Brandon Gilbert

I’ve had this Blog for 7 months now. This is the longest I’ve ever kept a blog up and running. I get lots of inspiration though, from my little guy. I appreciate all the kind word of encouragement, and most importantly I appreciate you just for coming and reading. I am thinking about printing some t-shirts to sell on here. Here is the first one, and I have a couple more to come. Click on the picture to get a better look. Leave a Comment and let me know what you think.

So, where do my visitors come from? Below is a list. Let me know who is who!

Cordova, Alabama
Madison, Alabama
Warrior, Alabama
Northport, Alabama
Jasper, Alabama
Florence, Alabama
Decatur, Alabama
Pinson, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Wellington, Alabama
Opelika, Alabama
Stevenson, Alabama
Sheffield, Alabama
Clanton, Alabama
Bessemer, Alabama
Empire, Alabama
Studley, Warwickshire, United Kingdom
Starkville, Mississippi
Arlington Heights, Illinois
Laurel, Maryland
Jersey City, New Jersey
Chicago, Illinois
Nashville, Tennessee
Douglasville, Georgia
Nis, Serbia Proper, Serbia
Franklin, Tennessee
Palestine, Texas
Rome, Georgia
Saint Louis, Missouri
Treviso, Veneto, Italy
Mississippi State, Mississippi
Tucker, Georgia
Lexington, North Carolina
Goodlettsville, Tennessee
Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India
Kaunas, Kauno Apskritis, Lithuania
Madison, Mississippi
Columbus, Georgia
Norcross, Georgia
Ellijay, Georgia
Alpharetta, Georgia
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Zvolen, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
Banská Bystrica, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
Söderkulla, Southern Finland, Finland
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Rochester, New York
White House, Tennessee
Mableton, Georgia
Charlotte, North Carolina
Taipei, T’ai-pei, Taiwan
Caribou, Maine
Stratford, Connecticut
Fall River, Massachusetts
Malibu, California
Seattle, Washington
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Plano, Texas
Greenock, Inverclyde, United Kingdom
Beijing, China
Dayton, Ohio
Jersey City, New Jersey
Beijing, China
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Surabaya, Jawa Timur, Indonesia
Baltimore, Maryland
Huntington, West Virginia
Edgewater, Maryland
Lilburn, Georgia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Huntsville, Alabama
Adger, Alabama
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Singapore, Singapore
Gallatin, Tennessee
Rainbow City, Alabama
Irvine, California
Atlanta, Georgia
Adana, Turkey
Runnemede, New Jersey
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Somerset, Kentucky
Mcdonough, Georgia
Todmorden, York, United Kingdom
Morris, New York
Mount Juliet, Tennessee
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Bronx, New York
Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
Czech Republic
Tianjin, China
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Willis, Texas
Los Angeles, California
Saint Louis, Missouri
Denver, Colorado
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Houston, Texas
Columbia, Tennessee
Corona, California
Johnson City, Tennessee
Vincennes, Indiana
Austin, Texas
Ridgecrest, California
Silverdale, Washington
Casper, Wyoming,
Conroe, Texas
Mcdonough, Georgia
Las Piñas, Rizal, Philippines
Pleasanton, California
Fort Myers, Florida
Rancho Santa Margarita, California
Flushing, New York
Bakersfield, California

As a parent, you know that sometimes you have to put one over on your kids to help them learn. We’re born into this world strong-willed and until you get to the point of “I’m the parent, that’s why,” you sometimes have to use a little a little trickery to get them things they need.

I told you about my use of sleight of hand to get Ryne to eat his veggies, and I’m sure a lot of you have your own stories of how you’ve had to get your kids to do what you needed them to. One new thing that I’m trying with Ryne is to get him to stand more on his own. He’s doing that pretty well, and I’ve moved on to the next step which is trying to get him to pull up on his own to stand. The way I devised to help make this fun for him is to play “Fort.”

The first time I realized he could enjoy playing Fort even being so young is that I built one out of pillows on mine and Jamie’s bed for him to play in. I just wanted to see what his reaction would be. He enjoyed the construction of the Fort almost as much as playing in it. He loved for me to throw the pillows so that he could feel the “whoosh” as the pillows fell beside him. He laughed and laughed as each pillow fell into place.

Once the Fort was constructed, he rolled from side to side and climbed the pillows, and wrestled with them. It was the most fun he’s had in his life I believe. It probably has to do with Jamie and I having a King-Sized bed. He had lots of room to move around and explore. I decided to capitalize on this fun and create a Fort for him in his crib to see if he could start pulling up and standing up more on his own.

My plan worked to perfection. The first time I stood him him up, he held onto the Crib for about 2 minutes. I guess he got tired and he let go and fell. This is where my plan took a detour. He realized that the falling was way more fun than standing up (and who wouldn’t want to fall into a pile of pillows that are all the size of your body?). As soon as he would fall, he was ready for me to pull him back up to the crib so he could fall again. Here’s some video so you can see:

In the end, he didn’t pull up on his own, but…he did start sitting down in the crib by holding onto the side instead of just plopping down, so that’s some progress. We had a blast playing Fort, so I get to have fun with my son, and hopefully teach him to pull up at the same time.

As my son crosses more and more things off the list of life skills learned, we’re ready for him to start crawling. He doesn’t think that it’s all that important, however. He will walk if you hold him up by the arms. He’s finally starting to hold onto things by himself to stand….though pulling up hasn’t quite happened. It’s all part of a process though.

I can’t help but think that in his mind, crawling is completely unnecessary. He’s devised a way of getting around all his own. I am sure other kids have done this, but it’s just so funny to see his face when Jamie or I try to get him to crawl to us. There’s a method to his madness, though:

First, he rolls onto his belly and then pushes up so he can see everything.
Next, he eyes the target of wherever he’s trying to go.
Then, he musters up the courage it takes to try to get there.
Next, he tries to go, and realizes that somehow he has become embedded in quicksand as no matter how hard he’s telling his body to crawl, it’s just not going anywhere. You can see the determination on his face, but the body parts aren’t quite in sync to provide forward movement.
Then we have a pouting phase. He realizes that he’s just not getting the results he wants and wonders if he’ll ever be able to get to the goal he wants. So there’s a little distress. There’s not as much crying as there used to be, but there’s a little bit of discontented baby gibberish that sounds very similar to a fit of Tourette’s Syndrome.
Then, it hits him. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. If he wants to get to Mommy/Daddy/Stuffed Animal Friend/Blocks/etc… he just acts like he’s on fire. He stops, drops, and rolls. Here’s video:

But see, his method of getting the blocks was more effective, because if you notice at the end, he not only got to the block I was holding for him, he also picked one up with his feet which is far more impressive. Oh well, we’ll keep trying.

It’s 3:24 AM as I start to write this, so I apologize if it rambles or is incoherent. I was awaken by a hungry 7 month old, but his Mommy took care of that. As I lay in bed, I couldn’t get back to sleep and was in one of those modes where the mind races, while the body wants to attack the mind and put it in a sleeper hold.

I feel as though I’ve come to a crossroads in my life. Next month I will turn 29. It’ll be the last year of my twenties. I am not conceited enough to believe I am old by any means, nor do I feel 30 is an undesirable age. It does however make me stop and take stock of things, and what I find I do not like. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty that is good in my life. I have the most wonderful help-mate in Jamie (who despite the phrase being cheesed-up in Jerry McGuire, really does complete me). I have the sweetest, cutest little boy. His adventures in teaching me what it means to be a Dad is what fuels this blog. I have two wonderful parents who brought me up in what appears to be the most stable of home environments I’ve seen. I have wonderful in-laws who love us and raised their daughter to be the most amazing woman. I have grandparents who are great, and despite my lack of siblings, I have several cousins that grew up with me like brothers and sisters.

However, when taking stock there’s also a lot I don’t like at all. The number one problem with most of it is procrastination. For as long as I can remember I have always put off things until the last minute. I don’t know why I do it. But, there are things from the age of being a teenager that I said I was going to do, but 10-15 years later, I still haven’t done them, and I continue to add to this list daily. This isn’t some bucket list where I haven’t traveled to Japan or ran with the Bulls in Pamplona. (not a big deal, by the way…if I want to run with bulls, there are plenty of them on Jamie’s Grandfather’s farms in Lawrence County, AL, but I digress…) This is stuff that should help me be a better person in better health and in better position to take care of my family financially and to help my fellow man.

The first thing that has gotten in the way is repeated abuse of the number 1 commandment. Exodus 20:3 says “No other gods, only me.” (From The Message, because I love the simplicity of the statement). Now, I have never carved out a god and built a throne for it. I have never melted down gold and turned it into a golden calf. I cannot, however, count how many things over the years that I have allowed to become more important to me than God. So many things have robbed me of time from Him. Not only that, I’ve allowed things to rob time away from myself that would benefit me in being able to be the man I ought to be. I’ve allowed things to rob my wife of time that is best spent together, especially since time together is such a commodity with the little fella around.

I’ve always heard that the first step to solving a problem is admitting that you have one. Well, I’m admitting it. I have a problem, and truth be told I have many problems. I don’t want to have them anymore. I want to be able to be the Father my son needs me to be. I want to be a great example to him and show him how we’re supposed to live out this short time that we’re given. I want him to know to make the most of this life. But he’ll never be able to see any of that unless I can live it out in front of him.

I am making several goals to achieve by my 30th Birthday. I recently read an article by Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson publishing on the 6 keys to achieving big goals. One of those keys is to go public with your commitment. So I amgoing public with some of my goals. These are not New Years Resolutions, these are life changes I want to am going to make.

I will:
1. Have my first book published.
2. Lose 120 lbs.
3. Make sure my time spent reading and learning outweighs time spent watching television.
4. Volunteer my time with those less fortunate than I.
5. Find out if the last goal I listed is grammatically correct.
6. Remember that my relationship with God is one of Father and Son, and not one of Genie and Master.

These are just some of my goals. I have a lot to work on. One thing is for sure, I have to quit procrastinating. I’ve wasted almost 30 years doing that. That’s why when I felt I needed to write this out, I did so at 3:30 in the morning. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading.

As Ryne gets older, we finally started him on solid foods last month. When he started, it was the same as it was when he was born. He didn’t care what the food was like, he just wanted it in his belly. He had started to get infatuated with big people food and staring at people while they ate. That can be a bit unsettling.

The more foods we’ve given him though, the more he realizes the difference in tastes in food and that there are some that he just doesn’t like that much. So far, he’s had rice cereal, apples, peas, carrots, avocado, and broccoli is up next. He is a typical kid. The Apples are a big hit and Carrots are OK. He’s not too keen on the green stuff, though he’ll eat it with a little coaxing or trickery. I found that I can get the food in if I hide what color it is until the last second before it goes in his mouth. I’ll hold his plate below the high chair tray and then whn Ryne wants another bite, I’ll get the spoon in there quick. When he tastes the bad stuff, he’ll give me a look that says “hey, you tricked me!” When I try to give him another bite, he’ll give me another look that says “fool me once, shame on you…” Eventually hunger thoughts overpower the memory fo the taste he didn’t like.

There’s also the tried and true method of “here comes the choo-choo,” or if you prefer, “here comes the airplane…” followed by us as grown adults making the noises of said choo-choo or airplane. This is a very effective method to get your kids to eat, but it begs the question of how bad does the food actually taste that the thought of eating a train or an airplane is actually more enticing than the peas or broccoli? I am sure that when they get a little older, the first time that they try to eat a train or an airplane, they will be very disappointed.

Here is some video of Ryne’s first time with solid food:

Up until this video was taken, Ryne had always stayed in his room when we were cleaning and he always seemed to do fine with the noise of the vacuum through the door. I could use it right outside his door and he would stay asleep if he was sleeping, or he would just keep playing if he was awake. I decided to see if he would be as comfortable with it if he was in the same room. It’s fun if you play it with the sound off first and try and guess when the vacuum turns on.