Random Thoughts by Jeremy Wickersham

Question for Dads: How hard is it to be a dad?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 01:51:00 +0000

On the way home tonight Ryan asked me a question I've never thought to ask. He asked, "Dad...how hard is it to be a dad?" This question kind of stumped me. I didn't have to go to some Boot Camp for 6 weeks that taught me everything I needed to know. NC State didn't offer a 4 year degree on fatherhood. I still don't know how quite to answer this question but I could tell him a few things that makes being a dad easier.

Having a Heavenly Father who loves me, guides me, molds me and is there for me 24/7. A heavenly Father who teaches what unconditional love looks like, shows grace and mercy.

Having a father on Earth who set a good example for how I should be. By the example he set, my dad taught me how to love my wife, love my kids, provide for my family and to work hard.

Having a church who can support you every step of the way.

Having friends who are also fathers you can rely on for advice. Fathers who are currently going through and/or have gone through the same sorts of things I go through now.

Is being a dad tough? Yes it is but the things above make being a dad easier. How would you answer this question?

I'm big now

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:02:00 +0000

About two weeks ago Bryson finally got something he had been asking for....a brown leather belt. Why a brown leather belt? Well...b/c I wear one 5 or maybe even 6 times a week. When I pulled up in the driveway after work, he came running up to the car with his brown belt held over his head and a big smile on his face. He then proceeded to to knock on my window with the buckle part. How the window didn't crack I don't know.

About the same time he got the belt, he now refuses to use a step stoop when washing his hands and brushing his teeth. Which for the most part works okay. He can reach the water but know needs your help to turn the water on. If he were on his steep stool, he could easily turn the water on, put soap in his hands and wash his hands all by himself. I asked him, why don't you use the stool so you can turn the water on. He said, "I'm big now." He does reluctantly use the stool when getting some water to rinse his mouth out after brushing his teeth only after I've refused his request to cup some water into my hand so he can suck it out.

So the next time you see Bryson, make sure to give him a compliment over his brown belt. You can bet that if the pants he's wearing has loops, he's wearing his new brown belt.

Wanna join me?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 02:29:00 +0000

While running the marathon there was a small group of people holding up signs I thought were funny. One read, "Keep running! You'll die healthier!" Another read, "Every mile you run adds 1 minute to your life....in a nursing home!"

So who wants to join me next year and run the Half Marathon at Mrytle Beach? If you're saying, "I do, I do!" Keep in mind this means you're wanting to spend the last 13.1 minutes of your life in a nursing home....possibly with me. Who knows...we may possibly share a room watching reruns of Andy Griffin and Matlock together.

Myrtle Beach is having a registration blitz. If you sign up before the month is over, the registration fee is $45. If you don't register by the end of the month, your next chance to register is in February. What the registration fee will be then I have no clue.

Here's the link to register: www.runmyrtlebeach.com

Myrtle Beach Half Marathon Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 01:03:00 +0000

Before I give a recap of the Half Marathon I ran this past Sunday let me give a couple cute story of something my kid's have said recently.

1. Often times I'll say to Ryan or Bryson in my Italian Mafia voice and with a raised eyebrow, "You wanna piece of me?" Then I go on to wrestle them into submission. Bryson countered my question with an immitation of his own. With the same voice and raised eyebrow Bryson said, "No...do you wanna piece of meat?"

2. Karen asked Bryson to take a laundary basket down to the den. Bryson looked confused. "Where's the den mommy?" I'm thinking good question...I don't know the difference between a den, family room and living room. Karen tells Bryson the den is next to the laundary room. Bryson say, "Oh...you mean the dog's room." I think the den in our house will probably be called the dog's room from here on out.

Ok...Half Marathon recap. So for the past few years, I've always said that I was going to run a 5K. Year after year, I wouldn't do it. Finally I entered my first 5K back in March of 2010. I ran it and had a good time. I went on to run 2 more 5K's and an 8K. The 8K, which I ran in June, about killed me with all the hills and I probably took a month off of running. I felt pretty defeated. Even though I felt defeated, I got word that Myrtle Beach was having a half marathon and the course promised to be flat. A flat course caught my attention. When I started training again in July, things started out slow. Still having the 8K in the back of my mind, I had thought about just eating the money I spent to register and not running. That is until Karen told me that I'd probably hate myself for quitting, that I would regret it, yada yada yada. I knew she was right, but that's not what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear her say, "Yeah..we probably shouldn't spend the time and money to get to Myrtle Beach if you aren't going to do it."

So I started training again on a regular basis. Waking up at 5:15 to get on the treadmill for 3, then 4, then 5, then 6 miles wasn't so bad. I'd even spend my lunch hour at the gym on some occasions. I finally started paying attention to my diet and lost 11 pounds in the 3 weeks prior to my half marathon. The week before my half marathon, I went for a 9 mile run in N. Durham. I walked plenty and had no clue how I was going to add 4 more miles to that in a week.

The week passed pretty quickly and before I knew it, we were driving to Myrtle Beach. I didn't sleep all too well the night before the race. I was excited and nervous. The race started at 7:00am so I left at 6:15. Parking was the only thing the organizer's of the race didn't get right. It was tough to get in and there weren't many parking lot attending directing cars where to go. I got to the starting line with 2 seconds to spare which worked out okay because people with my speed don't start at the front. I walked to the starting line and then I started running. I remember saying something to myself like, "Well...here goes nothing" followed by a "You can do it" quoting the guy from the movie "The Waterboy."

Things started out very easily but to my surprise, I had to run up a bridge at the 1.5 mile mark. That hurt but luckily the run down the bridge felt pretty good. I ran the first 3 miles without stopping and was averaging an 11 minute mile which is a minute ahead of my treadmill pace. There were plenty of water/Gatorade stations along the way although I didn't have a Gatorade until about the 9 mile mark. There were a couple of bands playing live music. That was cool since I didn't have my iPod...something that I thought wasn't allowed but apparently was allowed judging by the hundreds of people I saw running with them. Around mile 7 my feet started to hurt. Not from running but because I could tell blisters were forming. I've got one on each arch of my foot and I'm not looking forward to them popping. Around mile 9 I felt pretty spent and stopped for more frequent walks. The walks started to get longer and longer. I started running again and stopped at the 10 mile mark. Some lady said, "Come on...we've only got a 5K left!" I'm thinking to myself, those hurt too. I had also stopped at mile 10 for a quick walk because I knew our hotel was at the end of mile 10 and Karen and the boys would be out there watching. I didn't want to walk past them so I was trying to rest up so I could run past them. Luckily Karen had Bryson in a bright orange shirt so I spotted them before they spotted me. When I saw them, I started running again like I had been running the whole time. Seeing them was a bit emotional. Having been a dad for almost 7 years now, I know they tend to like and do what I then to like a do. They don't have to like running (I'm still not a big fan of it) but at least be active and healthy. The emotions almost caused me to throw up on the spot but luckily I heard Ryan say, "Go dad!" Followed up with Bryson cheering, "Go dad...don't let the girl behind you beat you." That girl and a bunch of other girls beat me.

When I got to mile 12 I had hoped to run the last mile. My leg muscles ached and felt like logs. I was completely spent but did my best to jog as much as I could. Then, I saw the finish line within 50 yards or so and hit the nitrous button. I sprinted and passed a dozen people in the process.

Half Marathon= 13.1 miles
Final time: 2 hours 37 minutes 26 seconds
Finished 2053 out of 2698 overall runners
Finished 873 out of 1000 men.
Finished 145 out of 161 male 30-34 year olds.
Averaged a 12 minute mile (the exact pace I keep on a treadmill...odd)
The winner finished in 1:18:17.

The bus ride back to the car was interesting. All of these runners were talking about past races they had done, future races they hoped to do and reliving the race they just ran. I thought to myself, "I don't belong with these people. They actually like this."

I got back to the hotel and walked in with my medal around my neck. The boys were watching TV when I said, "I WON!!!" Ryan said, "No you didn't." I said, "Well....I beat somebody."

Getting up out of a chair hurt for the rest of the day. Still hurts a little today (the day after). I think about what I'm going to do next. I'm not exactly sure. Ask a mother after childbirth if she plans on having another child and they'll probably tell you no. Then time passes, they forget, and do it all over again. That's probably how I'll be....not sure when though.

If I can run a half marathon, so can you. I think I trained for 3 months consistently. People of all ages and sizes were out there. Sign up and do it. The Myrtle Beach Half Marathon is a good one to start with.

Funny Little League Story

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Sat, 15 May 2010 03:29:00 +0000

Ryan is two-thirds complete with his first baseball season and so far, so good. His team is in first place and Ryan seems to really like it. We've seen a little bit of everything you would expect in little league including this funny story I wanted to share.

I'm our team's pitcher which means I pitch to our team and have the opposing team play defense behind me. Usually before every inning starts, all the players are huddled around the coach as the coach gives each player their fielding assignment. That is all players except for the kid putting on the catching gear to play catcher. Our last game was no different. All the players were at their position waiting for the catcher to get suited up. The catcher, who looked to be the smallest kid on the team, comes out to the coach in full catcher's gear and says, "Hey coach....what position do you want me to play?" I'll remember for that for the year's to come.

A Reason to get a Snuggie

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:59:00 +0000

As we were putting the boys to bed the other night, Karen made the comment that we should get Ryan a light to tie to the head board of his bed so he could read at night. Ryan smiled then had a idea of something he saw on TV. Ryan said, "Oooo! Mommy! Buy a Snuggie! It comes with one!" Now only if I could make up my mind on which pattern to buy. Hmm...

My New Nickname

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 02:11:00 +0000

A week or so ago, Bryson tapped me on the knee and said, "Daddy...do you know what your nickname is?" Interesting question considering he has no clue what a nickname is. I've never had a nickname so I was interested to hear what it might be. I had hoped it would not be something stupid like Tiny. Something cool would've been nice.

Not knowing what my nickname was I replied, "No Bryson....what is my nickname?"

Bryson said, "Your nickname is Pollard."

This isn't the first time I've had people think I was Jeremy Pollard (Children's Pastor at the Summit). I've had a couple of women at church come up to me all cheerful and say, "Did you get my email?" To which I would say, "Uh...no." Or, "There you are. I've been looking for you." I'd reply, "Really? Why?"

So maybe Pollard is an appropriate nickname. It's not the cool nickname I was looking for. Luckily it hasn't stuck with Bryson. He'll say it every now and then trying to be funny but that's it. Bryson just thinks its funny he know's two people named Jeremy.

The Hardest Game Ever...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:37:00 +0000

What would you say the hardest game ever is? Golf? Chess? Monopoly? Trivial Pursuit? Pictionary? Something else? Well...all of the answers are wrong. These games are a piece of cake compared to a game of Hangman where a 6 year old comes up with the puzzle to solve. Here are a couple of things that make this game so difficult.

1. I'll call out the letter R or E, whatever. Ryan will fill in the blanks and then I'll say, are you sure you got them all? I'm thinking an E belongs here. To which Ryan might say, "Oh yeah...you're right."

2. As I ponder which letter I want to call out next, Ryan will say...."Ooo....I forgot. There's a letter that belongs here." Essentially making a 5 letter word a 6 letter word. Okay...would've been nice to know that from the get go.

3. A 6 year old doesn't know how to spell every word. Some words he has absolutely stump me. I have absolutely no idea what it is. Then I try to use my phonics skills. Ryan uses his phonics to spell out words. Sometimes this works...sometimes not. I correctly solved a puzzle the other day. The puzzle was, "TIME TO RESALE." What does this mean in correct words you and I know? "TIME TO WRESTLE."

I'm sure there are probably others but these seem to be the three most things I encounter which make this game the most absolute difficult, yet most fun, game to play.

Bambi is dead...hopefully

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 02:02:00 +0000

On our way back home tonight, I was driving down Umstead Rd with my family when all of the sudden we saw a dear on the right of the road. Whenever you see one, usually there are more. Sure enough, there was. One decided to do a mad dash across the road, I slammed on the breaks but still hit the deer. It flew 10 feet up in the air, hit the ground and got itself to the side of the road.

Naturally, Ryan had a lot of questions. What happened? Is the deer okay? When we got home, Ryan asked me...."Was it your fault or the deer's fault?" Luckily I was able to turn it into a teachable moment. I said, "It was the deer's fault. It didn't look both ways before crossing the road. You need to always look both ways before crossing the road...especially in the dark because a car may not be able to see you." He seemed okay with the answer. Bryson really wasn't too phased.

Now I'll be out a $200 deductible. Fortunately, we're all safe and okay.

Jeremy

P.S. In case you ever cared to know, the Sheriff Dept doesn't answer calls to put animals out of their misery.

Good night boys!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:45:00 +0000

Every night consists of the same routine. PJ's, use bathroom, wash hands, brush teeth, story time, prayer time, turn hallway light on and assure Ryan that we will check on him before we go to bed. Then Karen and I head downstairs to relax or perhaps do some chore like laundary folding. Matching up socks are my thing. It's the one laundary task I usually do pretty well and receive no complaints on. While folding socks, I have the chance to listen in on some of the conversaton Ryan and Bryson have. I'm taken for a ride down memory lane when I hear Ryan tell Bryson to go downstairs and get some water or ask Karen or myself a question. I used to do the same thing to my brother when we shared a room.

A couple of nights ago, Bryson came downstairs two or three times. The second time Bryson came down, he had a question. He couldn't remember his question because he got sidetracked and wanted to see what we were doing. Before Bryson went back upstairs, I said, "Bryson, you tell Ryan to stop asking you to come down here to get him something." Bryson said okay and headed back upstairs. I thought he had put himself back to bed. About 5 minutes later, Bryson came back downstairs.

"Bryson, what are you doing up?"

"Ryan what didn't wake up."

He took me literally. After laughing for a minute I said, "Thanks for the update Bryson. Good night, I love you."

What a great weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:32:00 +0000

The weather here in Durham, NC was awesome this weekend. We got to enjoy mid to upper 50's with sunny skies. Yesterday we did a LOT of yard work. We cleaned up a lot of brush and had a huge fire. The day outside started at 10am and ended at 10pm. Karen and I sat at the campfire chit-chatting scooting our chairs closer and closer to the fire as the night went on.

Karen and I woke up sore this morning but managed to function. Ryan had his baseball "tryouts." He fielded a couple of grounders and threw the baseball to first base. Then he ran a 50 yard dash as fast as he couple. He attempted to catch a few pop flies. Then he got in the batting cage where he actually made contact a few times.

Ryan memorized all the books of the New Testament for AWANA and earned another jewel. While Ryan was enjoying AWANA, Karen and I were doing our weekly chore. As Bryson sat at a typewriter, he started typing and told Karen, "I'm going to text somebody." That's pretty funny. The typewriter was invited over 100 years ago, texting only in the past few years. In one sentence, Bryson combined 100 years of technology in one sentence.

It's what's for dinner...well not really

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:48:00 +0000

At church this past Sunday, Bryson's 2 year old class glued pictures of things they like to eat onto a paper plate. In the center was the following Bible verse, "With God, all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26) Now I'm not 100% sure what the correlation between this verse and the glued pictures of food on a paper plate was but I did think it was funny what Bryson chose. While other kids glued pictures of chicken, vegetables and another normal side, Bryson glued a picture of chocolate pudding and popcorn. This isn't what he gets for dinner, but if he could, Bryson would be totally happy with pudding and popcorn for dinner. Now I know with God, all things are possible. With Bryson, I'm not so sure.

I Love Stay at Home Mommies

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:10:00 +0000

I love stay at home mommies. Especially the one who lives with me. Durham County schools have been closed the past three days because of the six inches of snow we received last Friday. I can't blame the school system for cancelling the last three days. It wasn't unil Monday afternoon when the main roads were clear, Tuesday until most of the secondary roads were clear and today's 51 degree high seems to have cleared up many of the neighborhood streets. While Ryan may have missed three days of school, I didn't have to use one day of vacation time to stay home and take care of him.

I was telling Karen how thankful I am to have a wife who stays home to take care of the kids. There are many, many reasons why but this week I added, "Don't have to use waste vacation time because of inclement weather" to the list. Instead, I can use my vacation time how I wish....as a family. Thanks Karen for spending the next 18-20 years of your "career" being a mommy to our two (and soon to be three) kids. To all you other stay at home mommies, I'm sure your husbands are as grateful as I am.

Jeremy

P.S. Thanks also to my mommy for staying home and taking care of me, my brother and my sister when I was young.

2009 in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:15:00 +0000

I know this is 10 days late but I have something to share. There are several years that will be etched in my brain and remember for as long as I'm able to remember. They are:

1977- the year Karen and I were born
1995- the year I graduated from high school
1999- the year I graduated from college and started working
2000- the year I was married
2003- the year Ryan was born
2007- the year Bryson was born
2009- see below

2009 was a great year for me and my family. This time last year I was working at Fidelity where every day was another rumor on when round two of layoffs would occur. Deep down I knew I would get the call and prayed that God would take care of me and my family. On February 3, I received news that I had been selected in the 2nd round of the Fidelity layoffs and my last day in the office would be four days later on a Friday. My "draft day" payout included my February salary, the month of February off, two and a half months of severance pay and a phone call on my last day in the office with an opportunity to go back to my previous employer. Not a bad deal for a second round pick huh? I was a little hesitant to run back to familiar waters and didn't immediately accept (although I knew I would) and then I received a call that night because they needed to know in order to line up some training on a project they had in mind for me. I said yes that night and was relieved and in shock at how fast God answered my prayer. My start date was set for the beginning of March.

I spent March relearning some of the things I had forgotten, catching up on past times and gearing up for the projects ahead.

Karen and I had been involved with our first church small group and had been getting more and more involved with our church called Summit Church. In April, at the conclusion of an awesome preaching series, I felt led in the middle of the sermon to be baptized. A couple times a year, the Summit Church has impromptu baptisms where they offer a change of clothes, towels and anything else to prevent one from having an excuse to not do it. Well that sermon happened to me on April 26 (my 32nd birthday). I had been baptized once before back in 2001 or 2002 but I can't remember why but I definitely feel that was my day when God said, "This is my son, whom I love." (Matthew 3:17) What an awesome symbol and moment to look back on.

Also in April, Karen and I decided to put our house on the market again. This time we did it as a "For Sale By Owner." After cleaning up the house, taking pictures, creating a flyer and a blog with many pictures, we had an acceptable offer within a week. A month later (May), we moved out of the house we brought our first two babies home to and into a house we can probably live in for the next 30 years. The house we're in has everything we were looking for.

In June, Karen and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. In July, Ryan started kindergarten (year round school) at a school we didn't think he be able to get into because of its popularity. Due to school system budget issues, Ryan was reassigned to a one of the teachers we had hoped he would start the school year in the first place.

In August, I converted from a contractor to a full time employee of the company I'm currently employed with.

In September, I formed a new church small group. I'll never forget waiting for folks to arrive at our house for the first time. It reminded me of my first date with Karen. I paced back and forth and wondered if they would change their mind. I also thought, "Of all the people to lead a small group, why me?" Our pastor last week pleaded with people to be small group leaders and said you don't need to be a Bible scholar.....check, you just need to be able to facilitate...check. I've got a great group of people who are really passionate about their love for Jesus and have different life experiences. I've learned so much from them and look forward to our time together once we resume this Wednesday.

We celebrated Karen and Ryan's birthday in October, Thanksgiving in November and a month long of Christmas in December. December was great. Karen accepted a part time position with our church as the nursery director. I was able to reflect on just how awesome God was in taking care of me and my family. I was also able to spend a lot of time with my family, my church family and be so very grateful for God sending his son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill his Old Testament promises. The Old Testament contains a lot of laws us people just can't live up to. Jesus was born and ultimately paid the price for us. It's a whole lot easier knowing that as long as I believe, have faith and have accepted what Jesus has done for me, I will have eternal life. I know it may seem way to easy to have this forgiveness, but it's true people.

To top the year off, I was given a promotion at my current place of employment which once again got me to thinking, "Wow, God has done it again."

Now I know that every year may not be as good as 2009. In fact, I full expect a year where I'll be at the bottom of the roller coaster ride and may think, "Why is this happening to me?" Or, "Can I get a break here?" In those years I will remember for me during the year 2009. I will praise God for being with me and not letting me go through any obstacle alone. I know I will also have the support of my family, my small group and my church family.

Will 2010 be a year etched in my brain forever? Well there was one "minor" announcement I did mention. In November, Karen told me we are expecting our third child. Baby #3, who we will find out the gender of when the baby is born, will arrive in July.

Lord, Jesus...you are awesome. Thank you for being born and paying the price I am not capable of repaying. Although you blessed me with a great 2009, I know my true treasure is with you in heaven. I pray for my family. Specifically I pray for Karen's health and the development of the baby inside of her. I pray that you will protect and watch over Ryan and Bryson. I pray that Karen and I will have the patience and love for them that you have for us. I pray for my church, its leadership and my small group that we continue to be a group of people who seek your Word first, a group of people who build each other up and give us all the passion to share it with everybody else we come in contact with. Thank you for accepting me as imperfect that I am. Please continue to bless me and my family and let everything we do in the year 2010 be for you. Amen.

I wanna wear a work shirt...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:09:00 +0000

"I want to wear a work shirt!"

This is what Bryson had to say before going to church one day. A work shirt to him is a button up long sleeve shirt which is what I wear to work almost every day. Bryson also wanted to wear brown shoes, which again is what I wear almost every day to work.

I love how my boys want to be like me. This is why I say "Daddy" is the best title I could ever hope to have. Of course this also serves as a reminder that my boys watch what I do. Therefore I must treat my relationship with God, my wife, my kids, my friends, my job and strangers with love, respect and kindness.

They ask the darndest things...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:42:00 +0000

Saturday morning as I was making a sausage, scrambled eggs and toast breakfast for the family in my pajamas, Karen was upstairs taking a shower. So were the boys. Bryson took a shower with Karen. They finished their showers at about the same time I finished breakfast. We all ate, I cleaned the table up and it was my turn to take a shower. Before I headed upstairs I said,

"I'm heading up to take a shower."

Bryson said, "Mommy, do you want to take a shower with daddy?"

Karen laughed but didn't answer his question.

I stood there the whole time and after it was apparent Karen wasn't going to answer his question I said, "Karen....aren't you going to answer his question?"

Much to Bryson's disappointment, Karen wasn't going to help me take a shower like she helped Bryson.

Monster Mash

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:35:00 +0000

Takes a little while to load but this is pretty good. Thank you Teresa.

Take me out to the ballgame...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:58:00 +0000

I took the boys to a Durham Bulls game on Saturday night. As always, we had a great time. Bryson almost didn't make it because he had been crying all day long but when it was time to go, he had his Durham Bulls shirt on ready to go. Dinner consisted of Sprite, which is what Bryson calls any kind of bubbly soft drink, pizza and M&M's.

A guest appearance was made by some mascot called Reggie. His performances throughout the game were hilarious. Both boys were laughing. I managed to get a couple of good pictures of the boys at the game.

Ryan and Bryson with Wool E. Bull

The boys with the left field fence behind them. The eyes of the bull on top of the fence light up and smoke comes from his nose when a Durham Bulls player hits a homerun. If a player were to hit the bull, they will a steak. If they hit the grass, they win a salad. I have yet to see a player win a steak or a salad.

The highlight of the night for me came after a game played by some kid between innings. A kid had won two tickets to a future Durham Bulls game by throwing a stuffed animal into a bucket. Ryan aske me, "Dad, do you know who I would take if I won two tickets?" I replied, "Who?" Ryan said, "You Dad." That was awesome.

New animal species found

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:40:00 +0000

On the way to pick Ryan up from school, Bryson saw an animal he has never seen before. It walks on 4 legs, has a white coat of fur, pants when it gets hot, has a long tail and has tall pointy ears. Do you have any idea what this is? If you guessed a white german shepard you would be wrong. It's clearly a bunny-dog.

We're bad parents :(

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:15:00 +0000

So apparently we're bad parents. Bryson hasn't liked the shoes we've put on him for a little while. We'll...we go have his feet measured and the shoes we've been making him wear are 2 sizes too small. B/c of Bryson's foot size, we can't get the cheapie's either. He gets the $40 a pair shoes. I guess we'll have to dig up that money somewhere.

Then today, Karen sends me an email at work saying that Bryson asked her if he could take a nap. How often does a two year old ask for a nap? This may have been the first time.

27, 35, 7

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:10:00 +0000

While I was in Summit Small Group leader training, Karen ran a couple of errands with the boys. First, she took them buy a car dealership where most of the guys who play for the Durham Bulls were there signing autographs. Karen says Ryan didn't have much to say but he was definitely excited to be that close to the players. Ryan didn't know the name of some of the players so he asked. If the name didn't ring a bell, Ryan said, "I've never heard of you." Luckily Karen was there to explain that he's a pitcher and pitchers don't play every single game.

Afterwards, Karen took the boys by the mall to sign Ryan up for Little League baseball. There may not be enough kids Ryan's age to have a fall league but they took Ryan's information just in case. They asked Ryan to give them up to three number choices he wanted to have on his jersey. His first choice was 27. His second choice was 35. His third choice was 7. Numbers 27 and 7 belong to two of his favorite Durham Bulls players. The number 35 is some random number that was given to me when I signed up for softball this year. The number 35 means nothing to me but Ryan wanting to be like me means everything.

Sorry...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:25:00 +0000

Sorry for the lack of blogs. I put a new feature on my blog called "Twitter Updates." As I make updates to my Twitter account, those updates automatically update my Facebook status and get posted to this blog. Twitter gives you a total of 140 characters so those comments are going to be short and sweet.

All of us have been doing well. It's hotter than heck. Yesterday I fixed my chainsaw.....again. I sprayed some Round Up in the ditch as crab grass, weeds and even trees were starting to grow in there. I also picked up sticks from around the front yard and hauled them to the back. I was waiting until the fall to burn them but think I might have to do so earlier. I've been looking for a burn barrel online but can't seem to find one.

This past Thursday I played softball with a bunch of guys from church. This is A level men's league which means I'm basically good enough for pro ball I guess. Half of the guys on the other team hit the ball to me constantly. After 3 or 4 innings, I was beat. Somehow I found it within me to play a whole six innings. I've been sore ever since.

Bryson has been in a big boy bed now for almost a week. It didn't take him long to figure out he can get up all by himself. He's been up 4 or 5 times tonight. Bryson is a night owl like his mom. Ryan has been doing great. I think he might be going through a growth spurt again. The boy wolfed down two plates of spagetti tonight. Ryan also seems to be enjoying school but he doesn't give us a lot of detail.

Both boys are comedians and sometimes argue over who is funnier. We tell them they are both funny. Karen disciplined Bryson once and Bryson told her she wasn't funny. Sometimes his response to getting in trouble is, "I funny mommy."

I'm loving life.

More Bryson sayings...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:19:00 +0000

As I said before, Bryson is starting to put more and more words together to make a sentence. Usually they will catch you off guard because he'll surprise you will something you've never heard before. Here are a few more:

1. "Ice...Water"- Bryson loves to drink water but it better have an ice cube. He'll even shake his cup and listen for the ice hitting the side of the cup. It's funny, because it's a very specific request. Ice...Water.

These next two are what I love about being a daddy.

2. "See that?" - Bryson will perform various stunts, comedy routines, dance numbers or something simple like running down the driveway but most of the time he'll ask, "See that?" I can be looking him dead in the eye the whole time and he'll still ask, "See that?" To which I will reply, "Yes Bryson. I did see that."

3. "Daddy, like me." - As we were getting ready for church yesterday Bryson's face lite up when he saw he was wearing a polo shirt that looked very, very similar to the one I was wearing. Both were navy blue with a white stripe. He pointed at his shirt, pointed to me and then said, "Daddy like me."

Ryan did and does these two as well. If I was wearing a tie to church or work, Ryan wanted to as well. Ryan might coast on his scooter for a long time, hit the ball far, or answer all his addition problems correctly and each time he'll want me to see. I absolutely love how they look up to me like that and want to do all I can to ensure I'm being a proper role model for them.

Not 1 but 2 Missing Teeth

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:57:00 +0000

Ryan lost his first tooth Friday (5/29) morning. I was sitting on the couch getting ready for work when Ryan came downstairs saying he needed ibuprofen to make his tooth feel better. I said, “Before I give you any medicine, let me see your tooth.” I could tell it was ready to come out by the way it looked and said, “Ryan, that tooth is ready to come out.”

With little effort, Ryan pulled the tooth out. He looked at it, smiled and gave me a big hug. Losing a tooth has been a big deal for him (and us too). We went to a Durham Bulls game that night and he showed everybody he knew. At church he saw a friend and said, “Hey Micah….look.” Then he opened his mouth to share the big news.

The tooth right next to it was pretty loose as well. Ryan called me on Monday (6/1) morning to let me know that tooth fell out as he was brushing his teeth. He’s pretty excited and so are we. Normally the tooth fairy only carries plastic so I’ve got to check with the tooth fairy to see if they carry cash. They do. Here are some pictures.

Ryan missing his first tooth

Ryan missing two teeth

Bryson’s vocabulary is expanding. There are times where I still can’t understand him but most of the time I can. Usually I’ll have to act as a translator for those who don’t talk to him a lot. Bryson has had a phrase he usually says whenever he hears his name. He’ll say, “I not.”

“Bryson woke up at 9:00 this morning.”

“I not.”

“Bryson has a dirty diaper.”

“I not.”

“Bryson, did you pinch Ryan?”

“I not.”

He’s pretty funny (“I not”) because he knows a phrase but doesn’t quite understand the context in which to use it. Ryan used to, and sometimes still does, do the same thing.

Two funny stories

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Wickersham) — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:34:00 +0000

Everything is progressing along as expected. We made all the requested repairs to our house this past weekend. Tomorrow morning we have an inspection on the new house. We'll close on the house we currently live in on May 21 and our new house on May 22. Now that all of that is under control, we trying to get Ryan registered to a particular school. Turns out a couple of the streets in our new neighborhood were assigned to a different (low performing) school. We're seeing what we can do and what all of our options are.

Ryan finished his second year of AWANAS at church. He'll go from being a 'Cubbie' to Sparks next year. He's excited.

Okay, two funny stories.

Ryan
Karen recently gave Ryan a haircut. She shaved his head using the #3 guard. An adult at church said to Ryan, "Hey, I like your haircut." Ryan said, "Thanks. It's a #3." I guess he said that in case they wanted to get the same haircut.

Bryson
Karen went to the gym this evening leaving me at home to bathe the boys. Both boys were undressed and ready to go only to find out no hot water was coming out of the shower. Turns out the pilot light was off for some reason. I've never had to turn one on so I'm carefully reading the instructions making sure I don't blow up the house. I turned to my right and what do I see? Poop on the ground courtesy of Bryson. He had it on the back of his leg and he reached back to see what happened so his hands were dirty. Needless to say, I had to take a time out from figuring out how to turn the pilot light back on.

Seems like there may have been another one but I forgot.