Archive for 'family' Category

2011.06.06

Baby Science Paper

This is just awesome. So is the rest of the article, which talks about raising kids when you’re scientifically-minded parents. Exactly what Rosa and I are!

2011.06.03

Our Little Monkey

Our daughter, our Little Monkey…

2011.05.24

My Sister’s Wedding

Speaking of weddings, my sister got married on Saturday. Rosa and I flew the red eye out (never again!) and got to see tons of family. It was especially nice to spend time with my niece, Karma, and my brother’s family, Lisa, Jake, Tim, Sam and Megan. Too bad Chris couldn’t be there, but hopefully I’ll see him in October. Pictures and Rosa’s speech after the jump.

Congratulations to Heather and Joe! I hope you’re having fun in Jamaica!
Read the rest of this entry…

2011.05.23

Happy First Anniversary!

A little shout out to my wife…

Happy Anniversary, Love! It doesn’t seem it, but one year ago we were married. T’estimo, Amor meu. Sempre.

2011.05.19

Dear Sophie

This is a wonderful idea. Someone came up with the idea of using various Google products to create a sort of active journal for their child, as demonstrated in this video called Dear Sophie. Very touching, and a seriously good idea. I’m just wondering if there’s an easy way to do this without using Google…

2011.05.17

The End is Nigh! Again!

In case you’ve not heard, the end of the world is this Saturday, May 21^st, 2011. If this is true then I hope they wait until after my sister’s wedding that afternoon. Yep, my little sister, Heather, is getting married (marriage being the current “disease” in the family lately). While some might say that the end of days is because she is getting married, I disagree.

In fact, there have been so many predictions about the end of the world it amazes me that they still keep popping up. Even that “saint” of science, Sir Isaac Newton, made his own predictions. At least he was clever enough to predict a date beyond his death so he wouldn’t have to deal with side along glances. Personally I don’t believe any of this claptrap and deep in my gut it bothers me that others believe it. Still, I like to have fun at other’s expense so…

Happy Apocalypse Day!

2011.05.10

Child Cannibalism

Last night I was reading one of the many baby books we have in preparation for the Little Monkey arriving in our lives. There are so many things I didn’t know, or simply never thought about. For example, I never knew what the umbilical cord connected to: the placenta. And what exactly is the placenta? It’s an organ, derived from the blastocyst (specifically the trophoblast) that creates the baby, filtering food, waste and blood from the mother.

I remembered hearing that some people eat the placenta after the birth. But if the placenta comes from the blastocyst that means it is made from the same cells that your baby is made of. You are essentially eating your baby. It’s like if the baby’s arm fell off one day and you thought to yourself, “Hey, that looks kind of delicious. I feel like baby steak tonight!”

Some people think there are good reasons to eat the placenta. For example it is supposed to help post-partum blues in the mother and help get the milk flowing. Apparently there is not a lot of evidence to support this and it could simply be the placebo effect. Regardless, just because most other animals are eating it (strangely, camels do not) doesn’t mean we have to. It’s cannibalism! You are eating the genetic material of your child! You’re eating cells that, but for lucky position in the embryo, would have become your child!

Apparently there is a booming business in culinary placenta preparation. I wonder if the FDA is aware of this. I hope they don’t have a recall!

I have to say, I’m kind of glad I’m not the only one kind of weirded out by placentophagy. Happily, Rosa isn’t an ex-hippie so I doubt I’ll have to go through what that poor guy did…

Please note: I did not link to any pictures. I did this deliberately; they can be kind of disgusting. Do so at your own risk. Also note: I get it that many women feel more connected to their babies, spiritually and physically, by eating the placenta. This doesn’t change the fact that it is a form of cannibalism and I, personally, find that mildly disturbing.

2011.05.05

Cdr. Christopher Nerad, DDG 94

We will look forward, not backward…Congratulations to my brother, Commander Christopher Nerad USN, for his first ship command of the USS Nitze (DDG 94) a few days ago. I couldn’t make it to Rio de Janeiro for the change of command ceremony, but our thoughts were with you. This is what he said during the ceremony.

We will look forward, not backward, and crush adversity. To win, we must ensure that our gear works. To win, we must ensure we can operate our gear, often in austere environments. To win, we must execute in an honest, forthright and forehanded manner.

Congratulations, Chris. I’m very proud of you. We all are proud of you.

2011.04.24

Prayer for the Daughter

Tina Fey get’s it right… I need my own personal prayer for my unborn daughter. There’s so much trouble she could -and probably will- get into that will drive me absolutely crazy. How does one cope? I suppose I’ll figure it out. In the meantime, not to be too cliché, but: baby steps.

2011.04.23

A Little Announcement

It’s Saint Jordi’s Day so maybe it’s time for a little announcement…

Rosa and I are going to be parents.

We’re expecting a little girl with a due date of September 11th. Although only 3-5% of babies are born on their due date we are excited about this particular day for two reasons. First, we can start taking back the day for America and second, it’s the national day of Catalonia which is where Rosa is from.

So… I’m going to be a father. How’s that for a “little” announcement!