Spain Dad, a baby blog

Every morning I remind Alleke to put her blankie in her bed. This morning, however, when I mentioned her blankie, she began to cry. “Blankie,” she blurted, sobbing into the floor. I walked over and picked her up. “Where is your blankie?” I asked, scanning the room. I carried Alleke around the house, and we [...]

Alleke wants to show you where her blankie goes when she gets up in the morning… Watch Blankie on Vimeo.

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 [...]

Alleke scratched at my neck until she found my shirt collar. Using it as a handle, she yanked down and pulled herself up just high enough to sling her arm over my shoulder and point into the darkness. I turned around and squinted into the dim corner of the room. I didn’t see anything unusual, [...]

Alleke gets a cold Alleke lay on the changing table while I sang her a song and fastened the velcro straps on her diaper. It was early to be putting her to sleep, but she was nodding off already, fighting to keep her eyes open just long enough to moan and reach for me to [...]

auditorium stage, originally uploaded by stu_spivack. Saturday night I had this dream. I was swimming with my friend Ryan at the public swimming pool, and in walked our high school choir director, Mr. Schonewill, wearing a suit and a bow tie. Mr. Schonewill was a very likable guy, but for the moment he looked frazzled, [...]

Putting a baby to sleep is like learning a second language. It’s a lot of hard work, and if you have to do it, you will, but if you don’t, you won’t. When I first moved to Spain, I was surprised to discover how many English speakers had been living in the country, but had [...]

DSC_2506, originally uploaded by kellyandapril. Sleep UpdateWe’ve been putting Alleke to sleep in her own bed now, but usually around two o’clock in the morning she wakes up, and we move her into bed with us so she can eat. An Annoying HabitThis past week Alleke has been waking up at odd hours in the [...]

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 [...]

she looks like she’d prefer a nap Photo by mary_gaston22. Alleke screams again. She arches her back and tries to get away from me. I hold on to her tightly, but she’s as slippery as a bar of soap. Her face is glowing red. Tears make puddles in her ears. She refuses to open her [...]