Nightly Mister Rogers

Years ago I started watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood episodes on YouTube. I was reintroduced to Fred Rogers, Mr. McFeely, Officer Clemmons, and the gang.

I also got to experience a lot of the great songs that got me through childhood again and again.

I don’t think I played them her very first night on Earth, but every night since I have made it a little ritual to play Kenway Officer Francois Clemmons’ rendition of “There Are Many Ways To Say I Love You” and Mister Rogers singing “It’s Such A Good Feeling.” Both celebrate life and love and everything that we’ve been trying to expose her to since 6:52am last Wednesday morning.

She might not be old enough to understand the words or appreciate the music, but they usually help her fall asleep!

If you have little ones you should look the songs up on YouTube. They’re both touching as hell and sung BEAUTIFULLY.

Children deserve nothing but the best.

Political Opinion: Babies/Fetuses

I managed to prevent myself from getting into a political argument on Facebook the other day. An old acquaintance of mine who is of the liberal persuasion posted a long post supporting pro-choice and berating people who “whine” that abortion is murder and that fetuses are not human beings.

She could not be more wrong if she tried. Fetuses ARE living creatures and more than that, they ARE human beings. After my daughter was born I am definitely more pro-life than I ever have been before. You see, my fiancé Alexis and I are extremely close. We don’t have much of a social life so we spend the vast majority of our free time together. I experienced every single part of her pregnancy with her and went to every doctor’s appointment. I got to see our baby grow through ultrasounds and in the tummy. Along the way, I really got to know her personality as she was developing. Towards the end, like clockwork at 8:30ish pm Kenway would get the hiccups. And she would get IRRITATED and squirm and jerk around in the womb if they last several minutes or so.

Now that she is born, she is the same way. The poor thing HATES getting the hicamabumps.

Fetuses are growing human beings who have personalities, limbs, faces, and their own DNA. They may not be sharing the outside world with us yet but there is not a single thing about them that sets them apart from any of us. Sometimes there are people born underdeveloped or handicapped in certain ways. We do not consider them less of people, so we? Why do we want to throw away precious life without any sort of emotion whatsoever?

I get that there are some rare circumstances where medically the mother will die without an abortion. For the sake of life, if there is no other choice then that is ok. But to abort because someone didn’t mean to get pregnant or because they feel they have a “right” are just two piss-poor examples of the lack of responsibility and maturity today’s generations are guilty of. But that is a different topic for a different day.

Babies are people. Fetuses are people, they’re just growing still. There is no good excuse, save the emergency rare situation detailed above, that gives anybody a right to murder them. There are countless people in the world who will do your job and raise the child if you won’t.

Is it asking that much for life?

First Doctor’s Appointment

Alexis, her mom, and I got to take the baby to her first visit with the pediatrician today! We were sitting in the waiting room and a couple chairs over from us was a mom with a six-month old boy who was so happy for us. We talked for several minutes until he had to go get his shots. One thing that has tickled me since day one is how POPULAR Kenway is. She is such a beautiful baby and people gravitate to her. The receptionists, the nurse, and the doctor were all in love with her.

She’s gotten a teence bigger and an inch longer since she was born. The rest of the umbilical cord should be gone in the next couple of days. Other than all that, everything looks good and healthy!

Alexis and I could not be prouder.