Unleashed Code: Okay... Were almost 2....

Hana is almost 2........ So what's new "Other than my wig and a scholarship into a mental asylum?"

Well since I last wrote for this "fatherhood" blog a huge transformation has taken place. I now truly know I am being held hostage and I get third rate citizen status around my house. Still, I don't think I have had this much fun since I lived next door to Tokyo Disneyland.

Today I will mostly be wearing sauce!

Some days are pretty tough. Tough as in exhausting. I think I have only had a handful of days where I felt I just was not coping. Otherwise everyday has been filled with laughs and occasionally some parenting. Overall we are having fun.

I finally have got to the point now where Hana and I are talking. I don't understand everything that she wants but most of the time I do. Life is so much more interesting with some communication. She tells me "NO" quite a lot.... I thought that was what I should be saying.

I find it very interesting that Hana is both my wife and I. I see traits of both. I was never one for speaking or reading as a child. To this day I cannot read a story.... I hate books unless I gain knowledge from them. I have tons of programming and IT books. I think if I read them I walk away knowing something interesting and cool. A story is just so dull and cannot capture or draw me in at all. Hana just picks up any book or magazine and flicks through it talking to herself continually as she reads. When I read to her she is very interactive. I find it interesting that she naturally likes books. My wife is a reader. Well not so much now but as a child she read a lot. No time these days ;)

Huge feet to fill

So what troubles have we faced? Generally nothing of importance. Okay, we were pretty lucky with the teething situation. Hana sprouted nearly all her teeth at the same time. She had a mouthful of beautiful pearlies very early on and the pain she went through was all over and done with. She is one tough cookie anyway. I play pretty rough with her and she just loves it. I never panic when she falls and grazes her knees (happens a lot) I always tell her to just get up and carry on. Rarely does she cry over it. "Oh dear" is the most she will say. Of course sometimes we have had tears but mostly because she is tired and clumsy and she is not quite sure how to deal with her mistake. A bit of shock.

She has had a cold a couple of times. Mom works with the public and they seem to think its fine to come out when they are ill and cough all over you. So she comes home with a bunch of lurgies Hana and I do not appreciate.

Sleepy sleeps in my cot

With regards to feeding and sleeping Hana decides.... not quite but we have not followed any books here and done what fits in with our lives. This has worked for us. Just do what works for you. The only info we took from the book was regarding how much sleep she needs. She gets 14hrs but not at the times they say. Hana is usually taken to bed around 8-8:30pm. She sleeps in the bed with us. Love it... don't regret it and don't care what anyone says about it. She sleeps right between us safe and sound. She wakes up at 7-8am and cuddles in. Around 8 she is ready to party. We head through after a nappy change and our teeth brushed. We then have some breakfast (usual rice krispies or egg on toast). Lunch is at 12:30(ish) The *ish is important. My daughter is adaptable to eat either earlier or later. Somedays if she does get too hungry she can have a meltdown but it is quickly resolved with food and it is obvious that was the cause. Dinner is around 7pm. Depends on what I am cooking. Mom does not get home form work until late and we both think it is important that Hana has some time with mom so Hana stays up. Once again faced much criticism over this but the importance of spending time with mom and dad together outweighs any regimented rule in my opinion. Mom takes her to bed and she falls asleep quickly. Then mom comes out and joins me so we can have the last couple of hours together. Mom works hard.... so sometimes she passes out too. Oh well, I crack on with my programming or play a game with online friends. I join them whenever I want. (insomnia is an issue for me (bed is usually 1 or 2am for me)). Hana also has an afternoon nap. Used to be morning but it just cocked the days up for doing anything really. I prefer to go out do things and come back and chill for the afternoon. Hana has some milk and nods off in her cot. Its the only time she uses the cot. I just leave her and walk out with a kiss on her head and she falls asleep. Wasn't always that simple. used to be lots of crying. Really hard to hear your kid cry. I would always go back if she cried for too long. No need to leave a child crying. She just knows now it sleep time. No fuss incurred. Took some time though. We never really did the leave your kid to cry themselves to sleep thing. The same result can be achieved the other way too. Less tears...just takes more of your time. Since that's my job.... I should be doing it.

So with this blog what really is my update? Hana seems strong and I am enjoying most of it. Well, people mention the terrible two's. We got there a bit early but it sure is an interesting stage in our lives. A few of the pictures should highlight what your in for. Most have made me laugh. What can you do. Hana is very defiant when she wants to be. If I tell her to stop doing something I can guarantee she will push what she is doing to the maximum limit looking right into my eyes to see HOW FAR??????

A little list of some of her mischievousness .....

Burberry Lipstick....

All she can find goes in the trash.
If it's not the trash she like popping things in the toilet.
Writing implements are used everywhere but on a piece of paper.
Make-up is grabbed at every opportunity and is rapidly applied to Hana as a whole.
Food throwing. Plates and all. Regularly.
Boxes and packaging.... best not order anything really. It will be destroyed in seconds.
Food gets taken out of the kitchen and distributed around the house.
I have microchips and micro-controllers for programming....they were put in my coffee and I nearly chocked to death.
Bags of rice should be hidden and preferably boxed. You will find rice for years to come.
She brings every stone she finds back into your home.
I get yelled at a lot. Especially if I interfere with any of her demolition projects.
She also, when lost for words, smacks you in the face and screams so high pitched you fear for your windows.
Laptops have a special place in Hana's heart. They have to be used daily, the keys have to be picked or bashed, and the cd player opened and closed every 20 seconds. My wife's laptop has been reinstalled twice as Hana has deleted system folders. I think she even knows clearly what she is doing.
Tables are for standing on. beds are for jumping on, baths are for emptying on the floor, toilets are for flushing (with toothbrushes in them), food is for throwing, plates bounce of dads head well, drinks are for spitting, and everything is for drawing on. Okay.... these are Hana's rules.

Too cool for school

All of the above have been funny. No other way to deal with some of it. I'm not going to yell at her for that. Sometimes I have had to when its getting serious or dangerous. I am trying at all times to just talk to her. She does get it. She will get it. Yelling only upsets me and the wife. Hana usually laughs or does something worse for a reaction.

Hana is also now attending a little playgroup sessions. It is good for her to mingle with other kids. She is not shy and gets stuck in instantly. All good signs I suppose. I hope to be taking her more often to different things. I did do rhyme time for a while but neither Hana or I seem to really enjoy it. Too many people all cramped up in a small library and a million mom's talking over everything just annoyed the hell out of me.

I will keep you all posted with further developments... I left it too long between gaps for posting so maybe I will post a bit more regularly. Soooo many things happen on a daily basis that I cant get them all down on keypad.

For any "fathers to be" out there who know they have to do this like myself....a stay at home dad.... really and truly, although sometimes work was an easier life....It's all cool. You will manage easily and I feel when I look at all these mom's fussing about half the crap they fuss about.... we have one thing they don't... Common Sense and the ability to apply it when needed. I don't care if Hana plays in a puddle, I don't care if she doesn't want to wear clothes, I don't care about the little insignificant things which some mom's think are so important and I definitely don't care for bullshit schedules made up by authors to earn a buck. You know what's right for your kid. You also know when things are really wrong. You have a natural connection and its a bond which over-rules all of societies "you must do's". Most of all... it is pretty hilarious seeing how little control you have of anything anyway. Go with the flow dudes....