Last Sunday was Father's Day, which I guess will have an entirely different meaning for me from now on. (I bought my dad the new Red Hot Chili Peppers CD, Stadium Arcadium — this is the side of Father's Day I'm familiar with.) And yeah, technically I'm not the father of anything that breathes oxygen yet, but as far as I'm concerned the hard part is over. Now it's all socialization and norm enforcement, right? We've already washed our hands of the biological part. That's all I'm saying.

Anyway, Katie and I celebrated Mother's Day and Father's Day this year. I'm proud to say I am the new owner of, in alphabetical order: a hammer, a tape measure, a tool box, a multi-purpose screwdriver, and a wrench. Dads fix things. I am a/will be a Dad, ergo I must now fix things. Who needs something measured, rotated, and then smashed? I'm your go-to guy. But all told, it was a very sweet (and practical!) present.

So this year was essentially a warm-up for all future years. I guess from now on it's 10 years of macaroni jewlery, and then Red Hot Chili Peppers CDs until he/she moves out, too.

Mom's stomach, June 2006. (The baby is inside.)


Katie & Mike, June 2006.
Parents of the year, 2007-2025.

Dad and ultrasound pictures, June 2006. Ultrasound pictures, May 2006.
(I know the pictures here look as big as those novelty-sized checks lottery winners and golf finalists get, but I assure you it's just the magic of Photoshop — wallet-sized photos after the birth are good enough for me. Katie might say different.)
Photo and Photoshop courtesy of Mayana C. Slobodian.