Last Sunday, Ruby ran in her very first race. We did the Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5k, with Ruby in the jogging stroller, and afterwards she did the Kids’ Dash 1k. We looked forward to ending the morning with a performance from Caspar Babypants, Ruby’s new most favorite band. When I was in high school [...]
Ruby’s First Race
May 4, 2011
Taking a Five-Year-Old to Paris
April 13, 2011
Ruby and I returned yesterday from a 12-day trip to Paris (with a dogleg to London). The vacation was amazing: Ruby is an energetic, enthusiastic, resilient and amiable travel partner. Planning a trip like this with Ruby was a little daunting. I was excited to take her away to a foreign culture and experience it [...]
Who We Are
November 7, 2010
Ruby and I stand on the warm sand beside the ocean, the sweet swells breaking mildly before us. I crouch before her, get her attention, and tell her this: When you enter the water, walk straight out. As that first wave swirls around your knees reach down and grab a handful of that foamy stuff and [...]
The Transparent Parent
May 22, 2009
A few weeks ago, I was walking to lunch with a coworker who has a son about Ruby’s age. He mentioned that he and his wife have been trying to avoid using spelling or oblique references in their son’s presence. For example, if there’s a debate about whether to have ice cream for dessert, they [...]
Ping Pong Soup
April 28, 2009
Here’s a great recipe that is perfect for those days when I come home from work with no ideas for dinner, some random ingredients in the fridge, and a Ruby who wants to spend time with Papa. The recipe is simple: just put a carton off chicken broth in a pot, turn on the heat, [...]
Princess Party Redux
April 27, 2009
The Princess Party has come and gone and Ruby is none the worse for wear. Despite the omnipresent generic princess decor, Ruby has yet to ask to be saved from any dragons (although she does need rescuing from the occasional uncooperative button). Ruby chose to dress in her bee costume (her other option was ladybug) [...]
Pretty Pretty Papa Princess
April 22, 2009
It was bound to happy sooner or later. Try as we might to shield Ruby from the infectious outside world, we knew that eventually she’d be exposed. Sending her to preschool only increased the odds, and now, finally, it has happened: she’s been invited to a Disney Princess Birthday Party. Kate and I both anti-princessification, [...]
Swimming Lessons
July 29, 2008
Ruby and I are spending every Tuesday this summer down at the Green Lake pool, taking a half-hour swim class. While Mama is off playing racquetball, we get to bob and bond among the splashing toddlers. Ruby can’t swim, of course, but she’s getting more comfortable in the water. She generally hangs onto me as [...]
Heave Ho
February 11, 2008
I’m starting off another work week with a sore back. It’s now been six months that I’ve had constant lower back pain. I’ve tried both resting and exercising, and neither has seemed to work — although I’m still working hard on the latter and have only recently started making decent progress towards some of my [...]
Missing Ruby
November 28, 2007
Work is ramping up for a big release next week, and so I’m working longer hours than usual. And that means I’ll be spending less time with Ruby. Right now my work hours are shifted a little early than in the morning so that I can come home and have dinner with my family. That [...]