Spain Dad, a baby blog

When I put Alleke to bed on Christmas Eve, I thought twice about telling her about the presents we would open in the morning and the party we would go to at her friends’ house. Like most kids on Christmas Eve, I thought she would wake up ridiculously early looking for presents and party food. [...]

Today after I put Alleke down for a nap, I began clearing the dishes from lunch, which included eating the cold eggplant parmesan off Alleke’s plate and checking to see if she had left any chocolate milk in her glass. What most people don’t realize is that cleaning up after a toddler is a completely [...]

On today’s show Alleke demonstrates how to make Saturday morning pancakes from scratch. Watch Alleke’s Cooking Show on Vimeo. Alleke’s Saturday Morning Pancake Recipe (stolen from Grandma) 1 cup buttermilk or natural yogurt1 egg1/2 tsp baking soda1/8 cup sugar1 cup flour1/8 cup vegetable oil Also, some tips on making pancakes in Spain and the next [...]

April and I don’t usually parent at the same time. We take turns. One of us takes care of Alleke, and the other is running errands, meeting up with a friend, or relaxing. I’m surprised at how little time we actually spend together as a family. Today, for example, I have Alleke in the morning. [...]

“I’ll put on some music,” I said. I got up from the table and walked over to the stereo. Meanwhile, April asked for everyone’s plates and served lasagna while they talked about the upcoming Spanish elections. I flipped through our CDs, found a favorite, and put it in the CD player. It wasn’t until after [...]

At breakfast I love how Alleke chews her orange juice before she swallows it.

“Not now,” I said, wincing. I finished chopping the red onion and set it aside. Alleke stood at my feet and reached for me to pick her up. When that didn’t work, she wedged her way between my legs and the counter and began pushing me out of the kitchen. I set the knife down, [...]

One is “blankie” and the other one is… Watch the video.

I kid you not: McArabia, McDrive by amerune. April and I like to play this game at the end of the day where we ask each other what was the best and worst part of the day. When I got back on Saturday, April asked me the same questions about my week in Morocco. The [...]

The only problem is now she wipes her mouth with anything she can find around house, including dish rags and dirty socks. Watch Alleke using a napkin on Vimeo.