Spain Dad, a baby blog

Alleke and Mom Photo by kellyandapril. The neighborhood where I grew up was a small gathering of houses on a dirt road, lost in the corn fields of Iowa. Tim and Amanda were my neighborhood pals, and when we got bored of building our clubhouse in the chicken coup, or digging for treasure in the [...]

06b Photo by alecani. I stepped into the house from the garage and stomped the snow off my shoes. I hung up my coat and walked into the kitchen. The house was quiet. April must be feeding Alleke in bed. On the kitchen table was an open box of cereal. The milk was there too [...]

Here’s the video of Alleke’s baptism. Also, I have a video of our promises to Alleke, and the song my sister and I sang to her afterwards.

IMG_3983a Photo by openg. Alleke will be baptized on Sunday. April and I hadn’t talked much about what baptism meant to us as a family until Friday when we were in the car on the way to church to talk to the pastor. We only had a few minutes to talk, but that’s all we [...]

Snow on Everything Photo by ytang3. “I feel like every time I call you on the phone I just ramble and complain about my kids.” “I think that’s normal,” I said. “At least you make me feel normal,” I added. Monica laughed. “I don’t know if this is a good example,” I said, “but when [...]

full service grandma – _MG_5020 Photo by sean dreilinger. If you change a lot of diapers, it helps to be funny. Or at least it helps if you have an act. I imagine if you asked most parents how they spend their time at the changing table, they wouldn’t tell you about baby wipes or [...]

Chloë and the Cold, part 2: Moment of Peace Photo by Exployment Now. I was beginning to think Alleke was immune to all earthly diseases. First she survived three plane cabins (and their recirculated air) on the trip from Madrid to Omaha. The following week we celebrated Thanksgiving with both families, and Alleke got passed [...]

Alleke in baby carrier Photo by kellyandapril. Last night I tried putting Alleke in the baby carrier with her face forward. She’s just tall enough now for her eyes and nose to peek out the front. She looked like a little ninja master with the bottom half of her face masked behind the black fabric [...]

Blackberry Peach Cobbler Photo by fonticulus. “Where would you like your tea?” April asked. I looked around. “Right here is good” I said, nodding at the small end table standing next to the armchair where I was sitting. Alleke was sound asleep against my chest, her nose buried in the pit of my arm. April [...]

We discovered that Alleke is ticklish.