Now Entering Parenthood...

Alright, so first things first… Last time Charlie was only one month and you called him a little alien without much of a personality.

How would you describe Charlie now?
He’s a snuggly smiley little munchkin. I love him. He’s so chill. And definitely a chubby ball of fun. Definitely chubbier than Simon was at this age.

What’s your favorite thing about Charlie at 4 months?
The amount of smiles I’m getting. He’s so happy all the time, I just have to look at him and he smiles back like “Hi Daddy”. He’s permagrin.

What’s an area that could use some improvement?
I guess sleeping but he’s starting to get better. He’s doing just fine. I consider us lucky that he is even sleeping as good as he is at this age. But consistency would be nice.

Like how last week he slept through the night 4 times, and this week he’s up 4 times a night? Yeah, consistency would be pretty nice…

What are you looking forward to next?
That’s a tough one. I honestly don’t want hit to change. If I could freeze him like this I would. I don’t want him to be mobile. I just wish he could stay like this forever. He’s just a snuggly ball of love.

Last interview you also talked about how you were most looking forward to being able to talk to Simon and having him respond. Tell me about Simon now…
He’s definitely come a lot farther. Simon is like a little buddy now. Halloween was just one of the best times I have ever had with him. He’s just so much smarter, that you can tell him what you want him to do and he understands.

Like after a couple houses he understood the process of what we were doing and he loved it. Trick or treating is not something he’s ever been told about, but you explain, “This is what trick or treating is” and he’s like “Okay I get it, this is fun”… The walking up to the door, the putting the candy in the bucket, the walking away on his own and saying “Byeeeee.”

What’s another recent favorite Simon moment?
Just his humor. He knows that messing up my hair is funny. How does he know that? And then there are some things I taught him. Like the way I reacted to his stinky diapers, now whenever he farts or poops he goes “Ewwww” and waves his hand in front of his nose.

What’s your favorite new Simon phrase?
“Oooh No!” He talks a lot, there aren’t many phrases, but there are some like “Mama Dee” (Mommy’s drink). But I still just love the way he says “Hi!”

Just last night I came up to say goodnight. It’s weird to walk into a room that is pitch black and just hear this little voice in the corner go “Hi!”. If it wasn’t so damn cute, it would be horrifying.

How has Simon been driving you nuts?
He’s strong willed now. Like I took him out to rake leaves with me and I thought he would be interested in helping me picking up sticks, and I could hang out with my son. And he wouldn’t at all. He just kept running into the garage and trying to get on the moped. He isn’t good at focusing, or he just isn’t interested or something.

Do you think he is a good big brother?
Apparently day care says they see things that we don’t. He will run over to Charlie and protect him if anyone comes near him. He checks on him through out the day. I love the occasional kiss that Simon decides to give Charlie. So far he’s pretty loving.

We are about to go on our first big family trip… Any fears or things you area looking forward to?
The plane ride I am most afraid of, but also the time change is terrifying. Those are scary obstacles to get over with two kids. But I am excited to see Simon and if he will have fun at Disneyland or any of the places we take him to. I’m looking forward to him going “WOW!” I could listen to that all day. He is so impressed by everything.

Fast forward to next summer or the one after… What are you looking forward to the most with the boys?
Activities that we can do together that are more engaging, like when I was out there raking leaves. I want him to stay by my side and not wander off. I want him to be like a little sidekick. He kinda is but he is just too curious about everything. And who knows what Charlie will be like.

That’s kinda lame… Like your are looking forward to raking leaves with your son. Making them do chores. What about camping or opening their eyes to new things?

Your are misinterpreting. I mean like having a ball and getting him to play catch. Any activity where he is actively involved with me. He can do that sometime now, like playing a game with me on the iPad, but I want him to last a little longer.

Any closing thoughts?
When we told people we were having Charlie so close to Simon, people were all sympathetic and telling us how it was going to suck. But now that we are in it, I feel like we are doing just fine. It doesn’t feel like an impossible burden. I’m not saying its easy, but I was afraid that I’d be dwelling on it every day. That we didn’t have things the way we planned, but now it feels fun having them this close. Once they both can walk and they can be real brothers… That’s going to be fun, I hope they stay buddies.