Spank you very much!

I wanted to thank everyone for their comments in regard to my last post about spanking. I know it's clearly a very contentious issue that provokes strong responses from people but I was glad to see people discuss the subject constructively.  Lots of interesting perspectives were shared and that's what it's all about, friends.  Because let's face it...it really does take a village.

Anyway, in light of the vociferous debate sparked by the previous post, I thought I'd lighten things up today.  I swore to you before that, unlike many other parenting blogs, I'd never write about the dreary minutiae of my day, my favorite recipe for pumpkin soup, or any topic related to knitting.  And in that same vein of thinking, I also promised myself I wouldn't pander to my audience by posting photos of my beautiful little daughter.  But I changed my mind on that last one.  My little Peanut is now 20 weeks old and, over the past few weeks, has learned to roll herself over onto her stomach.  When she first discovered her ability to do this, she would surprise herself and squeal with glee.  My beautiful wife and partner-in-crime, the BossLady, recently captured this in a photo montage that I like to call "Shake, Rattle & Roll: A Movement in 3 Parts."  Witness...

Rocking those legs for momentum

Rolling over

Surprise!  I did it!

Excuse my language but, man, I fucking love this kid!  She's the happiest baby I've ever seen and she lights my heart up with her constant smiles.  Not only does she have a great temperament but she's also the easiest kid in the world.  BossLady and I always joke that our second child is sure to be the spawn of Satan because, in our karmic view of the universe, life's not supposed to be this easy and payback's alway a bitch!

(By the way, for you tech geeks out there, the lovely and talented BossLady took these photos with her Nikon D70.  Out of the 6 digital cameras that we seem to have collected in our apartment, this one is certainly the best, especially for capturing the unexpected actions of little kids. Nikon claims it can take as many as 144 continuous shots at 3 frames per second.  We've found it's a little slower than that but still faster than virtually any other camera on the market.)

 

Comments

[Terri]

I have this same photo montage! Good job, BossLady, at capturing the roll.

[Brent]

That was a great entry the other day, MD. I too was glad to see such an open discussion of such a controversial subject. I was half expecting people to attack one another but clearly you draw a well-civilized audience. I truly enjoyed reading different people's perspectives.

Now, as for the photos of the Peanut? Completely adorable! Well done, BossLady.

[Sarah]

Could that baby be any cuter!!! Thanks for the pictures and the blog. My husband, especially, loves reading your site.

[Jennifer]

At last, a picture of the peanut! Wow MetroDad she is just adorable! You and the boss lady make one cute kid! Had a good time reading the spanking comments from everyone. Thanks for keeping it intresting!

[LHB]

OMG, she is SO cute!!! My baby is a couple weeks older than your peanut and has not mastered the rolling over too well. I will say that she is quite excellent at sitting up and then slumping forward onto her face. Heh. I think she may be too chubby.
I love those pictures :) Thanks.

[Lisa]

I'm one of those women who think ALL babies are cute. But I have to say that the Peanut is absolutely precious! Those rosy little cheeks are adorable! No wonder she has daddy wrapped around her little finger.

[Stacy]

She. Is. Beautiful.

[Meredith]

First of all, those are some fine skills on your little girl. And your wife for capturing them. At five weeks, Eli is keeping his eyes open for minute stretches. Do you mean that in fifteen weeks, we could have movement?! His motionless state is enough to get my mind around. Yikes.

Also, your Peanut is absolutely precious. I want a girl someday... Thanks for sharing her with us.

[Susanna]

I love that little cashmere skull cap on your little Peanut. And her facial expression is hysterical! Pretty expressive for a 20 week old! Thanks for putting up the photo! I love it!

[enygma]

I LOVE that expression in the last picture! So cute and slightly bemused. :D

[Redpanda]

Wow! She is just ADORABLE!!!

[Jenny]

She is the cutest of the cute!! She rolls like a pro!

[maiji]

yay pictures!

She is so CUTE!!!!

Soon she'll be crawling around like crazy.

[Millie]

Finally!!! Photos of the Peanut! She's soooo cute. That little smirk, the raised eyebrow and the twinkle in her eye are absolutely precious. Thanks for sharing. It's great seeing a dad so involved in his child's life. And even though I read a lot of mommy blogs, I love coming over here to get the guy's perspective. Your blog is the only one that my husband and I read together. Keep up the great work!

p.s. When's the next edition of the mailbag? That last one had us in stitches!

[More Diapers]

Man, you got a good looking one! Can't wait till the HBomb gets to the roll over thing. BTW, as a fellow D70 owner, I think you've left your kid pix in good hands... or... er flash memory.

[Grace]

2nd child more satanic? Uh...that's where I'm at. My boy is hell on wheels compared to my laid back daughter.

[Beth]

She's a beauty, Metro.

[JenL]

Awww! Loved the pics! How absolutely precious!

I now have a RAGING case of camera lust. For the past 5 weeks I have been trying to capture my newborn daughter in action and all I get is blurrrrrrrrrrr or the shot fires off too late.

Keep the pics coming, Metro and BossLady!

[Krissy]

I am daid. I am kilt daid with the cuteness. The cuteness of your little peanut has slain me daid.

She's possibly the most precious little girl I've ever seen.

And Charlie still preferres not to roll over, thankyewverymuch, so she's not only cute, she's ADVANCED.

Well done, dad!

[Erika]

They say they give you the good one first so that you will be willing to have another.

She is wonderful; thanks for being willing to share her with us.

[Kristie]

Peanut is so ADORABLE!!!

Oh, and I had two really good babies. I thought for sure that my second munchkin would be a little hellion but she wasn't. Once school started and they met kids who were hellions...that's when they started testing the waters to see what they could and could not get away with.

[Elena]

OMG...could your daughter's facial expressions be any cuter? She's so adorable!!!

Meanwhile, DH and I have 2 sons. The older one (age 7) has always been a charm. He's a quiet and curious little boy who never caused us any trouble. But his baby brother (age 4) is like a mini tornado. We love him dearly but he's constantly running, screaming and getting into places where he shouldn't be. After the first child, we were thinking about having 3 kids. But now? I think we're done after two. Another one might drive me to a total mental breakdown!

[paulconrad]

Narcissisism is IN Metrodad! I'm really into the site/shrine-to-myself concept if you couldn't tell. But holeyschmoley is that kid CUTE!! Good work man.

[JJ Daddy in Savannah's Baby Momma]

Cute baby. White carpet? HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[panthergirl]

So adorable!!!!! And guess what? BossLady is right. My first baby, my daughter, was the EASIEST baby on the planet. She never, ever cried (note: she made up for this in later years). Ten years later, I had my son. Let's just say he was, er, "challenging". (read: I thought I was going to fucking kill myself. AND I was 40.)

Wouldn't give him back for the world...but man, was I spoiled.

[Leila Winters]

*weeps* Really. Coming from an ex-kid hater, your baby is CUTE AS SIN. ^_^ And I really do believe in the whole "balance" shit...your second child will INDEED be born evil.

Funny story. My nephew is very sweet, but also very insecure and often resorts to his intellect to try and get what he wants because he doesn't believe he can get things by just being himself. His little sister...well...his little sister is THE MOST EVIL CHILD I HAVE EVER SEEN.

She is truly Satan's spawn, the most beautiful child I have laid eyes on, but she has a strange awareness and eyes that pierce into your very soul. She is also very conniving and is very good at the art of manipulation. The theory we have is that Girl Snakes = Bad News. Thing is, she was almost born a Golden Dragon...but her mother was confused and held off labor so that she could be born "on New Years" ... officially making her a SNAKE.

So...have fun. ^_^

Also, very sad to hear about Thompson. I know that when I watched the film "Fear and Loathing..." I had NO idea what to make of it. But the special features on the DVD provided some "behind the scenes" stuff on him and he seemed like a really cool, neurotic guy. Really sad for him to go the way he did.

And on spanking...I was never spanked (at least, not in the "pull your pants down and prepare to get red" kind of way). If I was really bad, I might get a whack now and then on the behind, but that was the same as getting whacked on the hand. I really respect my parents (and family) for not resorting to that kind of punishment. Mostly, my punishment was their disappointment and that was enough to keep me in-line. (Tho, that's not to say that my brothers never engaged me in any fist-fights...) I've never been grounded, never had any time-outs, and never had to do chores for punishment. Pretty much disapproval and disappointment made me strive to be good.

(Oh. And got your email, in case you wanted to know)

[Matthew]

Them's some greate photos.