C.J. Is A Mess

When children are born you generally know that your life will never be the same. Your life will now be governed by diaper changes, feedings, responding to cries, and many other miscellaneous tasks that come with the territory.

At first C.J. did'nt make much of a mess. She pooped...we cleaned it, and that was it. She spit up...we wiped it, and that was it. Now C.J. is getting older and much messier. Once I arrived home from work today, I found her looking a mess. Mommy just sat and shook her head. She had veggies here, veggies there, C.J. even had veggies in her hair! All because she likes to grab the bowl when she is eating. Soon she will have her coordination good enough to where she can feed herself. I figure that will be another level of messiness waiting to happen.

In life these days C.J. revives your spirits. When I came home today I was exhausted. Work was long, I was losing my voice...I could have laid down and went to sleep easily. (That is after I finished watching the Lakers win, of course) However, I reach the top of the stairs, and see C.J.'s face (even when it is messy) or hear her voice. I do not care how tired I am, I perk up quickly and a burst of energy runs through me, just enough to keep up with my little homegirl. We roll, we scoot, we laugh, and we fuss. The biggest thing we do is LOVE! I love that girl and she loves me.

She was such a mess Mommy decided to bathe her and get her ready for bed. I just gave her a kiss good night, and of course she wanted to see what was on the computer. She is really into the lights I think but I will feed her appetite for technology. I will also continue to feed her appetite for a well-balanced life. That means she will be in bed getting the proper rest her body needs to be fully functional on a daily basis. A regimen I pray she carries with her throughout life. In my profession, I too often see, students who forget that the body needs rest to function at 100%.

So now as Sunday is quickly approaching an end, I solicit your prayers. As the song says, "I can feel the presence of the Lord and I'm gonna get my blessing right NOW!" Pray that I allow the Lord to move in my life the way he wants to, with no pushing back. We all know, and I BELIEVE without a doubt, that prayer changes, things, people, and situations. Sometimes all in one, be blessed!

Dropped A Load

Today we were able to spend the evening together. I came home from work (my budding personal business), and decided to read with C.J. Being a daddy to C.J. has helped me begin to read a lot more. I usually bathe her once a week and read to her then. Here lately I have picked up a book randomly and read to her. I want to do that a lot more.

I know you may remember the past few times Daddy and Mommy have gone out to eat, C.J. made it very difficult. Most recently we had to leave a restaurant and we sent her to the babysitter so we could enjoy an afternoon movie and lunch. Well this evening Daddy wanted to take Mommy out for a quick bite to eat. We cleaned C.J. up and away we went. Thank God that today she behaved. Not too much spitting, no crying, no whining...she chilled and played with her toys. We were able to enjoy appetizers, a meal and dessert. For her great behavior Daddy saw it not robbery to buy her a toy, OK it was two, but one will say her name!

While we were strolling in Target, I began to smell something that was not pleasant. I unzipped her carrier cover and caught a whiff of a bad odor. C.J. had dropped a load. I looked over and informed Mommy that we needed to get her home before the flies began to come around. To Daddy it was that bad.

Now, we are home. C.J. is pretty tired so she was changed and put immediately to bed. She is quiet tonight, much different from last night. So needless to say, Daddy is pleased and now will rest up to prepare for work...yup, on a Sunday. We will get into that tomorrow, Lord willing. So pray before the night ends. We know that prayer changes things, people, and situations, even including Daddy, who has to work on Sunday!

NOTE TO C.J.: In the future be sure that you use the bathroom whenever you are leaving home. You never know what type of situation you may find yourself in and you never want to end up in the bad smelling predicament you were in tonight. Love Daddy!

Keep People Out Of Your Face

Some people may say I am teaching her to be mean. Daddy says he is teaching her to create boundaries and demand respect. I play this game with C.J. called, "Get Me Out Yo Face." What I will do is invade her personal space by putting my face as close to hers as possible. She will usually smile, but then C.J. will mush me out of the way. I clap and congratulate her and tell her, "Even Daddy, keep folks out of your face."

You have to understand, folks, that C.J. will need to know how to defend herself. The first line of defense is the personal radius one creates around their person. Now I also teach her to smile and giggle...to overall have a great time and enjoy life.

Tonight is turning into a rough night. C.J. is clearly sleepy but is refusing to go to sleep. We came home tonight, she scrawled, she played in her playpen, and she made great use of the walker. All of these things we know tire her out, but she is still going like she is the energizer bunny. These are the moments where Daddy and Mommy differ in opinion, but we somehow work it out to show a somewhat united front.

So I just did the dirty work and put C.J. back in her crib. She is still yelling and whining, too. So pray that she will soon drift off to sleep. We know that prayer will change things, people, and certainly this sleeping situation.

What A Difference A Day Makes

OK, yesterday Daddy fell asleep, that is the story and I am sticking with it. Honestly, it is the truth. I laid down to watch House of Payne and the next thing I know it was 1AM and I was waking up to move to the bedroom. The computer was still on and I looked to type but I was led to my bed by sheer need to sleep.

So today was the first time I realized how quickly babies mature. Yesterday C.J. continued to roll everywhere she wanted to go. As long as she did this we could keep up with her and did not have to worry about where she would get so much. Well, today is another day, and just that quickly, C.J. is now scrawling. I said it properly too. She has mixed crawling and scooting all in one. I actually have video footage that I will cherish for a while. It is these moments that you always want to witness and hold dear to your heart. The only problem is that she gets into stuff she should not be near. She was messing with picture frames, moving DVD's around, and finding every fragment of anything the broom did not get up. So this weekend we will be do some first steps to child proof the areas she frequents.

I am going to end here today because this is a high note. Now it is time to get the video camera ready because she will be walking in no time now. I pray I am around for the first steps she makes. If I am not I will have clear directions left with the camera to ensure I witness those moves just as if I were there. So tonight I leave you with a smile on my face. I hope your evening was as great as mine. I will pray for you as you continue to pray for me. We all know that prayer changes things, people and situations!

NOTE TO C.J.: Even though you were all over the place wrecking things tonight, you put a HUGE smile on your Daddy's face! Continue to be the exploratory and inquiring mind that you are developing into. You are great and will continue to be great as long as you demand greatness from yourself!

April 13th

Today was swell. I dropped my CJ off and when I came home she was sleep. TBC

Listen C.J.

Having a Diva for a daughter is going to help me launch a very lucrative publishing company pushing my own literature. One book will be the same phrase over and over again with pictures of C.J. in different situations. I would simply be telling her to listen to Daddy. C.J. is now very exploratory. She sees something and she wants to know what it is. The problem with that is she goes into prohibited areas to find things. She puts herself in harm's way and does everything her Daddy instructs her not to do. Stay here C.J., do not put that in your mouth C.J., you're going to hit your head C.J., do not lean too far back C.J., stop spitting C.J., and the list goes on. I will admit it is exciting to see her doing new things but it would be even better if I was able to keep up.

My Diva daughter demands to be heard. I wonder where she gets that from? Answer, her Mamma! C.J. will look at you and if she does not gain the response she seeks, she will begin to get loud. If you continue to look at her and not respond, she will get louder, and louder, and louder. Sooner than later I get irritated and usually pick her up to shut her up. I know it sounds harsh, but listen folks, even I, the loudest man on the planet, need silence at times. She is also scooting with near perfection. Daddy is still waiting for her to lift that belly off the ground and crawl but my stomach would be tired too if it ingested as much as C.J. puts down.

I know, I know, I know, fathers should not hike on their daughters but a joke is a joke, and if she fits it, then so it is. C.J. will learn soon enough that she better be able to utilize quick wit when dealing with her paternal side of the family. She already has her laugh down packed, now she just have to study her Daddy and absorb some of his great comedic material. Today was a good day for us. We got to play on the floor together despite her not listening to her Daddy. It is alwaYS a great time bonding with her. These are the times we all wish for. (Ok, sad excuse to quote Dru Hill but I am keeping it!) So remember to pray folks, and keep in mind that prayer changes things, people, and situations!

Quiet Sunday

When you're sitting in the front of the church and you hear a sound and you do not even have to turn around to find out who it is, you know you have a loud baby. That is normally the case with my Princess, C.J. That girl seems to like the excitement that comes along with worship service. I am always afraid that she will see me up in the pulpit and will begin to holler out to me like we are at home playing with each other. Though I would probably laugh about it later; at that moment, I would want to scold her royally.

Today C.J. was unusually quiet in church. It could be that her two teeth are hurting her that much. There is a possibility that she is actually learning that in church, especially when your Daddy is up preaching, C.J. should be quiet. Perhaps it was because her talking buddy Jayla was home sick today. Or could it have been the reality that C.J. slept through her Daddy's sermon. When I asked Mommy, who said others had remarked about her silence, she told me it was because she was asleep.

Now I must admit, Daddy really likes noise during worship, as long as it is relative to the flow of the Spirit. So when C.J. and her cousin Jaylen yell out on cue, it works. They usually can time when a Hallelujah or Amen are needed to complete a thought. It helps the preacher keep his pace steady. So today I would have liked to hear a little noise, just a little bit from my C.J. Maybe I played too much music before church, and while driving to church, and she got her worship in and then needed to rest up. In any event, she was quiet and that is a good thing. One thing I want her to learn early is that worship is exciting, but you must pay attention at certain times. I hope she also learns that sometimes you have to get loud while getting your praise on!

So today was a quiet day for C.J. and that is OK. When you're quiet you allow the Lord to come speak to you and you listen better. So keep the prayers flowing. We know that prayer changes things, people, and situations.