Parenting is NOT Like Riding a Bike & Las Palmas

First of all, here is the video I mentioned last night that I wasn't able to load. I hope you get a kick out of it as much as we have:

Remember back in high school when you had that one class that was seemed impossible, and no matter how long you studied it didn't get any easier? And then when you passed it by a hair, you thought, "Phew. I hope I never have another class as difficult as that one?" Now imagine that one day you get a knock on the door, and it's your old math or English teacher standing there, holding an exam. And they tell you, "Johnny, I'm not leaving until this exam is completed, and you only have one chance to get it right." What would go through your head? How much of that class would you have actually remembered? Even after only a year or two, unless you've used the math or English in context continuously, you'd forget most of it, right?

Parenting kind of works that way. Now don't get me wrong- I love being a dad and daddy. My point with the example above is, how quickly we forget how to parent a particular age. When we were blessed with Ally, I remember trying to figure out what each whimper or facial expression was. Eventually we would figure it out so the next time around we knew how to handle it. But now, we are learning how to ride a new bike. Will's personality seems to be completely different than Ally's- he appears really calm and laid back (of course, Ally was at first too, I guess. Yikes!), but one thing the boy can do- go #2. We were awakened early this morning by a rumble- now keep in mind that we're near an airport, so turbulent noise isn't out of the ordinary, but this was in our room. I didn't know what the heck it was, and sat upright in bed. Beck kind of looked at me like, "What was THAT?!?", and the next thing we knew we were giving Will a bath. At 1 am. Gotta love parenting. I'll probably remind him of that at his wedding. :)

So we've been constantly changing diapers all day, and he's been double-diapered for most of it. But he's amazing- so content, and no amount of rumbles seem to phase him. Yep, he's a man all right!! In all seriousness though, please pray that this clears up quickly. Although he's been content, it can't be all that fun having your diaper changed so often.

That brings up the 2nd portion for tonight- where are we staying? Bienvenidos a Hotel Las Palmas!

Las Palmas was recently renovated, so for the most part that was deciding factor. It was a little less expensive too, so that certainly helped. So far we've been very impressed with the facilities and staff (you can see Juan, the GM, standing behind the pool table with the white shirt on). They are still doing other things- next on the list is the beds, which should be here in 3 weeks. That will be good, because when I sleep I feel like Fred Flintstone on a literal bed of rock. That and the fact that being 6'4" in a country where very few people are that tall presents a length challenge in bed. My feet hang over the foot board all night long, so I'm constantly waking up with my feet asleep. If there ever were a fire or emergency I'd have to have Beck give me a piggy back ride while holding Ally and Will. How much would you pay to see that?

But other than that, no complaints here. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, we have a park right across the street, Pomono (the grocery store) is only one block away, and we're together as a family for a few weeks. Once we get Will's tummy figured out and I figure out how to keep my feet from falling asleep, we'll be even better. Now if I can just remember how that whole parenting thing works...

God bless-

Scott, Beck, Ally, and Will