Spain Dad, a baby blog

I subscribe to The Sun Magazine, and I read an essay called “Ways to Show Affection” in the latest issue (May 2006). You can read an excerpt from the essay here, or if you live in the U.S., you can buy your own copy at your local bookstore. The essay is by a woman named [...]

I squeezed the right brake handle, and my wobbly rear wheel came to a stop. No, I wasn’t braking for the stoplight on my way to Spanish classes. I was on my knees in the kitchen with my Gary Fischer mountain bike resting up side down on the floor. For weeks I had been pedaling [...]

Tonight Barcelona won the European Champion’s League in soccer/football. We were watching the game on TV with our friends Andy and Sharla, and as soon as the game was over, we all started hooting and hollering (including fireworks, car horns, and people chanting from our open living room window). “The baby’s moving!” April said, laughing. [...]

My mom has super powers. Most moms do, I’m convinced. I can’t tell you how many times I came over for dinner, sat down at the kitchen table to talk with my mom, and in a matter of maybe fifteen minutes she had a four-course meal ready and waiting. My dad is the one who [...]

…April said while we were sitting on our beach towels, warm as dinner rolls, watching the waves come in. “You know how sometimes you can feel your heartbeat in different parts of your body,” April said. “It felt like that, only in my stomach, and not as consistent as a heartbeat.” The pregnancy book we’re [...]

Today is Mother’s Day in Spain. I was on the phone last night with my mom and said, “Happy Spanish Mother’s Day, Mom.” She said, “Thanks,” and, “how did you celebrate with the other mother in the house?” “Oh, you mean April?” I said. I think we’re both still getting used to the idea that [...]

Some friends who live in Nice visited last week. They have 5 boys, age 9 to 18, and all of them, minus one, came to stay with us. For the first time since we moved in last August, I felt like our apartment was being used to its full potential. Every room was full. During [...]

Merry Christmas to Us! Some acquaintances of ours in Madrid will be moving back to the U.S. They have lots of baby stuff and maternity clothes that they are leaving us. What a gift. (Once again I’m talking about getting free stuff from people!) April was looking through the maternity clothes last night. It’s still [...]

“Actually, I can’t tell,” the doctor said. She took both her hands and pressed gently on April’s stomach. The baby on the screen wiggled, even yawned, and settled back into a comfortable position. The doctor scratched her face and looked at the screen. The baby was resting comfortably. Wombs are a good place for a [...]

On Monday I told Kelly Wills that April and I had gone to fnac, a large bookstore in Madrid, to flip through baby name books. “I’ve learned that it’s not a good idea to tell family or friends your baby names,” she said, “I have two baby names, and I made the mistake of telling [...]