Spain Dad, a baby blog

In case you’ve ever wondered what it would look like to see a baby on a pogo stick.

We’ve always had good landlords. There was Mrs. Baker, the widow, who didn’t want to live alone and actually begged us to make noise and have house parties and play the guitar more when we were home. There was Damian and Encarna who rented us their six bedroom apartment near the beach for half the [...]

our breakfast place, originally uploaded by kellyandapril. Every Sunday morning April, Alleke and I go to the same place for breakfast. The place reminds me of Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. It’s on the corner with tall glass windows and booths inside. Middle-aged men serve coffee at the bar and clean tables after the regulars who stop [...]

“I don’t think you’ve quite grasped the concept,” I said. I smiled and set down my fork. Sitting on the table in front of Alleke were a hunk of bread and a piece of banana, both of which she had carefully picked up off her plate and set there. As for the plate, she was [...]

Alleke loves to stand up next to the couch, so this afternoon when I needed to get some work done, I set her down next to the couch, put a book in front of her, and walked away. I was in the kitchen putting groceries away when I walked down the hall to see how [...]

Alleke just started drinking from a sippy cup by herself in the last two weeks.

Sometimes the most simple lessons we learned as kids are also the most simple lessons we learn as adults. Up until last week Alleke has been sleeping with us in our bed. We don’t use a crib. We have one, but it’s still in pieces in our storage space. Last week, however, we decided it [...]

When Alleke plays by herself, I feel guilty because I’m not playing with her. When Alleke won’t play by herself, I feel guilty because she doesn’t know how to keep herself entertained.

T-4: One Hundred Seagulls… Photo by Poldavo (Alex). I walked through the sliding door into the arrivals hall. I was almost home. I looked for the sign to the metro, then set down my bag to look for my ticket. Out of the corner of my eye I could see someone walking my way, so [...]