tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-169518022011-07-28T07:44:38.447-07:00Fighting Extinction Since<br>September 29, 1970Russell Cnoreply@blogger.comBlogger161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-81305528286369416252007-06-17T23:24:00.000-07:002007-06-18T11:20:09.002-07:00

Walk alongside me, Daddy, and hold my little hand.I have so many things to learn that I don't yet understand.Teach me things to keep me safe, from dangers every day.Show me how to do my best, at home at school at play.Every child needs a gentle hand, to guide them as they grow.So walk alongside me, Daddy--we have a long way to go.

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-9906840750204454942007-02-16T22:08:00.000-08:002007-02-16T22:57:34.638-08:00

Not a day goes by that I don't think about how blessed my wife and I are to have our son in our lives, how lucky we are that he's healthy. If I ever needed a reminder, I would look at his hands--five fingers on each. And then his feet--five toes on each. Saving the best for last, I'd then look at his face. More than likely, his big blue eyes would be looking back at me, and his mouth, with all

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1166551108138283522006-12-19T09:35:00.000-08:002007-02-17T08:54:00.088-08:00

I have something to confess: I still get a little misty eyed when I return from dropping my son off at daycare every morning. The house is just too quiet.Josh has been going to daycare now for two months, though his attendance has been a bit sporadic due to sickness and travel. Still, we've kept him on as regular an attendance schedule as possible, and it has been good for him. His development

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1160438746214850482006-10-09T16:51:00.000-07:002009-07-15T21:44:27.044-07:00

October 8th may not have been the most meaningful day in my life, but it definitely ranks in the top one. October 8th, you see, was my son's first birthday. Not ones for extravagance, my wife and I kept the day low-key, celebrating by having a few family members over for dinner and cake. The guest of honor, his face sporting a beard of frosting and ice cream, didn't seem to mind the sparse

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1151430863364166782006-06-27T10:12:00.000-07:002006-08-23T17:16:35.500-07:00

Josh is crawling now. He's still a little awkward at it--he sways and rocks some as he attempts to sync the movement of hands and knees--but he manages to move forward with frightening efficiency. I almost want to test him for steroids.With his newfound mobility comes great pride--and fear--for both parents and child. From Josh's perspective, his horizons have just expanded considerably. Now

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1150402770013810162006-06-15T12:54:00.000-07:002009-07-15T21:49:41.008-07:00

My wife and I were recently flattened by a fun little microbe we caught when we toured a local day care center. This thing came at us like a hurricane and its DNA instructed my body to do things you only see on America's Funniest Home Videos - Effluvium Edition. I'm pretty sure it was a variant of ebola.I suspect we caught this mutant virus specifically from a proto-baby named Jack. He was an

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1147199648018689812006-05-09T11:03:00.000-07:002006-05-18T10:27:36.643-07:00

Much has transpired in the nearly three months since my last posting. We moved into a bigger house. I quit my job to be a full-time stay-at-home dad. And most significantly, our son has evolved into a little person.Not that he wasn't a person three months ago. In fact, he was, and is, much more than a person to me. In him is a spirit unpolluted by the world you and I inhabit. In him is a purity

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1140118730467122632006-02-16T11:38:00.000-08:002006-04-29T12:43:50.400-07:00

Good morning, my JoshuaA new day is hereYour bright eyes are bushyDry diapers are nearBut first you scream, you cryAnd raised is my ilkWhat you need is quite simple:A full tummy of milkThe crying and pouting, you roar at full throttleFor chrissakes, dear wife, please get me a bottle!You down it with ease, like you’ve never been fedBut you’re easy to please—it goes to my headHunger pangs gone,

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1139989700236242302006-02-14T23:25:00.000-08:002006-02-17T19:55:16.013-08:00

I'm a huge fan of the iPod, and this might be the coolest thing I've ever seen: a onesie with an iPod scroll wheel iron-on, from ipopmybaby.com.I have not ordered one because they're not cheap; you can buy a ten-pack of onesies at Babies-R-Expensive™ for the price of one iPod onesie ($15.95). And what's nice about the cheapo ones is that you can throw them away when they get covered in poop from

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1139982870520091942006-02-14T21:32:00.000-08:002006-02-16T23:16:00.486-08:00

Today didn't contribute much to my confidence as a father. My four-month old boy fussed and spit up constantly and nothing would comfort him. It was the first such day I've had with him, and definitely the most trying. I ended the day mentally spent and marinated by the contents of his tiny stomach, which actually didn't seem so tiny when it decided to shower my shirt with curdled ejecta. It's

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1139945388870529832006-02-14T11:14:00.000-08:002006-02-14T23:05:16.156-08:00

I'd describe myself as a darn good skier, but I admit that I still get butterflies when I'm peering over the edge of a super-steep run that I'm about to schuss. Depending on the angle of the slope and whether any obstacles are present--such as rock or ice patches, or dead skiers--a fall on a steep slope could be anywhere between mildly damaging to the ego and severely damaging to the skeleton.

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1138947698185033652006-02-02T22:11:00.000-08:002006-02-09T23:35:32.293-08:00

I cut my hair the other day, using a $10 pair of clippers I purchased at Walgreens. I inadvertently used one of the shorter clipper attachments--the 1/4-nanometer attachment, to be specific. By the time I realized how short I was going, I had carved a decidedly unfortunate groove in my cracker afro. What I grumbled to myself immediately afterward began with a letter that falls somewhere between

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1138747497022833182006-01-31T13:45:00.000-08:002006-01-31T22:39:53.790-08:00

Yesterday was the first full day of my 10-week odyssey as a stay-at-home father. By all accounts, it was a good day, as measured by the extent to which my son is still alive. Call it a hunch, but I believe that my son's continued metabolic activity is a positive first step in our evolving relationship.In addition to the milestone of my progeny's survival, I came away from yesterday with an

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1138217763594762752006-01-25T11:10:00.000-08:002006-01-26T14:51:02.793-08:00

A few days from now will mark the beginning of a new, and by far the most important, chapter in my life: I'm going to become a stay-at-home dad, at least for the next 10 weeks. My wife, who has been the primary caregiver of our four-month old son since he was born, is going back to work. She is an amazing wife and an even more amazing mother; it humbles me to watch her interact with our son, to

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1127665355513866462005-09-25T09:14:00.000-07:002005-09-25T09:22:35.513-07:00

Tender food morselsMute Clams wishing they could singBluegreen puppies dance

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16951802.post-1127541453387773232005-09-23T22:56:00.000-07:002006-01-26T14:47:36.933-08:00

I've titled this blog after a book I just finished not reading. I put the book away, about a third read and with a barley broken spine, to linger forever on my "almost read" shelf, which is becoming so weighty that it threatens to splinter like balsa wood and break through our second-story ceiling. "My goodness," the contractor will remark when he comes to fix the damage, "did a meteor hit this

Russell Cnoreply@blogger.com0