Sunset...Based on a True Story

The mommy and the little girl are traveling home together one October evening when the mommy turns to the little girl and says "Isn't that a pretty sunset Maddy?"

The little girl looks and says "Yes, mommy. My daddy make that for me."

Isn't that the sweetest thing? Plus the fact that the mommy actually told the daddy all this. :)

Adventures in Kansas

As some of you may know, Maddy and I were recently in Kansas for a Hermsen family reunion (although some of the McCoy's showed up too). Here are some of the adventures:

Paparazzi - Thought I would get this on the internet before it just started appearing. We were checking out of one of the thousands of Topeka WalMarts and my lovely daughter decides she is going to play with the "Wet Floor" sign. Well, everyone just thought it was SO cute and SO funny. All of a sudden, Maddy had a little crowd around her with their cell phone cameras out. Can't the press just LEAVE HER ALONE?!

Bouncy Thing - Now, I've taken Maddy to Chuck Cheese (as she says it) and Kangaroo Joe's, but nothing, it seems, compared to the filthy, mouse chewed bouncy thing that was available to her in my Mother's back yard. Cousin Stan's bouncy thing had been in storage for quite a while and it could barely stay up from all the holes (forget about TWO people bouncing), but every morning was "I jump now, Daddy? I jump now?"

Baby Goats - I had suggested to my mother that we spend the day in Kansas City when we arrived, so she did some research and found the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead. It is an operational farm that is supported entirely by donations. We spent nearly four hours there just wandering around petting sheep and GIANT cows, feeding baby goats, and looking at the huge Koi the had in one of the ponds. I was going to send her on a pony ride, but I couldn't walk with her and I don't know if she realizes how far down it is from the top of a pony. The highlight of the jouney was when Grandpa Joe grabbed a rooster and tossed it back into its pen. Talk about exciting!

New Socks - Maddy, being the brilliant and imaginative little girl that she is, decided to take Grandpa Joe's new bag of socks and make a toy. So, with Daddy's help, we got socks all the way up to her shoulders and to about halfway up her leg (over her PJs) and she danced around for about 20 minutes.

Coming Home - I think the trip really wore her out. As soon as the plane took off, my daughter's head was drifting down...down...down. I had to find a blanket to put on the arm rest because she kept bumping her head (even though she never really woke up).

My Tiny Dancer and Debate

I've been having a tiny debate inside my head. Its kinda hard to hear with all the other voices, but here's the summary as I have it so far.

I can:
1) Not post pictures of my baby in her dance outfit and have my mother beat me. Cons? The beating. Pros? My mother would have to actually visit.

2) I can post pics of my beautiful little girl in her dance regalia and let the masses adore the cuteness. Cons? No mother visit. Pros? No beating and mass enjoyment.

I don't know if the debate's done, but I think you can see what I've chosen. So, masses. Here she is. I can only think that this is what my sister was probably like when she went to ballet class and my father and I went and played video games.

Unconditional Love

OK, let me put it out there first and foremost...I know my daughter is not a dog, but right now, there's an unconditional love that just comes included with a two year old. You don't pay extra...you don't have to go through a big list of options and worry that you forgot to check "unconditional love" at closing. Sure...she gets mad and she has her fits, but even if I'm just in the other room for a while and she hasn't seen me, she will yell "DADDY" and come running with her arms wide open and a huge smile on her face.

Will she still love me when she's 12? I would assume so. I just think I'm going to miss the exuberance and the openness of it once she knows how to follow the "rules of society."

Terrible twos are nothing...I am preparing for the terrible teens!

Barbecue Forks: Only For Monsters

So, I started writing this post a couple weeks ago and in the time that I've been lazy and up to no good (at least not writing the blog), things have evolved. So here's the story:

Maddy and I were downstairs finishing lunch or something and all of a sudden, I see her wandering around with the extremely large (probably only seems that way since she's so tiny) and pointy fork from my grill. Now, I don't know how it got in the house and I don't know how she got a hold of it, but all of a sudden, here's my two year old waving around a deadly weapon with Blitz and I the next possible victims of her deadly slashing attack.

In my best patient and fatherly tone (I think everyone knows what that sounds like), I said "Maddy, give Daddy the fork. I don't want you to hurt yourself." Now, we all have battles that we know we could fight and simply choose to battle for something more important. Apparently, Maddy was thinking that giving up the fork would make room for a floor sprawling temper tantrum in Target on a future date because she simply thought for a moment and then presented the fork to me as a knight would present a sword to a king (I'm just making that part up).

I said "Baby, I don't want you to hurt yourself or anyone else with this. We don't poke people or Blitz or anyone with things like this." And here's where it broke down..."just monsters."

Maddy: "Just monters?"
Daddy: "Yes. Just monsters."

This was followed by a quick scan of the room from Maddy, a sudden widening of the eyes, her finger shooting out at the end of her stiff, straight little arm and an exclamation of "monter dair!" otherwise known as "monster there."

Daddy: "Where's a monster?"
Maddy: "Dair!" (pointing to a spot behind the couch)
Daddy: (with fork armed hand over the couch) "Poke poke poke."
And so went the afternoon.

It has now evolved into imaginary forks and both of us "poke poke poke" ing the monsters whenever we see them.

Coming Soon: "IT NOT DANCE, DADDY! IT BALLET!"

The Faces of Madelyn McCoy

Maddy and the Big Girl Bed

I don't know if anyone was aware or not, but for the last few weeks, my all-too-grown-up daughter has been sleeping in her brand new BIG GIRL BED! That's right...we have a new head pillow and a new Dora and Boots pillow and the large blue Sleepy Time Care Bear sleeps with her so the "monters" don't get her.

For the time being, after our usual Wiggles or Spongebob adventure and after I, in stealing a tradition from my sister and her kids, "charge" the stars in her room, I take her in and lay her down, put her little sheet and blanket on her, and sit down by her side and sing her some songs until she's asleep. At first, she names the songs she wants to hear...Twinkle Twinkle, Spider (as in "Itsy Bitsy"), ABCs...but when she gets sleepier, she just keeps saying "more, Daddy" and then she's gone.

We're (me and myself) currently looking for some kind of little lamp so I can lay with her and start reading some real bedtime stories (which I can't tell you all how excited I am). As my sister will probable only know, in the same tradition as the Gloops, Gurgi, and The Hobbit, I hope I can instill the same kind of magical wonder for those books that my parents instilled in my sister and I, all the while hearing "one more chapter" and then "one more page" and then, finally, defeat.

She's been such a good girl and stays in her bed all night. Even after she wakes up and starts calling for me (and the Blitz), we find her sitting up in the middle of her sheet and blanket, hair spiking every which way, and her little smile looking forward to the new day with "her guys" (as she calls them) at school.

Maddy's Waker Upper

I know you all have eagerly been awaiting new pictures of the cute one. I will get to those. First I just wanted to post a little story about Maddy's new waker upper.

Generally, I am awake before my daughter. I think my mother would find that hard to believe considering my track record as a teenager, but its true. So, I go in and take a shower and get dressed and then usually she is up and calling from her bedroom. Well, if he's not sitting right next to her door already, this is enough to get Blitz into a frenzy...whining and circling her door begging to be let in. Usually I just tease him a little bit and open the door just a little bit but he will already have pushed his big nose through the door and, tail wagging...no swishing, aim directly for the delighted two year old, tongue first.

You would think they hadn't seen each other in years the way she giggles and he sniffs to make sure she's OK.

Well, the other day, she wasn't here and there's Blitz standing outside her door ready to deliver the wake up call. So, I tell him she's not in there but for some reason he acts like I'm speaking some foreign tongue. So I let him in and you would think I had shot his...well...dog. Poor thing was looking all over for her and then looking at me like I hid her somewhere. Poor Blitz. Such is the life of Maddy's best friend.

Maddy's Smile

I don't know if she's experimenting with her newly discovered personality or if she's just understanding more, but here are are some pictures of Maddy TRYING to smile when Daddy's about to take a picture. The eye closing remind anyone of someone?

Two Stories of the Aquarium

Saving the Best for Last
So, I'm the kind of guy who saves the best for last...the growth of anticipation and the greatest reward. I have a certain way of eating sandwiches so that the "perfect" bite is always the last one I eat. I ALWAYS eat dessert AFTER dinner. If I know its going to be good, I'll even wait until I get home to open it / eat it / play with it.

Now, knowing that everyone thinks exactly like I do, I had the trip to the Georgia Aquarium all planned out for my mother and Maddy. We would start with the "boring" stuff (the river fishes and the local fare...catfish and the like), make our way over to the pretty reef fishes and the jelly fishes, and finish with the pièce de résistance...the whale sharks and the gynormous (I can use this word now, grammar Nazis...look it up) aquarium they're housed in.

Now, I know what you're thinking and believe me, I was surprised too. Not everyone thinks exactly like I do. In fact, some people have completely differing opinions, but I digress. For those who have not had the opportunity to make it to the Georgia Aquarium, suffice it to say that its amazing. It is currently the largest aquarium in the world and the exhibits are grand (especially the belugas and the whale shark enclosure...my opinion), but for those of you who may have a grandmother and a two year old in tow, it might be better to see the best sights first before a nap could outshine the beauties of the deep.

The Grouper
My sister should remember this and my mother may as well. This is a story that begins many many years ago with a book called (I think) "Sharks and Other Dangerous Sea Creatures." It was a small book of glossy photos that my father bought for my sister and I to share (although I think I had possession of it for the most part). On the cover, it had a picture of the mouth and little beady eyes of a (not so happy) moray eel and inside were pictures of the various creatures and a brief synopsis of the reasons why this particular animal had the honor of gracing the pages of the book.

The one that always stuck with me wasn't the great white or the barracuda or even the poisonous sea snakes and snails that could get you without you even knowing it. No, the one that always stuck with me was the giant grouper and there was one sentence that did it. It went something like this: "...and although the giant grouper is not generally dangerous to man, it could easily swallow prey the size of a small boy."

Now, when faced with a tiny 2" x 3" picture of this scary sea creature, its easy to laugh it off and then secretly think to yourself "man, I hope I never meet one of those in a dark alley." Its a different story altogether when you're standing face to face with the 400 pound monster with your (smallish) two year old standing behind you and rather disturbing to know first hand that the book was right. I think I saw him eyeing her hungrily.

So even though we were all tired, we managed to make it through the aquarium unscathed and even venture over to the NEW World of Coke. Although Maddy absolutely REFUSED to pet the bear, she couldn't bear to have the bear (get it? bear) out of her sight throughout the rest of the exhibit.

Terrible? Not So Much

Well folks, as you can see by the counter to the right, I now have a two year old. Funny I don't feel any different. I wonder if she does? She has certainly come a long way. So here are a few things I remember from the last two years:

* I remember wondering how such a small thing was going to turn into a little human. It is amazing how much she has changed!

* I remember love at first sight. Something that hasn't changed or faded and never will.

* I remember being amazed at her first laugh and cries that could have been made by the angels (ok...that may have changed a little at this point).

* I remember the sheer and utter terror at her first word: shoes. This is the root of words like prom dress, college, and wedding.

* I remember her first birthday and her starting to walk more and more every day.

* I remember the first time she called me daddy and actually knew what she was saying and the first time she said I love you.

* I remember the burrito and the stick dance.

* I remember wondering if she would ever get any hair and being amazed when her little teeth started to come in.

* I remember the first time she climbed the stairs.

* I remember that she was never afraid of Blitz (what am I saying? she isn't afraid of anything!) and that they are always looking out for each other.

She is growing to be a strong willed, intelligent little girl who is adding new things to her vocabulary, her understanding, and her overall life experience every day. I just hope that I am everything she always wanted in a father and that I teach her to be kind and compassionate, free thinking and intelligent, beautiful on the inside and out, strong and open, willful and patient, amazing and amazed, curious and cautious, and a dreamer who lives her life to the fullest potential of those dreams.

So here's to you my beautiful and amazing little two year old. My lover of the Robert des Eponge Jaune. My Wiggles dancer. My cheese pizza, cheese hot dog, string cheese, and poptart eater. The apple of her daddy's eye and love of his life.

Madelyn Delaney McCoy - Two years old February 28, 2008.

Brave New World: Chapter Two

The (long awaited) Dark
There are fears most common to all humans. Stories have passed from generation to generation and the knowledge still does not seem to lessen the fear. Spiders and snakes, heights and death, talking to girls (c'mon, you know its true) to name a few. But one of the scariest things we face every day is going into dark, unknown places. What kid (and more adults than we'll mention here) hasn't sped up the basement stairs all the while telling themselves that they just wanted to see how fast they could get to the top? Is there one among us who hasn't looked over our shoulder while walking down a dark deserted street? I think not.

Well, there is one. At least there's talk of one.

There's a little girl I've heard of who has to brave the monsters of the dark garage every morning on her trek to school. She's always the first one in and the last one out and she doesn't ever leave anyone behind. You see, while she's taking the first tentative steps into the darkened garage, her daddy is dealing with a vicious, snarling guard dog who is always trying to get out (or maybe he's just trying to get a piece of the little girl...you'll have to decide). All the while, the little girl (we'll call her Maddy) is looking out for the monsters.

As she moves her small and seemingly fragile foot from the threshold to cold, hard garage floor, she turns to her daddy and says "where monters?" Now ladies and gentlemen, having asked that question several times in the last year myself, I know that anytime those words have passed my lips I have uttered them with a slight tremor, a chill running down my back. I don't know if she's challenging those monsters or just calling out to those she considers equals, but when you hear it come from that little mouth, its as if a tangible specter of fear leaves the room quietly knowing that it will have no victims today. The sweetness, untouched by the steel of many a dark monster campaign, almost warming those around her...no fear, just conviction.

As much as her daddy tries to explain that there aren't any monsters in that dark garage, she knows the truth. She knows that if her daddy would actually clear away some of the clutter and mishmash of semi-used and just plain unused articles, he would be able to see the teeth and claws and the red, beady eyes. But, she doesn't let it phase her. She just continues on into the void knowing that she is the vanguard for the much weaker force that comes behind her. Even when they are most vulnerable...those moments between the time daddy closes the door to the kitchen so the vicious attack beast doesn't wreak havoc during the day and when he opens the big garage door...she is ever vigilant. Listening to the silence while her eyes adjust to the near black; her catlike reflexes ready to pounce on would be attackers and predators.

An interesting side note here. Her attacks are so advanced and well honed, a normal observer would almost view them as the learning stumbles of a two year old child. We know better.

While most of this talent can be attributed to natural instincts, our Warrior of the Dark has enhanced her skills with other less known techniques. Some of these techniques are known by a few masters worldwide while others can only be found in the East (that would be EST...like Atlanta). For instance, the ability of her senses to pierce the darkness is a talent born from years (almost two) of harsh discipline. Her sleeping chamber or "bedroom" is adorned with only ONE night light. This allows her eyes to naturally adjust quickly to low light conditions much like the oft overlooked but never underestimated lemur. Additionally, her monster knowledge comes from an ancient and little known source called "DVDs." While Barney and Dorothy were good starting points, Maddy quickly tired of Barney (I hope) and simply dances around with Dorothy (it seems almost like a cat playing with a mouse). Only one DVD has been able to get Maddy where she is today. It is known as Monsters Inc. (see link for some horrifying images and facts) and it is essential for any up and coming monster eliminator out there. And, while good enough for any mediocre apprentice, the aforementioned training doesn't even take into account the legendary contact Maddy has had not only with the brutal guard beast who advances on her with rough tongue and whip like tail lashing, but also the hordes of other acclaimed and persistent talent she must challenge daily at the Shining Star Academy (her guild hall).

Needless to say, this dedication to her duty and constant vigilance saves lives every day and hopefully adds just a little bravery to our hearts the next time we turn out the light that seems just a little too far from the bottom of the basement stairs.