ThreeStorks

Since Judah has learned to ‘feed’ the cats… they eat often.

Daddystork — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:19:41 +0000

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21 Months in 9 Minutes (video)

Daddystork — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:49:09 +0000

I guess there was a time when parents would have to go through and purge the photo drawer to make room for more? The SD card on my phone is almost maxed out with clips I’ve shot since Judah’s birth. Here is the last 21 months edited down to 9 minutes.

Master Judah

Daddystork — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 02:02:46 +0000

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Judah at 19 Months

Daddystork — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:58:39 +0000

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He is Chasing Planes Around Already

Daddystork — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 23:27:51 +0000

Judah has the aviation bug… already he has begun chasing planes around. I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember. Specifically, it may have started when I was single digits sitting in my fathers office watching people fly RC airplanes in a field across the street. The obsession culminated during many summers at Space Camp not learning about poison ivy like most kids.

It’s a common question in the cockpit during a round of self loathing. “Are you going to encourage your kids to work for the airlines?”

There is a lot of complaining in the cockpit and galley. I’m sure all industries have their issues but I can’t imagine their workers complain as much as we do. Maybe it’s because we have so much downtime in the cockpit to “Monday morning quarterback” company decisions and stir up plans on how we’d make things better if we ran the place. “All hotels would have free breakfast… and good shower pressure.”

I knew a guy once who had his non-aviation dad up in the cockpit for a flight. He told him to act like a pilot in front of the passengers so they would think he was just a jumpseater. The story goes that when he boarded the plane he said to the flight attendant, “Yep, scheduling F’ed me over again!”

That’s all he knew about airline life.

Would I want my son to work for the airlines? Of course. If he wanted to.

I will do what my father did for me… encourage him to pursue his dreams. I love being a pilot. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. It’s all that I’ve ever wanted to do for a living and honestly, all I know how to do. Although there are many up’s and down’s (stupid pun) I love it. It’s more than a job… it’s a lifestyle. A wiser man that me once said, “It’s not work if you enjoy what you do.” He then added something about things in Vegas staying in Vegas but that’s not the point… I think?

As a kid I would always look to planes flying overhead and wonder where the pilots are going. Now I know. The same place they’ve been a thousand times!

But maybe at least their airline puts them up in hotels that have free breakfast.

The Earthquake Caught on our Live Chicken Cam

Daddystork — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:56:23 +0000

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My Days are now in Song

Daddystork — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:37:11 +0000

I’ve been home for too long and apparently have had too few conversations with adults.

I’ve been off for a few weeks and have spent a majority of that time with a child who only utters a few simple things… more like breaths with some noises attached. He’s experimenting with passing air over his vocal chords.

We’ve had lots of one sided conversations and most of them in song.

It’s like a chess game with myself… again, in song. “Oh you’re gonna play the knight I see… then I guess my Rook it will have to be.”

Most of these conversations end with me singing, “No more rhymes… I mean it!”

And I wait and wait and wait but he never answers. So I do and laugh, “Anybody want a peanut!”

I laugh and swear that this is the end of that game but I get slap happy and it starts all over again. I’ll trip over a toy and sing about why daddy is such a klutz.

The rhymes never make any sense and often start with, “Take it from me boy…”

And they are never set to a good tune!

Try as I can to get them out to a Dead or a Phish riff or even The Beatles but my rhythmic abilities stretch only as far as tunes like “Take me out the ballgame” or “For he’s a jolly good fellow”. What the hell is that about? I’ve a got a wide range of tracks in my head don’t I? I’ll take a Wiggles mix or even a song about cooking up a grilled cheese with a backdrop of the “Three’s Company” theme over 1940′s birthday melodies.

I was able to get a simple verse from Shakedown Street the other day. “Eat, Eat, Eat… yes it’s time to eat.” But that is where it ends.
I’m no singer/songwriter.

In the past, every time I’d attempt to toss trash into a can and miss I’d remark… “This is why I fly airplanes.”
The same response now applies when I find myself singing a horrid remix to the baby. “This is why I fly airplanes.”

Or rather it’s, “Take it from me my boy, this is why I fly planes… yes just like your toy.”

Must Have Been a Hard Three Hours at Daycare

Daddystork — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:52:28 +0000

I dropped him off at daycare before lunch with the plan of only having him there for three hours while I ran some errands.
Three hours.
He was there for three hours!
Part of that was lunch. He was falling asleep in my arms as I carried him to the car. How much energy could a kid burn in three hours?
Knowing that there would be a pretty solid nap in our future upon arrival I knew I had to get him home in the amount of time it takes me to give my passenger boarding briefing. “Son, from the flight deck. Welcome aboard… we should be on our way soon. Expect a couple of bumps on our climb out but it should smooth out and be a pretty nice ride for us at our cruising altitude…”
He’s asleep.
We’ve hardly left the parkinglot.
Daycare must be earning their keep.
Although I’m home often on weekdays and have the option to be with him almost exclusively I feel I am running out of ways to keep him entertained and enriched.
Obviously! He never passes out after just a few hours of playtime with me.

Judah vs The Robot

Daddystork — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:06:03 +0000

More than two decades after owning my first robot… I’m a robot master again. After roomba sitting for the weekend we purchased our very own and it’s on its way from Amazon. The last robot I owned was RadioShack’s Robie Jr. I remember the sales pitch I gave my mom was that “I could teach it to bring her a can of beer.” I used a similar line this time with momma Stork, “I can teach it to keep the floors clean.”