Poker, Runway, Babies and Bubble Wrap.

OK so how many of you parents out there look at the clock and notice that hours go by and you didn't even realize it. Well...I do.

Hence the fact that I have yet to watch any of the Tivoed Poker or Runway shows...heck I haven't seen any TV (OK maybe a little preseason football with my father-in-law) but other than that...nothing. And thus have not begun my compare and contrast of the aforementioned television shows.

So in lieu of that I give you the crawling, cruising, standing, almost walking but not really... highlights of following a one year old around the house.

I want to invent clothing made of bubble wrap just in case...a little hat with the face and ears open but everywhere else...bubble wrap. Pink for girls, blue for boys. We can even make the individual bubbles different colors or even fill them with some sort of colorful soft material and accessorize with bubble purses or bubble baseball caps.

I digress.

Everyone tells us...don't worry...she'll be fine, kids are resilient but I don't want that theory tested. I'm like this hovering helicopter following her around with outstretched hands just in case she flops over. She never does...kids are pretty smart but heck...I'm a dad...and dads look out for their little ones.

I was going through some old boxes as we consolidate our "things" better known as "junk we haven't used in 10 years to take to Goodwill" and found old birthday cards my mother had saved from my first birthday...YEARS AGO. I found them just a few days before our baby girls first birthday last week (which I must say was quite a fun day).

Anyway, as I looked through those cards my mother had saved it brought back a rush of memories of my parents who sadly did not live to to see our beautiful child born. But in those cards and the other memories I have of my childhood and parents, my daughter will get to know them in their absence.

So...I cherish every single second I have with this amazing little creature who laughs constantly just out of the blue. This little one who only months ago couldn't lift her own head now has a vocabulary of over 20 words and a sense of humor that would rival even Nick Wyman's. (I'm doomed).

Here's to laughter and language and humor and love. And...bubble wrap.