But I wanted to experience putting a bike together with Gus for the first time.  We had a blast!  Here are some pictures to share.

Gus and I spent roughly about a half hour walking through each part of the bike learning the names and way they fit together. Luckily, this bike fit together like a puzzle with several large pieces assembled.

Now we are ready to ride!

The post Deciding To Share Responsibility With My Son appeared first on Dadurday.com.

The days after Thanksgiving is now Christmas Tree day as long as I am in charge…well, in a decision making position.

Whitney, Gus and I visited a local Tree farm and found out just how hard it is to pick out the perfect tree.  I had a flashback with the Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation” movie when they were in the snow driven woods with a chainsaw.

We found a 9 footer.  It was well rounded and had a full set of limbs and everyone agreed it would look nice.

Gus did have an accident.  He was pacing through the trees trying to get around and hit a small hill.  His foot got caught and he dove, head first, into a small patch of rocks, dirt and grass.  A little bit of blood on his upper lip, mouth full of grass, a moment of surprise and brushing off his clothes and he was off again.

All together, we had a wonderful experience.  And we can’t wait to do it next year…already.  :)  Let’s just call it a new tradition.

Merry Christmas!

The post Starting a Tradition of Picking Out a Christmas Tree appeared first on Dadurday.com.

We had a wonderful afternoon putting together our new Masterbuilt grill.  Gus and I spent almost an hour and half interacting with tools and discovering many of the simple ideas around pieces of this puzzle.

When we were putting this together, we had to follow directions.  I really sat down with Gus and laid out the details and taught a bit of patience.  He seemed to want to take the piping of the legs and try to put them end to end.

Once we completed the grill, we sat back and smiled.  It was truly our first time we were able to handle screwdrivers and nuts and bolts to accomplish something together.

Our new grill has already created many new rules in the house.  For instance, no touching the grill with daddy is cooking.  No running around the ‘hot’ grill.  It seems early, simple rules but the grill has given me and my son a place to hang around outside and has added a much needed flavor option for our meats.

I hope this will be a memory he will remember because I know I will never forget.  :)

The post Building a Memory in an Afternoon appeared first on Dadurday.com.

I haven’t written in a while but I wanted to check in and report the activities Gus and I can now participate in because he is a little older.  At 2 and a half, Gus can navigate a conversation, wash dishes and know which button on the controller does what.

The big question is, “What are the most important things to concentrate on when spending time at the house?” To me, there is a urgent need to get away from the computer and put some background ‘Diego’ on and try to participate in the many motor skill related tasks that Gus is carrying around with him.

It can be anything from building blocks, vacuuming or running outside. But the most enjoyable time is washing dishes. I don’t think he fully understands that dishes eventually become clean and the need to re-wash over and over is a bit redundant.  But we continue.

I wonder what all the other parents out there are doing in the house.  I wonder sometimes if living in close quarters (aka apartments) has been a big difference in our child’s development.  I mean, he is always at arms length.  It may be a hustle but we is always talking, always bringing me things and ALWAYS in to something.

If we would’ve had a bigger space to live in I wonder where his development would be. We never put a TV in his room.  This decision was ultimately the wife’s but I agree. Shoving our son in a room to watch hours of ‘Barney’ is a nice fall back with our tablet, but it can become a bit of a crutch as we turn it into an acceptable habit.

Here is a list of some of the home activities we participate in together:

• Washing dishes
  
• Playing Modern Warfare
• Vacuuming
• Picking up and trash and taking it out
• Laundry
• and Cooking (certain items)

We usually get stuck inside a lot due to our budget constraints but we make the most of it.

Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes I wonder if we lived in a big old house and didn’t live on top of each other, how would we be.  At this point, I think Gus is an easy 4 year old in a 2.5 year old body.  His communication is top notch and his imagination is a bit alarming some times.

Overall, teaching the basics for living at home is something I may not have had when I was young. But I am sure my parents did what they could to put these basic home activities out there for me to participate.  I enjoy spending this time with Gus and look forward to doing ‘chores’ with him.

The post Trying To Teach The Basics: Home Activities appeared first on Dadurday.com.

The August Cool History programs, in conjunction with National Inventor’s Month, focus on technology and innovation in the Civil War Navies. This year, we’ll be focusing on torpedoes (or what we know today as mines), their construction and use, and some famous examples of their implementation during the War.

For more information, please see the attached press release, or contact the Museum at 706-327-9798 or the info below.

Download PDF Here

Jon Ezzell

Director of Communications

The National Civil War Naval Museum

portcolumbus.org | facebook.com/cwnavy

706-327-9798

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Celebrating Father’s Day 2012 with breakfast in bed

10 years ago on June 15th, I sat with my very pregnant and laboring wife in the small hospital in Sylva, NC. It was early Saturday morning. Her water broke in our bed around 3am. Me, in my slumber, asked if she was sure she hadn’t just wet the bed. My wife assured me that the baby was on the way and I’d have to wake up. I’m not a morning person, but I hopped into action.  I was about to be a Dad.

This was my first trip through the adventure that is labor and delivery.  I didn’t really know what to expect even though I’d watched plenty of Discovery Channel shows about birthdays.  The day dragged on, and on, and on.  Friends came to visit, TV shows were watched.  My wife sat patiently in her bed and breathed her way through the ebb and flow of labor contractions.  And so we sat and waited for the arrival of our little one.  We weren’t even sure if we were having a boy or a girl.

Finally, after nearly 12 hours of laboring and pushing and breathing the doctor decided that our baby wasn’t going to enter the world the traditional way.  Less than an hour later little Xavier was delivered via c-section.  We were parents…I was a Father.  It was my very first Dadurday.

To Fathers around the world, I salute you.  Enjoy every minute with your special gift.  Remember the commitment you made and raise your son to be a loving caring gentleman.  Raise your daughter to be a brave and bright woman who values a challenge.  Teach your children that the world isn’t a perfect place, but with love, respect and kindness they can make the planet a better place.  Challenge your children.  Help them reach beyond their limits.  Teach them that they have a warriors spirit that will fight fight for truth and justice.

Father’s…enjoy this special day!

The post A Decade of Father’s Day appeared first on Dadurday.com.

Though 49 years apart in time, the War of 1812 and the American Civil War have common links in their Navies; the ships, the men who sailed them and the seas they sailed. This joint US Navy/National Civil War Naval Museum exhibit looks at the naval components of the War of 1812 and illuminates naval connections between that conflict and the Civil War.

Visitors will find information on Civil War ships and men with connections to the War of 1812 — David G. Farragut, Josiah Tattnall, Matthew C. Perry, Captain David Porter, the USS Constitution, USS United States and the USS Saratoga — as well as six free standing interpretive panels detailing specific role and exploits of United States Naval forces in the War of 1812, courtesy of the United States Navy.

In addition to this new exhibit, Museum guests will see the Nation’s largest display of Civil War Naval flags, rare and unique artifacts including an original cutter (ship’s boat) from the famed USS Hartford, recreated ship environments and the remains of two Civil War ships, including the CSS Jackson, a large ironclad gunboat built in Columbus, GA.

Port Columbus is located at 1002 Victory Drive in Columbus, Georgia, and is open seven days a week. For hours and more information, visit www.portcolumbus.org or call 706-327-9798

For immediate release

Contact:    Jon Ezzell

(706) 327-9798 or (800) 742-2811

media@portcolumbus.org

The post Joint US Navy / National Civil War Naval Museum Exhibit Opens This Weekend appeared first on Dadurday.com.

For the past year, Gus and I have had one heck of time exploring a ‘kid-safe’ tablet application called Zoodles. We’ve watched Elmo dance and sing, Jason Mraz on YouTube.com and even interacted with puzzles, games and drawings.

Zoodles is a smart idea.  The builders of Zoodles took on one big task that my other tablet applications seem to suffer from….multi-touch screen mistakes.  The problem stems from apps like NetFlix or YouTube itself.  Everything is fine until you touch it.  One slide of the finger on NetFlix and the movie pauses.  Venture further and it exits. Very frustrating for a toddler and for the parent.

Zoodles utilizes the ‘lock’ feature disabling certain system calls. It’s a brilliant idea and even though they didn’t create it they provided youngster specific information in a non-intrusive manner.

As I will show in a picture below, it can provide many facets of the imagination including video sing-a-longs, counting games and even finger painting.  So, the genius part is that it is all tracked to show progress.

Every week I get an email that gives me clear and precise data on the subject matter of the games and selections made.  Everything from Amount of Time spent on Cognitive Development (see below) to Life Skills.  It will even send you small thumbnails of the drawings that have been made.

To get to the point, Zoodles has been a big part of our life allowing my son to learn, have fun and use the tablet ‘like dada’. It gives him great confidence when he is able to pop the virtual bubbles or catch all the monkeys. I do believe it has been a development tool that has been unparalleled to most other devices.

I highly recommend anyone out there to grab this download and try it yourself. Within a few minutes, you can be enjoying hundreds of thousands pre-screened activities for your child that you can monitor.

The post Zoodles: The Greatest App For Kids (And Parents) appeared first on Dadurday.com.

We filled Dadurday with challenge, success, excitement, and fun.  We started the day with a challenging run to support the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  My son, Xavier, is a Wish Kid.  If you haven’t read about him yet, he was granted a Wish to travel to Rome and receive a personal blessing from Pope Benedict XVI.  The Run for the Wishes 5K was organized by the Columbus Chapter of Make-A-Wish to raise money for granting Wishes and it was sponsored by Big Dog Running Co.  The whole family participated.  I ran while pushing Xavier in his jogging stroller, Amber (my wife) ran while pushing our 18 month old and 3 year old in the double job stroller, and our 5 year old ran along side of us.  Our 5 year old is quite the runner and this was her 3rd time running a 5K race.  This was a special race for her because she ran fast enough to claim 1st Place in the 14 and Under division.  I was certainly proud of her regardless of winning, but it was extra special to see her face when her name was called to the winner’s table.

After a great morning exercising and supporting a fantastic organization, we came home cleaned up for the next exciting part of the day.  Next on the Dadurday agenda, escape the heat by watching Disney on Ice at the Civic Center.  If any of you other Dads have little girls, then you know how much they love princesses and dancing.  Disney on Ice did not disappoint.  The only negative was that we couldn’t all sit together.  The Civic Center only allows one “normal” person to sit in the wheelchair seating.  Amber sat with Xavier and I sat with the girls.  We were just a few rows apart so it wasn’t too bad.  Xavier has helped us learn the value in adapting to any situation.  Teaching others to see the positive is one of his many gifts.  Check out the short videos below.

Disney on Ice 1 Disney on Ice 2

The day wasn’t done yet…  When we got home from Disney on Ice, the kids had another surprise waiting for them, grandparents.  My parents came down from western North Carolina to spend some time with the grandkids.  We spent some time at home recuperating from the busy day and visiting.  We had to rest a bit too because the Dadurday Fun Train had more stops to make.  A baby sitter was planned for the “twins” (Xavier and Caroline who both go to bed early).  We fed the “twins” some dinner, had bath time, and got the early birds in bed for the sitter.  Then it was time for the “big girls” to dress up for a night on the town with Mom and Dad and the Grandparents.  We loaded up and went to Downstairs at The Loft in hip Uptown Columbus.  Uptown was in full swing with lots of activities on Broadstreet including the local audition for Fox Network’s X-Factor.

This was a Dadurday to remember.  I don’t think I’ve done so much on a “day off” in a long time, but it was worth all the effort.  Today, I was so happy to be a Dad.  I got to support my son and a wonderful philanthropic organization.  I got to watch one of my daughters push herself and win a medal for her effort.  I got to be an example to my other two daughters on living a healthy and active lifestyle.  I got to see the smiling faces of my 4 wonderful children as they experienced the magic of Disney.  Finally, I got to help them appreciate their extended family with a nice and fun dinner.

It was a great day to be a Dad and it was a great Dadurday.  I can’t wait to hear how your special day was…

The post Remembering Why Being a Dad is Great appeared first on Dadurday.com.

More info here:  http://columbusbookexchangeandcomics.net/FCBD.html

Saturday May 5th 10 am – 6 pm
Coca Cola Space Science Center

Columbus Book Exchange Annual Sale
All Back Issue Comic Books 35% Off
Graphic Novels 20% Off
99 cent comics discounted to 50 cents

For every $5 spent, you can pick out a
FREE comic book

1st 100 paying customers receive a
special FCBD Avengers hero clix

Jim Lee FCBD T -shirt will be for sale

Visit the Columbus Book Exchange Online here for more information.

Columbus Book Exchange Website

Columbus Book Exchange Facebook

The post Free Comic Book Day Sale Saturday May 5, 2012 10am appeared first on Dadurday.com.