I’m invited to the party…

The Christmas break was full of surprises.

I’ve realised my addiction to WoW is fast coming to an end.

My nephew is a secret Yorkshireman.

Family secret santas can work.

Star Wars can be watched again as if it was the first time.

But most importantly, I unexpectedly received an invite to the party.

The party that up until now I just had to watched from the sidelines.

Whilst putting my ear up against my wife’s tummy, Little Pea put his ninja skills to work by delivering his one inch punch to my face.

It was a momentous occasion.

There I was, experiencing something that my wife couldn’t.

I giggled like an excited little school boy.

I’ve lost count now of the times that I’ve felt the little fella move.

I’ll never grow tired of that sensation.

And it’s crazy to think that not long from now, I’m going to feel him move without a wall of skin between us.

Then we can have a proper party.

Happy New Year everyone.

My last Christmas…

Christmas is about to change forever.

This will be my last Christmas of having nothing to worry about.

Eat what I want.

Drink what I want.

Do what I want (very little), when I want.

It will be the last time I can do this for a long, long time.

Like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly I will undergo my own metamorphosis.

2012 sees Paul Mellor turn into a Daddy.

It’s going to be incredibly strange to then think of myself taking on that role.

But it’s one I welcome with open arms.

So here’s to my last Christmas as Paul Mellor.

It’s been fun.

The best is yet to come…

It'll be 13 more weeks until we can see what's inside this present (no that's not my wife!).

25 weeks…

Little Pea is 25 weeks today.

He celebrated with the hardest kick I’ve felt to date.

Good lad.

I’m hoping it was not a kick in celebration of Little Mix winning X Factor.

We watched Black Mirror tonight, which was timed well.

Interesting programs to date, as it makes me think about the world I live in, but in a new light.

I begin to realise a change in my psyche.

Parental fear.

What kind of world will my child grow up in?

Hopefully Little Pea can kick some sense into it.

 

Sorry your name’s not down, you’re not coming in…

We had a 24 week catch up with the midwife yesterday.

I’ll sound like a repeating record, but it was amazing.

We listened to the heartbeat that indicated everything was advancing nicely.

It also means I’ll be that bit closer to having more of a bond with him.

As a dad to be and as the weeks progress, I’m desperate to experience something.

Once you’ve heard your wife say “I can feel him kicking again” for what feels like the umpteenth time, it’s easy to become quite jealous.

As someone put it to me the other day, “It’s like mother and baby are having a party in your house and you’re not invited.”

So true.

I tried to be DJ at the party last night and play Nine Inch Nails and was instantly sacked.

There’s a hole in my bucket…

Forget money.

Forget responsibilities.

Remember that youthful, innocent state when the world was your oyster.

Knowing what you do now, what would you do?

Without getting too philosophical, we only have a finite amount of time on our little rock and with so much to see and do, where can you truly begin?

Especially when you remember money, remember responsibilities and realise you aren’t as young as you used to be.

I love the notion of a bucket list, but I’ve never written one down.

It’s, for most of us, a vehicle for dreams and make-believe only realised when you win the lottery or someone says to you “I’m sorry you only have one year to live.”

So here’s a starting point in no particular order:

1. Go and see Mount Everest, base camp would be fine by me
2. Experience everything a jet fighter can do (apart from crash)
3. Build a car
4. See planet Earth from the face of the Moon
5. Have a family
6. Take part in an archaeological dig (Egyptian / Dinosaur / Aztec)
7. See the Northern Lights
8. Be taught how to and build an igloo
9. Exist / live on a desert island
10. Live with a tribe in the jungle

Fortunately I’m half way to achieving point five, which will make me a very happy chappy.

I can only imagine the other nine at the moment.

But, it’s still nice to dream.

And I certainly would not sacrifice point five to experience the other nine points.

If you had the money, no responsibilities and time on your side, what would you do?

Watching the ninja monkey…

The weekend was rather momentous.

At 22 weeks and seven days, I saw our baby move for the first time.

Whether it was a forward roll, a flying kick or a Bruce Lee style one inch punch, our little ninja made Mummy’s tummy move up for a split second.

Blink and you’ll miss it.

But that’s the skill of a ninja.

At 23 weeks, I read him his first book called Little Pea, which was rather appropriate I thought.

Little Pea ain't no ninja Daddy...

Unfortunately there was no reaction.

So next time he’ll be hearing about the adventures of Chuck Norris.

There used to be a street named after Chuck Norris, but it was changed because no one crosses Chuck Norris and lives.