Spain Dad, a baby blog

Jump! from Kelly Crull on Vimeo. I don’t have the heart to tell her she hasn’t actually gotten her feet off the ground yet.

Pumpkins Photo by Tambako the Jaguar. I stood at the doorway to our bedroom in my slippers and watched as April lifted Alleke into the stroller, set two warm pies wrapped in tin foil in the back, and rolled into the hallway, closing the door behind her. I stood there for a moment smelling the [...]

I listen to the footsteps as they cross the hardwood floor, crackling like a bonfire. They stop at the edge of the bed, and I open my eyes and blink into the darkness. A shadowy figure sinks a knee into the bed, climbs over me, and burrows under the covers. I lie there, thinking. I [...]

My parents used to go for walks, just the two of them, when the weather was good. My brother and sister and I were never invited to go with them, but they couldn’t stop us from watching them from the tall windows in the living room as they wandered down the gravel road among the [...]

Alleke learns her first word. Can you guess what it will be? Alleke’s first word from Spain Dad on Vimeo.

I watched from the couch with a book in my lap as Alleke disappeared into the bathroom. She returned with a washcloth wadded up in her hand like a fistful of cash. She glanced at me, then walked into the middle of the room and sat down. She dropped the washcloth on the floor, stared [...]

Adoption, an Alternative to ChildbirthApril and I first met in a carpool ride to a junior high band competition. Later, we went to the same high school and became friends sitting next to each other in band, whispering to each other between songs. We were a very serious couple, even at 16. April still remembers [...]

Here you will find our step-by-step process of adopting a child internationally through Spain, including links to the blog posts I’ve written along the way. We began in November 2007. 1. We decided to adopt a child. A Brief History of My Thoughts on Adoption Further Thoughts on Adoption Dominoes Boy Ethics 2. We attended [...]

A few days ago I walked down to the playground with Alleke and noticed that someone had scribbled on the sign at the entrance with a permanent marker. Where the sign used to read, “Area for kids ages 1 to 8,” someone had drawn in a small zero with a smiley face in the middle. [...]

Alleke sat on my lap in the lamp light. I read her the last words on the page and closed the book, then set it aside. I lifted her into my arms, gave her a kiss, and told her I loved her. Cracking open the door to the bedroom, I called for April–it was her [...]