Cj took her first step today. Just the one, thank you, but it’s been duly noted in the life book and the camera is poised and ready to capture any repeat performance.

She's my fourth child, and the only one to wait this long to walk; the others were up and going by nine months, and she’s nearly eleven. (Still talking months here, not years, just in case anyone new is reading today.) I am so pleased she’s taken her time. Early walkers are a pain. I’ve written about my thoughts on teeth in walking babies … I’m... more

As I mentioned in a previous post, and may drop into future conversations from time to time, my kids are adorable. All four of them, but the two in their 30s have less tolerance for me wafting on about it in a public place like this than the little ones, so I’ll save heaping praise on them for a future entry.

So, Sam and Cj: cute. And they get a lot of attention, partly because they solicit it and partly because, well … because they’re so darned cute.

Given the racial mix of... more

I had an appointment with a doctor yesterday, and as always there was quite a wait. I used to take a book along to keep me occupied, but with little kids in tow a book would just be silly.

Keeping them entertained isn’t always easy, but they go to great measures to keep the rest of the waiting crowd amused; from a child’s perspective any captive audience, even the sick, the weak and the infirm, will do … rather like a Borscht Belt comic in the ‘50s.

Need I say it? My children are adorable. They enjoy attention, like getting laughs and will... more

"It’s Saturday, and Dad doesn’t go to work today! Yipeeeeee!"

And with that, the weekend has begun.

Sam is three, and at three helping Dad do stuff around the house is just the coolest possible way to spend a day. Lifting, toting, dragging, sweeping, hammering, watering, under the tropical sun is heaven on Earth for our boy. He’ll eagerly point out dog pooh piles needing disposal, pull the guts out of recently caught fish, and can be ready at the drop of a hat to head off on errands, do some shopping or get down to the beach for a dip. Anything is great,... more

Now that Sam is completely verbal … and that’s an understatement if ever there was one! … he’s very good at communicating his needs and wants. "I need to want some breakfast," is how he tells me he’s hungry in the morning, and he continues to need to want stuff on and off through the day.

He’s also a one-boy public address system and keeps us all abreast of vital events with enthusiastic announcements like, "We have cows in the garden today," and "Baby Sister stinks like poopy". "Dad’s home", is a shout as he runs out the door in the evenings,... more

Some wise person I can’t credit, because I don’t remember who the heck it was, said once that with kids there are two wars a parent can never win: sleeping and eating. Like the horse you can bring to water but never make drink, dragging a kid toward a bowl of brussels sprouts rarely results in a full dose of veggie vitamins ingested. Rendering a child unconscious is never an option, so sleep is pretty much in their court, as well.

It seems that monkey, chimp, gorilla and orang utan moms figured this out a long time ago. Naps happen when baby is sleeping. Bedtime is when... more

In 1969, at the age of eighteen, other people’s attitudes toward parenting held much more weight than any of my own thoughts. Co-sleeping, now acceptable if a bit contentious, was a no-no, and teaching independence was at the top of many a parental agenda. Kids needed their own rooms, their own beds, their own space from birth onwards, and bringing a baby into bed was considered dangerous.

I recall two o’clock, and three o’clock, and four o’clock feedings, sitting on the edge of my bed, back aching, head lolling, barely able to stay awake, but terrified... more

In my life I have made some wonderful friends, and have the privilege of counting among these amazing influences many that happen to be other than human. Non-human primates, their behaviors, their societies, their personalities and complexities, are one of my passions. Over the years I have had the honor of working with many different sorts of monkeys, and lemurs, gibbons, chimpanzees and orang utans, getting to know them as individuals, developing relationships, friendships, and having the opportunity to learn from them.

Family structures within primate species vary... more

There’s a thirty-two year gap between my first kids and my second batch, and I've learned a bit in three plus decades. In addition to being better able stay focused and much better at finding my comfort zone in strange circumstances, I’m also a different sort of parent.

I clearly remember the first time I held my daughter, Jen, in August of 1969. Cuddled against me, she opened her eyes and looked straight into mine … I was eighteen, she was a couple of hours old. A tender time, yes, but also one for explanations, so I carefully spelled out the facts: I had no idea how to be a mother, would try with all my heart and soul to do it right, but was very likely to screw up badly from time... more

My older son is thirty-five years old today. Thirty-five! Where have those years gone? It seems such a short while ago he was a teen, a kid, a toddler, a baby, and now he is, in anyone’s definition, a man heading toward middle age. Yikes!

Our time as parents of little ones is so short. It can seem as though the kids are taking forever to get over one obnoxious phase or another, or learning to walk without damage, or drive with confidence, or earn their own pocket money. We think we’re going to remember all the little things, but so often they’re gone before we get around to snapping the photo or jotting down the funny in a life book, and the memory is soon crowded out of reach by... more