Fatherly Knowledge

I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the boy over the weekend and this afternoon. It had me thinking about the things I'd learned since he was born as I've spent the past year as new Dad. I know the cliches about how having a child can change you and how there is never enough time because it goes by so fast. I'm not getting that deep or philosophical. This is pretty surface level stuff. Here's a little list that I came up with of what I've learned and discovered.

1. Gerber Graduates and other toddler brand snacks are pretty damn good. Seriously the toddler brand cheese puffs could give Cheetos a run for their money. They are so crisp and they practically melt in your mouth. Some of the other puff flavors like veggie dip are great too. Asher is nice enough to share some puffs with his Dad now and then, because he thinks putting food in my mouth is funny. However, I've been tempted to buy a couple cans of those things to keep at the office for snacks.

2. Toy stores are fun again. I'd jump into a toy store now and then to check on a video game or for comic book geek toys, but other than that toy stores were a quick shop kind of hunter/gatherer experience. Now its fun to browse through the whole store(well almost the whole, the girls toy section is still off limits). So many of the old standbys have change in regards to kids toys. Fisher Price Little People have sure come along way since the '70s. When I was a kid they were wooden pegs with wooden or plastic heads. Now the little people have legs, arms and much more elaborate playsets including a pirate ship which was Asher's big weekend purchase.

3. Diapers are not a big deal. I wasn't really concerned, but some guys relayed how much they hated diaper changing and how terrible it was to me before the kid was born. I guess having a dog really desensitized me to dealing with poo. Dirty diapers no matter how foul, really don't bug me. I'm not exactly a man with a steel stomach, these guys who have a gag reflex during diaper changes are some supreme wimps.

4. Whole new world of tv and music. My inner child still has me watching cartoons on a daily basis, but my days of watching PBS kids programming are long gone. I didn't realize how many new programs were out there. Asher doesn't really watch tv, we keep it on in the background for music when there isn't an iPod or radio nearby. My top show that I think are the most interesting would have to be: Noddy, Wonder Pets, and Kipper.

Noddy is based off of some British kids stories from the 50's. So the characters styles are that of old toys but they are brought to life with computers. It's an odd mesh of styles that I find hard not to look at. Plus the beginning theme song is kinda catchy in a cheesy kind of way.

Wonder Pets and Kipper are both cute for different reasons. Kipper's quiet adventures remind me of the tone of some of the Winnie the Pooh stories I liked when I was a kid. Nothing too over top, or zany.

Sure I know about Thomas the Tank Engine or Bob the Builder or any number of kids programs and characters, but those three are some of the ones I've just caught on with this past year.

Which reminds me the "Goodnight Show" is on the Sprout Network as I write this, I hope haven't missed Kipper yet.