Freedom Day & the Freedom of a Child

Monday, the 27th April; Freedom Day – The day that celebrates the first post-apartheid elections held in South Africa.
Also it is becoming increasingly obvious that Stephen is trying to be free himself; in any way that he so chooses. It just so happens that when I just want a certain photograph he chooses not to comply,

ha ha ha.

Anyway, as Stephen starts testing the boundaries of free will and Daddy’s patience, he is learning to be independent with he very own personality. It is also a time where I need to be there to help him – and I am, I am enjoying it all the way (ok I do get frustrated – who doesn’t).
Here are some cool pictures we took on this day.

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The Sound of Thunder

The other day we had some thunder and lightning; not something Stephen has seen or heard before. Needless to say he got a bit of a fright. However it has brought a new word to his vocab that he now uses to pretty much describe anything that makes a loud noise.

Got any examples of some crazy words or descriptions that your child has used?

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Retro Cool Kid

My favorite Picture KFM we are open for negotiations, he he he.

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Don’t kick my chair!

[Guest post by Ron Tuffin. Ron is a good friend of mine from a previous job and from Church, his friendship and his praying for me back then is a perfect example of our church's Invest and Invite strategy.You can catch Ron on Twitter or on his blog; Just Plain Ron. Ron knows something about fatherhood way more than me; going on his second princess now - we are praying for him and his family for the hectic first weeks of a new born.]

Despite my views on karma, when we consider parenting there is a very real cyclic feel to things. Time and time again I find myself responding to my kids in ways my parents responded to me. And I find CJ, especially, responding to me in much the same way I responded to my parents ‘back in the day’.

Investing Time in your Children

I am a father that places massive worth in the time that I spend with my son; especially now in these first years of his life. I know the whole argument of quality vs quantity; that more does not mean better and the that the time we do spend must be worthwhile. Sometimes my son just wants me to be there, to be nearby and to be there to watch or help. A lot of the time he needs me to be involved and interactive.
At my work I make an effort to arrive and leave on time – not because I am a clock watcher but because the time I have with my Wife and son is important. There is always an exception and sometimes work must come first – but not everyday, not every weekend, that would be criminal.

Feeding Stephen

Supper time with Stephen can be great fun so long as he does not swallow me.

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Secrets of Fatherhood

I have been a father for 20 months and has been a fantastic time – most of the time . The times when it has no been is when I felt that I could not interact with why son, whether to play, calm or be firm. Stephen is just entering toddlership and is really only beginning to engage with me. Now I have begun to wonder; what are the secrets of fatherhood; are their any? Well these are my thoughts from my point of view as a father to a really cool son:

Fist Bump

This is the coolest thing

Thanks to Gareth from (G-Augmented a.k.a. @garethjrichards) Stephen quickly learned the fist bump, what a smart kid.

What is the Coolest thing your child has done?

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Waxing Stephenical – Stephen enters our World

This is a bit of a jump back, but like I say in my About Video – this aint gonna be very professional
Stephen was laying breached in the womb, we knew that by the time of this picture; doesn’t Kathy look positivity radiant? – ok I am biased.

There was a bit of a rush to get to the hospital – the gyne examination showed that Kathy’s water was low, ending with a long wait for an emergency Cesarean section (our was not quite emergency ) to be pushed ahead of us. Finally we got into the theater. Shenna was there to help which was great.

Stephen come into the world completely covered in wax. He had been sucking on his wrist so had a bit of a mark to start off with. After a bit of a wail we made sure that I got a chance to hold him. After a few minutes Kathy was going – like when is it my turn – come on hand him over, ok not quite like that.

He was so precious

Weighing in just under 3kgs he was a bit on the small size but he was also 21 days premature.

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Stephen’s First Steps

29th September 2008, Stephen was just a few weeks past his 1st birthday and I had just come home. Kathy had brought Stephen to the door, supporting him in the standing position. I opened the door and was greeted with the usual squeal of delight; the same squeal that I hear even now 7 months later. Kneeling down with the keys in my hand I tempted Stephen to come fetch them, come to think of it that is why he still insists to this day to play with the keys – it’s all my fault, Stephen for the first time took unaided steps; 3 of them to grab the keys.

Amazing.

It was brilliant to be there and to witness that with Kathy.
Of course like most situations like this we did not have the camera ready, but we immediately attempted to replicate the result:

Were you successful in recording your child’s first steps?

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