth, Kyle has forced Jennifer and I to pump hundreds of dollars into our struggling economy, and we know he's just getting started.

Sure, some environmentalists might have a problem with the whole disposable diaper thing, but Kyle has been researching alternatives (such as his onesies and bouncy seat), and he promises to have complete independence from Big Huggies within five years, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Critics might also have a problem with his leadership experience. However, that really shouldn't matter, since both Democrats and Republicans no longer seem to be requiring experience for their presidential/vice presidential tickets.

Kyle is excited about all that he can do for America. I fully expect him to form an "exploratory committee" once he starts crawling. But why wait 'til he can vote, or even run for president? Write in Kyle for President (Jennifer for VP) this November! ... unless, of course, you live in Florida, Ohio, or any other state where your vote actually counts.

Silent night

It has taken me a while to write this entry. I don't want to jinx anything, and I could be doing that tonight. But I guess it's time that the truth comes out: Kyle likes to sleep. At night. I know, I know. It's stunning. It's shocking. And, quite frankly, Jennifer and I are awfully lucky.

It wasn't always this way, of course. When we first brought the little guy home, he took the "city that never sleeps" thing to heart. Or rather, he took it to heart when it came to the evening. Kyle would be drowsy and sleepy all day, but as soon as his head hit his crib sheet, it was party time! And Mom & Dad had to take part, or else King Kyle would force us to. We'd try to rock him to sleep, we'd sing songs to him, or we'd read him Jennifer's law books, but nothing would work. He'd seem to go to sleep, only to wake up and go nuts as soon as we put him in the crib, as if we accidentally hit the "reset" button on a detonated nuclear bomb.


But now all that's changed, or so it seems. Kyle goes to bed around 9:30 PM, and he doesn't start wailing until around 6 AM. 6 AM - no earlier! The sun is rising, birds are chirping, clouds, trees and chipmunks are singing, and Jennifer and I are waking up after about 7 hours of straight sleep. It's all beautiful. Granted, this could all change, as we hear kids like to switch things up once you're on to their "game." But we've appreciated it so far. Having sleep has allowed me to speak in complete sentences while reducing my crankiness. I am also no longer walking into walls or forgetting things, like "always remember where you put your toothbrush" or "underwear first, THEN pants." Again, it's all beautiful.

I know we'll pay for this if we have a second child, so we're savoring it while we can. And if you have a child and this entry made you jealous, I do have a few diaper stories that might make you feel better. They're rather dreadful, and I hear they're somewhat unique to our child. So, give me a call... but not late at night. I'll be sleeping then.