Tag: The Dad Speaks

In March and before this pandemic shut down everything, Niko was really enjoying swimming at our neighborhood pool; it has a big kids area. Yes, he even wore a bathing suit and a long sleeve rash guard. When he is not pooling, and we go out, his outfit is long sleeve pants and a long…

I really enjoy watching fireworks, but I don’t like doing them or spending the money on them. Last night, Niko stayed up a little bit later than he normally does so he could watch the fireworks and there were a bunch of them in our neighborhood. Before they started, the three of us watched Hamilton…

On Friday, we had to put our 16 year old cat, Franklin, down. The previous few days, he was really lethargic and not eating and on Friday, we tried to get him to eat and drink, but he didn’t want any part of that. Nina took him to the vet and the news was bad;…

Father’s Day 2020 was very nice and it all started with a half day off from work on Friday for Juneteenth (that was a nice gesture from Chase bank). As soon as I was done working, Niko and I took a drive to see my parents, but first I had to get gas. I haven’t…

Niko knows how to control Alexa; Alexa notifications, Alexa time, Alex play so and so song, and Alexa stop! So, when I play music throughout the day, Niko can stop and suggest a new made up song. I have had to unplug her in the evenings because he gets distracted by her by asking her…

I enjoy reading books to Niko before he goes to sleep, but lately, I have been making up stories and it’s really fun and Niko really gets into it. He listens so carefully and I ask him questions like what do you think happened next? He also tells me stories, although his are much less…

Yesterday, after Niko and I had breakfast and after I mowed the front and back yard, I really wanted to take Niko for a drive to see my parents. I needed to get out of the house and since it was Saturday, I take Niko with me. Nina works on Saturday and I try to…

Since my birthday on April 23rd, Niko has been extremely difficult when it comes to going to bed. He runs around like a crazy maniac screaming and laughing! Before this, he went to sleep very easily around 7:00 pm, now it’s around 8:00 pm and for a few weeks, it was around 9:00 pm. Yeah,…

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER OF IMPORTANCE… I get to eat lunch with Niko. I can sleep in an extra hour. I can take a break on my bed. I can have a pillow party with Niko on my breaks and lunch. I don’t have to drive an hour each way. I haven’t worn my work…

I already know what Nina does on a daily basis when I am at work and it’s a lot of work; especially with a very active child. And, since I have been working from home for a month, I get to see it daily. She has very little time for herself throughout the day. And,…

For Niko’s night-time, we have always had a set routine of things we do. But, a new phase has emerged and the routine needs a lot of tweaking. Everything is fine until it’s time for him to actually get into bed and get tucked in by us; basically, he doesn’t want to go to sleep….

On the evening before my 43rd birthday last Thursday, Niko screamed at me for almost 2 hours. He wanted a piece of yarn to play with and he wanted his iPad while he ate dinner and I said NO! Eventually, I did breakdown and gave him a small piece yarn, but that actually made it…

I started working from home on April 8th and my new co-workers, Nina, Niko, and Franklin, are still getting used to me being home. Even though we have a dedicated office where the door can be shut with a 27 inch iMac, I prefer to be in the open with my 15.6 inch laptop. I…

One of the good things for me during this time when most people are not at work, is the fact that my drive to and from work has been cut in half! I still would prefer to be working from home, but I work for a financial institution which is considered an essential business. I…

Nina and Niko are having lots of new adventures at home; from drawing to building blocks to looking for ladybugs in the backyard to cooking to relaxing to watching Facebook live videos of various places and things to do all around the world. I always take Niko out on the weekends since that is my…

Well, it’s been 9 days and Niko is doing awesome and I am so proud of him. No accidents and when I get him at midnight and 3 am, he pees, gets a small drink of water, and goes back to bed. Me, I am doing OK. I also get to pee at those times,…

Niko only wears a diaper for nighttime and since last July, I have been waking him up in the middle of the night for a pee and diaper change. Before I started doing that, he was waking up in the morning with a very wet diaper, sheets, and blankets; and that happened several days in…

How do you talk about death with an almost 4 year child? We have told him that as some people get older, there bodies stop working and they can’t be fixed. I think he understands this, but I don’t think he understands the full concept that they are not coming back. The reason I am…

After almost 11 months of living in our house, I mowed our lawn by myself for the first time and it felt really nice and accomplishing! Before, I hired somebody from the neighborhood to do the yard-work, but now I can do it whenever I want. And, you know something, while I was mowing the…