You know I love you when...

C.C. Chapman's video from the Father's Day Pampers Cookout!

Pampers First Fathers BBQ Boston from C.C. Chapman on Vimeo.

An open letter to my boys, the secret of life.

 When my wife, Adriana, of Just by Living and Monkey & the Bug asked me to do a fathers day guest post for her I was worried I would have a hard time knowing what to write. There are other posts in the series from some great dads such as Derek from Tart and Don from Adeline's Daddy, so the bar was set pretty high. I sat down to write with an empty head, but that quickly changed. I found myself flooded with words and could not type fast enough to get it all out, which is similar to how I feel for my kids.

There was a time, not too long ago, where I was putting a ton of myself into my career, too much actually. I have ALWAYS taken the time to play with my boys, to roll around on the ground with them, play pokemon, go for walks, play with legos, and read countless books. Being there was not the issue, it was the amount of me that was there. I am easily distracted, and getting this new business of mine off of the ground has not made things any easier. I am constantly responding to text messages, emails, and fb isues on my phone, and it always breaks my concentration, my attention, my 100% bonding time. This is an easy mistake to make, a slippery slope, a tough cycle to break, but I am out of it. I realize that I am rambling right now, and this has nothing to do with the letter to my kids, but I guess it does in a way. When I sat down to write that letter I was flooded with love for my boys, as I am on a daily basis. When I wake up next to Hendrix and his big ol mop of hair I swear I can feel my heart swell, when I look in the rear-view mirror at Christian's beautiful eyes as he tells me a 45 min story about some video game he is creating in his head, I feel as though I could listen forever. I made the conscious effort to be more available, to COMPLETELY be there when I am with my children, and I suggest you do the same. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the world, in worrying about paying bills, settling beefs, planning events, and all the 1.5 million other things that go on around you. The reality is: its all bullshit. Those are the things in life that dont really matter, give them the minimal amount of attention and swift kick in the ass they need and turn to your children, thats the secret of life, for me anyways.

Ok, I wasnt planning on writing that much, I apologize, and thanks for getting this far, here is the letter I wrote, I hope you enjoy it.

Michael

Some Fathers Day tips for both old and new dogs alike!

Before becoming a father, officially, as in before the birth of my first son, I read a lot. I pushed my way through books about parenting, birth, education, and every other topic I could think of that would prepare me for being a father, and very little of it hit home. It felt like the books were written in a very matter of fact manner that were meant to push other peoples views and vanilla flavored facts down your throat, who wants that? A young man that is about to embark on the biggest, most exciting/terrifying adventure of his life? NOPE. I have to admit, when I was first asked to share some parenting tips, I quickly flashed back to late nights spent reading and trying to "learn" about parenting, but the simple fact is, you just do it. When my wife shared concerns over whether she was going to be a good mom, or how she would do this and accomplish that I always told her the same thing: you just do. And you know what, she just did, as you will do, and every parent out there is (hopefully) capable of.


Currently, I have two children, one of them is 9 going on 19, the other is almost 19 months, and I have definitely learned a lot from the both of them.  I am married to a wonderful, supportive woman, who is the mother of one of my boys, Hendrix, and my other boy, Christian, is from a previous marriage. I learned a lot going through a divorce and custody proceedings. The majority of what I learned is that it sucks, and there really is no "right" or "easy" way to go about things. I own an event planning and management company which allows me to be home during the day with my boys, it doesn't get much better then that! Ok, enough about me, here are a couple nuggets of wisdom if you will. Hopefully these will help smooth a few of the bumps for you new dads, and ease a few knots of tension for the seasoned vets. One of the things I try to remember, as a dad, is you CAN teach an old dog new tricks, especially if that dog is a sleep deprived father at wits end!


Tip 1: 10 minutes goes a long way! Sit down with your kid before work and read a book, plop them in the tub for a quick bath, or just tickle them silly out on the front lawn! This goes for after work, before you make that important call, during work (if you work from home), or in the middle of a big project. When you dont have time for quantity, go for quality! You would be surprised how far that short bonding session goes and how it can change both of your days!


Tip 2: Make it work! IF you are separated, divorced, or even if you were never married to the baby mama, make it work! Your child, no matter how much you think they cant, will FEEL what is going on between the two of you. Think before you speak and never allow yourself to get baited into a fight. Once you stop fighting that sail quickly runs out of air and becomes useless, eventually the waters calm, and you can see the horizon again.


Tip 3: Put the camera down, live in the moment. Documenting your life as a family is important, but not as important as being part of that perfect moment you are trying to capture so desperately. Some of the best memories I have with my kids are up in the old brain-bucket, and thats good enough for me!


Tip 4: Take care of yourself! Its easy to get run down, especially as a new dad with a high maintenance bundle of joy on your hands. If you are sick, exhausted, over-stressed, under-fed, or overweight it will definitely inhibit the fun, caring, and involvement you have in your child's life so learn to make the time to take care of yourself. A healthy dad is a happy dad!


Tip 5: Dont be afraid to jump in with both feet! A good daddy knows how to do a french braid, knows every word to his kids favorite song, is not afraid to crawl around the house (mall, park, side of the road!) and make dinosaur sounds! If you have a girl, you  better know how to set the table for a tea party, if you have a boy, you need to know what each bakugans strength is and how to battle!


Tip 6: Remember who you are! Your wife, girlfriend, baby mama picked you for you. Your kids love you for you, and you should love you for YOU. Do not let those Zeppelin LP's get dusty! You are cool as hell and you should not be afraid to show it! I dont care if you listen to Michael Buble or Michael Stipe own that ish and display it proudly! 


So there it is, hopefully these help and feel free to pass on any of your words of wisdom, I know I can always use them!

Pamper's Little Miracles Father's Day Cookout!

It's 5:30PM and the little one is down for a nap because she is so exhausted, we all are. We had a VERY busy morning! We were invited by our new friend C.C. Chapman to attend a exclusive Father's Day cookout being sponsored by Pamper's and their 50th Anniversary Little Miracles Campaign (which we wrote about here). It was a very fun day and we were honored to be among the 30 families invited.

We arrived a bit late due to the Bruins Parade taking place in Boston but got there just in time to partake in some Baby Yoga. Hendrix and Sierra were a bit nervous but with a little help from Dad and Dad we got our stretch on real quick.

Both hands to the toes!

Sierra looking at something, not sure what though. C.C. in the background working on his film which we are both going to be in and are very excited to see!

Here Hendrix is eating a fine delicacy: The Knuckle Sandwich.

Sierra pouting when we tried to get her to play the parachute game.

Sierra's beautiful mother, Lauren instagramming some photos.

I asked Michael and Henry to take a nice photo which they did. I asked Christian to do the same and did not get the same results (see next photo).

Whenever Christian is asked to take a photo you get a wonderful face like this, he's basically the most photogenic person I know, p.s. how awesome is the skull sweater?

After a bunch of fun games it was time to chow down on the meal provided by the NE Aquarium and Pampers.  Thanks guys!! Mmmmm.

The last activity before hitting the Aquarium was a raffle for some awesome prizes! Including a Tricycle, Movie Tickets and the Grand Prize of a Flip Ultra HD camcorder! When they asked for a child volunteer to pick the winners Sierra and I stepped right up. Guess who we picked to win the grand prize?

YEP! Michael and his family won the video camera! I assure you it was not rigged. Sierra is just a good picker I guess. She also picked some free IMAX movie tickets for mama and myself, who's babysitting?

After all the festivities outside it was time to head inside to check out the Aquarium. We have been before but it is always fun and the kids seem to enjoy it more and more each time. The first stop was the penguins which are always fun to watch swim and play. 

Here Sierra is enjoying a close up view of some tropical fish. She kept saying "FISH! FISH!" and making her fishy face which we've been practicing for weeks now.

The NE Aquarium located in the heart of Boston only steps from the TD Bank North Garden was in full support of our hometown Bruins winning the cup as you can see from their Stanely Cup on the bottom of the fish tank!  

Look everyone, Michael has crabs!

I kid you not this is a real picture. Michael uses "6 to 8" sugars in his coffee... I tried telling him if he needs that much sugar perhaps he should switch to chocolate milk or apple juice. YUCK.

Next we headed to the seal tank which Sierra LOVED. 

We all had a wonderful time and were very tired by the end of the day!

What a DAD wants.

Dad DOES NOT want another tie, or a coffee mug, or any more photos of his kids printed and framed. These gifts are useful, cute, and always appreciated but they are not desired, its not what dad WANTS. I have always thought that both mothers and fathers day gifts should be selfish, it should be what mom and dad want, but don't NEED. This gift should make dad feel cool, it should speak volumes about what a fantastic job he does with his kids, his wife, his job, whatevs. The point of fathers day is to celebrate dad, to show him we know who he is and what he does and love him for it.

I have selected four gifts that I think would make dad (ME) stoked on life. For each gift there are two price points because, lets face it, we cant always get what we want, no no no no we cant! Yeah I'm quoting Yo Gabba Gabba, if you can too, or if you know how to do a french braid, or cook quinoa perfectly, know exactly what settings the washer needs to be on for cloth diapers, or you know the name of every baby in your kids play group, these gifts are for you!

Proof - Zebrawood Sunglasses + Jeepers Peepers Fred Wood Sunglasses

Apple Ipad 2 + Plexon Superpad 2

Cole Haan Frame-Top Leather Duffel +  The Mulliner Work Bag

Owle Bubo Iphone 4 kit  +  Q3HD by Zoom

The Owle Bubo Iphone 4 kit by ALM (Action Life Media)  is, hands down, my favorite in this list. The results you get from the high quality lens and microphone is phenomenal, check some samples on their site including footage from the Gumball 3000. They make two products that we are in love with, the Owle Bubo kit featured above and their EnCinema 35mm Adaptor, which allows you to use both Nikon And Canon lenses with the Bubo kit! Pretty phenominal right? If you hit up Vimeo for some samples of the EnCinema kit you will be scratching your head asking yourself how they got those images from an Iphone 4. ALM products are both cutting edge and inspire creativity in both the professional and amateur film-maker alike. I plan on using mine to capture memories for my family as well as document my DJ career as their products are versatile enough to rise to the occasion on both instances!

Here is a sample of the EnCinema and Bubo in action:

Into the Blue - iPhone & EnCinema & Owle Bubo Kit from \\Vid-Atlantic Media Prod on Vimeo.

And for those of you on a really tight budget, so basically 99.9 percent of you, might I suggest you pick up this movie, hook up a baby-sitter, and spend some "adult time" alone in the house with your mister. Who doesn't love a little "special attention", knowwhatimean?   

Dads duds: A what I wore post!

Id be the first to admit it, I have a serious problem with collecting bags (man purses? messenger bags?), vintage shoes and neck-wear. My closet is full of shoes that range from gleaming new, probably will only wear once, to beat to shit vintage Bruno Magli's that will never see the light of day. I HAVE MORE SHOES THEN MY WIFE! Im sure she will hate me for going public with that, that's like some reverse emasculating business. I think I first got hooked when I found this perfect pair of 50's wingtips for 8 dollars, cant beat that! So here is todays outfit, complete with a thrifted Giorgio Armani blazer and vintage, British made, Lord & Taylor wingtips.

 

Vintage Bowtie, Obey button-up, Super Bread & Butter Berlin edition sunnies. 

Vintage Giorgio Armani blazer, LRG denim. 

 

These guys have definitely seen better days, although they are my current favs.

Thanks for stopping by, if you dig the blog take a second to vote for us on top baby blogs!

xo 

THD

Father's Day Giveaway: Land's End Polo Shirt!

Something you quickly learn about being a parent is that people are quick to judge you on your appearance. When you're the weird, tattooed, shaggy haired, cut off jean shorts wearing dad on the playground you get a few weird looks to say the least! Since Sierra was born I have started to populate my closet with more 'adult' clothes because well I'm supposed to be the grown up now right? Don't get me wrong I still have plenty of t-shirts, skinny jeans and vans but it's nice to have some clothes that make you look half way presentable too. When Land's End contacted us asking if we'd like to do a giveway for Father's Day I was stoked because this is our first official giveaway and a polo shirt is a sweet way to look professional but still be comfortable, it's kind of like the mullet of business attire. They sent me one to try out and I have to say it is one of the nicest polo's I've ever had. Super comfortable, fit's perfectly and comes in a ton of nice colors! Details on the actual shirt here: http://bit.ly/jEGvLJ

Sierra and I playing around in front of our apartment wearing our new polo shirt.

One of Sierra's favorite modes of transportation :)

So here is our little Father's Day gift to you we hope you like it and there are details on how to entere are below and good luck! Thanks Land's End!

HOW TO ENTER:

1) Follow us by clicking the "Follow" Button on the right hand side and then leave a comment on this blog entry with your name and why you want to win the shirt!

2) Follow us on Twitter and then tweet this: Happy Fathers Day! Win a awesome @LandsEndChat Polo Shirt from @TheHipsterDad here: http://goo.gl/mLgQ6

What happened to my baby?

Children grow up so fast is the famous cliché that you hear time and time again as a new parent. Whenever someone told me this (which was a lot) I laughed and rolled my eyes. Sierra will be turning two in August and I find myself saying things like "Where did the time go?" and "What happened to my BABY?!". To everyone I rolled my eyes at, I am sorry - you were right.

Sierra, 2 Weeks Old @ Gillette Stadium taking a nap on the field (We're big soccer fans)

Over the past few weeks I've realized I have a full blown toddler and almost any trace of baby has disappeared entirely. She can talk, walk and run. She is looking more and more like a little girl and less and less like a baby. Last night we started shopping for a toddler bed. It was fun thinking about redoing and reorganizing her room but it was a bitter sweet moment for me. I will miss my little baby with her wobbly legs and two naps a day (I REALLY miss two naps a day!). I will miss my little infant who just wanted to sleep on my chest all day. Although I will miss my baby, my toddler is perfect and I love her more and more each day. I get excited when she says a new word and can do something new and exciting, she's getting pretty damn good at blowing bubbles and wielding a fork! I love watching her grow, learn and discover the world in her own special way. I am excited to see her personality shining through in new ways from taste in music and food to the colors she likes to use when we draw or paint together. When i sat down to write this post I had planned to write about toddler beds and ask opinions on which one to buy but somehow I turned into a mushy ball of sap, sorry about that. Anyway, here is the bed we're thinking of buying this week, what do you think? 

The IKEA Minnen Toddler Bed, $149.00

p.s. please take 2 seconds to give us a vote on Top Baby Blogs by clicking below, no sign up required! <3

TOMS

I love TOMS. I got my first pair right before Sierra's first birthday last August. I'm now on my third pair and have also converted my whole family. Look at this adorable photo I took last night. Daddy, Mama and Baby. The baby toms are called TINY TOMS, how cute is that? Besides being insanely comfortable and stylish, it's for a good cause! More on the cause here: http://www.toms.com, and no I did not get paid to say this, but Toms if you see this I'm a size 10 ½ ;) -Craig