Reflections on 1 complete year of Dad-ness

- Mums are amazing. Awesome. Single mums (or ones with useless partners) must be even more so. Carmen has never failed to surprise me with her resilience, persistence, imagination and humour. She gets to (has to?) be with Poppy all day every day, but it seems like she always has good things to say about new things they do. When I have one day, i run out of stuff to do with her.

- Repetition is the key to learning.

- Caffeine is an acceptable replacement for sleep. Carmen drinks no coffee. Amazing woman.

- Poppy is an awesome sleeper, compared to some friends' kids. Much grateful for that.

- Baby-group friends are awesome, because you are all sharing the same new experiences at the same time. We have some great old friends for advice on how they dealt with stuff, and great new friends to empathise in the now.

- Affectionate kids are so good. The first hug that Poppy gave me was just priceless, and i don't think I'll ever get sick of her voluntary cuddles. The late-night transfer from carseat to cot just kills me.

- Repetition is the key to learning.

- Interactive kids are great fun. she knows so much about what we are saying. "Where's Mummy? Where's doll? Where's Nonna? Can you put your feet in your mouth? You want to swing? Incy wincy spider" all get the right reponse. Plus she knows after bath, i dry her and get her dressed, and then pick her up, then she reaches down to pick up the towel, then on the way out of her room she reaches out to turn off the light (not quite strong enough yet though...), then she tries to turn on the light in the bathroom, then she hangs up her towel, etc. *I* reckon that's pretty advanced for a kid her age.

- Parents are biased.

- Gotta be careful when talking with people not to let the almost one-dimensional aspect your life has taken on dominate your conversation. Other people still have lives, Rob. Be interested in them.

- Repetition is the key to learning.

- Lots of photos are good. Must remember to follow up with lots of pics of number 2 (if/when it might ever eventually come along). (Middle child syndrome is to be avoided by good parenting, like I had.)

- No, 8 pm is not too early for bed. For the parents.

- No matter how cute your child is awake, it's almost a million-bajillion percent cuter asleep, lying on tummy with knees up and bum in the air, or stretched out on its back, with a hand behind head, or ... well, just asleep any old how.

- Repetition is the key to learning.

- We should make more effort to find/use baby-sitters. We are still married to each other, after all. Thanks to Henry though, who once told me that he always made a point of greeting his wife first when getting home from work. I like and do this.

- Some few kids make for a fuller house than more adults. Well, duh, Rob.

And the last thing I can think of right now: Family is fantastic. Make the most of it, even if its not quite ideal, because it won't last forever.

I want to share all the photos in the world, that we have, but I can't.