Dadage
Happy Fathers Day
14/06/08 23:35
Sunday, 15 June is
Fathers Day. Best wishes to all the Dads, Dads-to-be,
Grandads, etc., out there.
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Aoife Gardener
08/05/08 22:13
Dad Stuff
24/02/08 22:50
This article caught my eye in today's
Observer Magazine. Two men, both around my age,
both first-time dads of daughters around Aoife's
age, record their experiences.
Eighteen months into the job myself, I can't say that it hasn't been demanding, tiring and sometimes frustrating. But whenever I look into those gorgeous little brown eyes, and see that sweet little smile, I appreciate the honour of being her Daddy.
Eighteen months into the job myself, I can't say that it hasn't been demanding, tiring and sometimes frustrating. But whenever I look into those gorgeous little brown eyes, and see that sweet little smile, I appreciate the honour of being her Daddy.
Start Them Young…
04/12/07 23:58
Aoife is learning the ins and outs of housework:
(QuickTime movie with sound)
Toon: "Laundromat" by Rory Gallagher (iTunes Store link)
(QuickTime movie with sound)
Toon: "Laundromat" by Rory Gallagher (iTunes Store link)
Nu Shuz (And Bag)
06/11/07 23:45
A certain little lady got her first pair of shoes at
the weekend, and boy is she proud as
punch!
She got her first handbag from her auntie a little while back as well. So she's fourteen months old and already developing Carrie Bradshaw tendencies in footwear and accessories. As we say in my native Mayo "It isn't off the shtones she licked it."
She got her first handbag from her auntie a little while back as well. So she's fourteen months old and already developing Carrie Bradshaw tendencies in footwear and accessories. As we say in my native Mayo "It isn't off the shtones she licked it."
Standing On Her Own Two Feet
24/10/07 09:36
As predicted last week,
Aoife has started walking.
(QuickTime movie with sound.)
Get the toon here (iTunes Store link)
(QuickTime movie with sound.)
Get the toon here (iTunes Store link)
Happy Birthday, Aoife
14/08/07 00:01
Is it really
a whole year since our beautiful little girl came
into the world? In one way it only feels like a few
months has passed, yet in another way we find it hard
to believe that it's only a year.
A selection of some of our favourite photos from the 1500 or so we have amassed over the last 12 months. (And if you have the patience to watch through to the end, you'll even get to see her in the arms of her Dad!)
(QuickTime movie with sound)
A selection of some of our favourite photos from the 1500 or so we have amassed over the last 12 months. (And if you have the patience to watch through to the end, you'll even get to see her in the arms of her Dad!)
(QuickTime movie with sound)
Catching Up
08/08/07 16:13
Things have
been quiet on the blog front for the last while, for
one reason or another. Work has been quite busy, with
a lot of toing and froing. I have found that I have
had a dearth of ideas for posts, and those that do
crop up seem like too much effort to write up.
But anyways, I'm on hols at the moment. I'm at home minding the little 'un. My sister, who looks after her during the week is away with her gang on their jolliers. My wife started a new job last month, so she can only get one week off, hence my status as a househusband this week. We will be on hols en famille next week.
The burtda went grand. I was working all day, but we managed to avoid the rain in the evening and get the barbie going. A nice piece of lamb was the order of the day, and we accompanied it with a nice bottle that we had originally planned to open last year on the 40th, but circumstances dictated otherwise. (Pontet-Canet 1966, in case you're curious.)
We were
in Mayo last weekend, and took ourselves off to the
beach on Sunday. Folly, you might think, but it was a
lovely day on Cross Strand near Louisburgh. Not
warm, as such, but very pleasant. I love the
beaches around there, as the sea can be quite wild
and dramatic, and also the fact that they are
nearly always practically deserted. This weekend
was no different, and with the exception of a few
surfer d00dz, we pretty much had the beach to
ourselves. It was Babba's first trip to the
seaside, and she even got to dip her piggies in
the Atlantic. Back home on Monday, and since then
thankfully the weather has been holding up. Walks
at Emo Court
are a
regular feature of our days this week, and in this
weather, it's a very pleasant way to pass an hour.
So what's been going on? I had planned to write at length about the Darren Graham affair, and may yet live up to that ambition. That sort of nonsense should have no place in any sport. Hopefully the GAA will use the opportunity to do something positive.
The recent Irish Times series about "Rip-Off Ireland" almost inspired me to put fingers to keyboard, but so far I have manfully resisted. Maybe next week. Or then again, maybe not.
On the tech side of things, Fake Steve Jobs has been unmasked. Apple have released new iMacs,
so my
machine is no longer cutting-edge. Still, I got ten
months or so on the frontline, so it wasn't too bad a
stint. Also, the new iLife and iWork suites have been
released. I have ordered my copy of iLife '08
already. And to top it all, my .Mac account goes
up from a measly 1GB to a much more respectable
10GB of storage. Once I install Leopard, I will
use some of that space to back up all my photos
(to go with my current backup regime of external
HDD, Flickr and monthly DVD burn.)
Next week is Aoife's first birthday, so there will be lots of excitement to be had. She has a new little cousin as well, who was born just three weeks ago.
Then there's the preparations for the World Cup coming up as well. Loads to write about, just have to find the time.
So that's it. The babba is having a snooze at the moment, but is due to wake up any minute, so I'd better sign off.
But anyways, I'm on hols at the moment. I'm at home minding the little 'un. My sister, who looks after her during the week is away with her gang on their jolliers. My wife started a new job last month, so she can only get one week off, hence my status as a househusband this week. We will be on hols en famille next week.
The burtda went grand. I was working all day, but we managed to avoid the rain in the evening and get the barbie going. A nice piece of lamb was the order of the day, and we accompanied it with a nice bottle that we had originally planned to open last year on the 40th, but circumstances dictated otherwise. (Pontet-Canet 1966, in case you're curious.)
So what's been going on? I had planned to write at length about the Darren Graham affair, and may yet live up to that ambition. That sort of nonsense should have no place in any sport. Hopefully the GAA will use the opportunity to do something positive.
The recent Irish Times series about "Rip-Off Ireland" almost inspired me to put fingers to keyboard, but so far I have manfully resisted. Maybe next week. Or then again, maybe not.
On the tech side of things, Fake Steve Jobs has been unmasked. Apple have released new iMacs,
Next week is Aoife's first birthday, so there will be lots of excitement to be had. She has a new little cousin as well, who was born just three weeks ago.
Then there's the preparations for the World Cup coming up as well. Loads to write about, just have to find the time.
So that's it. The babba is having a snooze at the moment, but is due to wake up any minute, so I'd better sign off.
Lolbaby
28/07/07 23:12
I downloaded
this pic of Aoife from the camera earlier today…
…which I thought merited a "lolcat" type caption. See here.
…which I thought merited a "lolcat" type caption. See here.
Happy Fathers Day
16/06/07 22:19
Tomorrow (17
June) is Fathers Day (never sure where to put the
apostrophe in that, so I'm leaving it out.) It's the
first one for me, so I'm looking forward to being
spoiled for the day 
Anyway, to all the following blogging Dads, I wish the best for the day:
Kav
Tom
Maca
Rambling Man
Mick, Gonzo, et al
Frank
Willie Joe
Conor
And apologies and best wishes to all I have left out!
Anyway, to all the following blogging Dads, I wish the best for the day:
Kav
Tom
Maca
Rambling Man
Mick, Gonzo, et al
Frank
Willie Joe
Conor
And apologies and best wishes to all I have left out!
She's Starting To Move
07/06/07 23:28
Big changes
in the little 'un over the last few weeks. She's
getting around. Not exactly crawling yet, more
bum-shuffling, but she can still move. She's getting
down on all fours, so the crawling proper will start
any day now.
Needless to say, this brings new challenges. Aoife now has a more, erm, intimate relationship with the kitchen floor than heretofore, so that means that we have to be much more vigilant in terms of keeping it clean. We also have one of these shiny Brabantia bins. Aoife has discovered her reflection in it and has taken to high-fiving it.
Meanwhile, I have become Milton Man. We don't want to raise Aoife in such a sterile environment that she cannot develop immunity, but we want to be sure that she isn't going to pick anything up because of our negligence.
Needless to say, this brings new challenges. Aoife now has a more, erm, intimate relationship with the kitchen floor than heretofore, so that means that we have to be much more vigilant in terms of keeping it clean. We also have one of these shiny Brabantia bins. Aoife has discovered her reflection in it and has taken to high-fiving it.
Meanwhile, I have become Milton Man. We don't want to raise Aoife in such a sterile environment that she cannot develop immunity, but we want to be sure that she isn't going to pick anything up because of our negligence.
Good Service
22/04/07 23:00
Last Tuesday
night, I
ranted about the poor service I
got from Amazon.co.uk - i.e. they would not process
my order of a baby's grobag at all.
I ended up ordering the grobag from a company in the UK called bumpto3.com. On Friday morning, the order arrived at my work address. Now that's what I call service!
bumpto3.com have a large range of products for parents of babies and toddlers and also for expectant parents. If you fit into either of those descriptions, the I recommend you have a look at what they have to offer.
This is not an affilliate link - I recommend bumpto3.com as a satisfied customer.
I ended up ordering the grobag from a company in the UK called bumpto3.com. On Friday morning, the order arrived at my work address. Now that's what I call service!
bumpto3.com have a large range of products for parents of babies and toddlers and also for expectant parents. If you fit into either of those descriptions, the I recommend you have a look at what they have to offer.
This is not an affilliate link - I recommend bumpto3.com as a satisfied customer.
Have Amazon.co.uk Competely Given Up The Irish Market?
17/04/07 22:08
Last year,
I discovered that
amazon.co.uk had discontinued
despatch of electrical and electronic goods to
Ireland. The excuse given was that it could not
comply with Ireland's WEEE regulations, as the UK
had so far not implemented their own (and still
haven't.)
Anyways, the last couple of weeks we have been looking for a new grobag for the little 'un. A grobag is a bit like a cross between a sleeping bag and something a baby would wear in bed. They are a great idea, because babies have a tendency to kick their sheets and blankets off in the cot, and then wake up crying because they're cold. We want a light one for the summer, as the house is quite warm at night, even with no heating on, and her winter one is getting too warm now (and too small.) Mothercare didn't have any in stock, and the ones in Marks & Spencer were too heavy.
(Obligatory photo of Aoife, in her grobag)
I had seen them on Amazon and went to buy one this evening. "Sorry. This item is not available for shipping to the address you specified."
Why on earth not?? Ultimately, it's a piece of fabric, with a zip and a few push buttons. There is nothing electrical involved, and it weighs hardly anything. Why are Amazon turning away my order? So, I ended up doing a Google search for grobag, found their own site and bought from one of the resellers there, without any problem.
Anyways, the last couple of weeks we have been looking for a new grobag for the little 'un. A grobag is a bit like a cross between a sleeping bag and something a baby would wear in bed. They are a great idea, because babies have a tendency to kick their sheets and blankets off in the cot, and then wake up crying because they're cold. We want a light one for the summer, as the house is quite warm at night, even with no heating on, and her winter one is getting too warm now (and too small.) Mothercare didn't have any in stock, and the ones in Marks & Spencer were too heavy.
(Obligatory photo of Aoife, in her grobag)
I had seen them on Amazon and went to buy one this evening. "Sorry. This item is not available for shipping to the address you specified."
Why on earth not?? Ultimately, it's a piece of fabric, with a zip and a few push buttons. There is nothing electrical involved, and it weighs hardly anything. Why are Amazon turning away my order? So, I ended up doing a Google search for grobag, found their own site and bought from one of the resellers there, without any problem.
The Lost Lie-In
01/04/07 22:59
Back in the
our pre-baby days, the missus and I were fond of the
weekend lie-in. Not having an alarm going off at an
ungodly hour on a Saturday and Sunday morning was
bliss. I even bought a super-duper alarm clock that
could be programmed to go off Monday to Friday, but
skip Saturday and Sunday, so that you didn't have to
reset it for the weekend.
But how all that has changed. Because we live out in the sticks now, we have to get up earlier. The weekday morning ritual in our house starts at 5.30, and by the time we have everyone sorted out, we're all out the door by 7.20 or so.
The little 'un is now used to the idea of getting up at around 6.30. Too used to it in fact. Unlike our super duper alarm clock, she can't be programmed to differentiate between a weekday morning and a weekend morning. Nor does she have a snooze button. So weekend lie-ins are now a thing of the past.
Last Saturday she slept on for the first time in ages, and didn't wake us till about 7.45. A year ago, waking up at 7.45 on a Saturday morning would have been considered the middle of the night. Now it's a lie-in.
And as I am writing about my daughter, I feel obliged to post a cute pic.
But how all that has changed. Because we live out in the sticks now, we have to get up earlier. The weekday morning ritual in our house starts at 5.30, and by the time we have everyone sorted out, we're all out the door by 7.20 or so.
The little 'un is now used to the idea of getting up at around 6.30. Too used to it in fact. Unlike our super duper alarm clock, she can't be programmed to differentiate between a weekday morning and a weekend morning. Nor does she have a snooze button. So weekend lie-ins are now a thing of the past.
Last Saturday she slept on for the first time in ages, and didn't wake us till about 7.45. A year ago, waking up at 7.45 on a Saturday morning would have been considered the middle of the night. Now it's a lie-in.
And as I am writing about my daughter, I feel obliged to post a cute pic.
Happy 0.5th Birthday!
14/02/07 07:19
