djByron [Dan Byron]husband, father, christian, musician & technophile ( but not a dj )

Parenting is something you can never mentally prepare for, never physically prepare for (phew) and never truly appreciate until you’re in deep. It starts off a little hard (rough nights, never-ending diaper changes and manuals), gets a little easier with toddlerhood and when they finally become little people it gets interesting.  They converse, they comprehend, they play, they pretend, they test boundaries, they whine and they love . Ah yes, the love. While it’s hard some days and there will always be questions, I can say without a doubt I’m so glad to be ‘dadding’ two boys.

‘JCB’ Song by Mizlopi.
HT Vince

Thought this video was too cute/funny.  Evan’s own arrangement of ‘Jesus Loves Me’ in an Ironman suit. The little guy loves to sing and play. I mentioned on Facebook that it would be cool if wearing superhero costumes was commonplace for adults at some point in the future. Going into the office in an Ironman suit and nobody thought anything of it…

[View video on post]

Ironman sings Jesus Loves Me from djByron on Vimeo.

We ended up getting a new flash-based Canon HD camcorder before we went on our vacation, so posting video online is going to be much easier!

Brin posted an amazing blog entry today summarizing our 2008!

Today I reflect on everything I am thankful for in 2008.

• God :: He’s blessed my life with so much. He truly is the giver of all good things!
• Family :: My wife Brin my two little guys Evan and Tanner and yea I’ll throw our dog Uno in there too.
• Extended Family :: I have awesome parents, three great brothers and their families who live nearby. Two of my grandparents passed away this year who lived amazing lives. I’m thankful for the example they’ve given me, they won’t be forgotten.
• Friends :: Surrounded by so many wonderful people here in upstate NY.
• Home :: Blessed with a nice home in a great location.
• Future :: Life is good when you live for God. Knowing that he has it all in control is a comforting thought.
• Job :: I work for an amazing company with an amazing group of people.

What are you thankful for? Comment below, or add a link to your ‘thankful post’ (if you have one)!

Terrible twos?

For Brin and I, two was easy compared to three when toddler-hood ended and “I’m a little person who wants to become a part of society” began. Having a little boy is such an awesome yet challenging experience. Granted he’s always been a good boy, but it seems that all of a sudden things just started changing and the boundaries were being tested daily.

So it was really cool when in Maine last week when Brin and I had a chance to reflect and re-focus. One evening when the sun and beach finally got the best of BOTH of our little guys, they fell asleep in the double stroller we decided to keep walking. For the next hour or so we strolled the streets of Ogunquit and had a great talk about life, the kids and our direction as parents. Sure we’ve taken the classes and we’ve read the books, but it’s so hard to be completely prepared for all of the first-child-firsts They’re the parenting “guinea pig” so-to-speak. We found ourselves asking each other and friends, “what do we do here?” Or, “I know we read or heard about this situation somewhere, but still… what should we do?”

After the kids woke up from their stroller nap and the walk was done we both felt re-focused and back on track. Since that day a week ago we’ve seen very noticeable results in the little one’s behavior and it’s an awesome feeling to know that they are headed in the right direction as a result of one’s re-focused actions. I’m sure over the next 18+ years, Brin and I will take many more “focus walks” and that’s a good thing.

All I ask is: “God give us the grace and wisdom to raise Evan and Tanner right.” After all, there are no do-overs…

On Memorial Day I decided to take Evan and climb up West Mtn. to see if there was any snow left. I had always wanted to climb up there myself late in the season so we BOTH had a blast! I love my little guy, here’s to many more hikes!

It’s hard to believe that snow can last that long up there, especially when it was almost 90 degrees the entire preceding week. It took so long for me to get this posted because I decided I would use it as a reason to learn Final Cut. Not that most of what you see couldn’t have been done in iMovie but I wanted to learn some of the ropes of the software.

Is it all us guys? Is it all parents? Or is it just me?

Am I the only one who worries that my baby will emerge from the womb and not be beautiful? It it just me or is there always that slight fear that you’ll sire something out of the movie “I Am Legend”? I know I can’t be the only one who has this unfounded fear for the nine months leading up to the big day. Please tell me I’m not crazy.

And then in an instant all fear is gone… Daddy loves you Tanner!

This was captured via Twitter in near real-time.

Dan:
Saturday, June 21 at 11:48 AM
Now that I’m back from DC @bringirl can have this baby anytime…

Dan:
Wednesday, June 25 at 12:41 PM
Ultrasound shows the little guy (Tanner) at 8 lbs 6 ozs with two weeks left to go. And he has a “big belly”. (haven’t heard that one before)

Dan:
Thursday, July 3 at 12:07 PM
@bringirl just called. Doc said, based on “how things look”, we should be having this baby any minute.

Brin:
Thursday, July 3 at 12:20 PM
Tanner’s coming soon!

Dan:
Thursday, July 3 at 7:34 PM
Possibe contractions

Dan:
Thursday, July 3 at 10:30 PM
Twitter goes down exactly when Brin’s water broke. 9:00 PM

Dan:
Thursday, July 3 at 10:30 PM
At hospital around 10PM

Dan:
Thursday, July 3 at 10:56 PM
Perfect night to have a baby… 68 degrees and breezy. At car to get the rest of our “gear”.

Dan:
Thursday, July 3 at 11:21 PM
Contractions 10x worse and 10x faster..

Dan:
Thursday, July 3 at 11:49 PM
Epidural done… Though still waiting on the effects

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 12:00 AM
Life is good (epidural is working)

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 12:08 AM
Our grandmother’s 90th b-day is today. (mommom) Really cool..

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 12:08 AM
http://twitpic.com/35j6 – Looks like it’s going to be a fourth of July baby!

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 12:16 AM
http://twitpic.com/35jl –

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 12:25 AM
Now we wait…

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 12:37 AM
Getting asked the same group of health history questions a third time by a third person.

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 1:35 AM
Time to push already!!

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 2:56 AM
Here’s Tanner!!!

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 3:05 AM
http://twitpic.com/35nq – Tanner

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 3:15 AM
8 lbs 15 ozs, 23″ long, full head of black hair

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 3:23 AM
Nurses are saying that they’ve never measured a 23″ baby since they’ve been here??

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 3:45 AM
http://twitpic.com/35ol – Now sleep…. sleep…

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 6:22 AM
Wow… so this is what a half hour of sleep feels like Then again I can’t imagine how Brin feels after going through all that.

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 11:25 AM
http://twitpic.com/361h – Grandpa & Grandma here for a visit. #tanner

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 2:49 PM
http://twitpic.com/36gw – Tanner meet uncle Joel (@jtbyron)

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 3:51 PM
At home now picking up big brother Evan to see his new baby brother Tanner for the first time. Should be awesome!

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 4:57 PM
http://twitpic.com/36q8 – Evan got Tanner a welcome gift, but is getting distracted in the Target toy dept

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 5:37 PM
http://twitpic.com/36to – Evan and Tanner meet at last

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 6:09 PM
http://twitpic.com/36vk – Tanner likes Evans gift

Dan:
Friday, July 4 at 9:07 PM
NEVER before have I been this tired… Just enough stamina to type this and then I’m out till the AM. Tanner comes home tomorrow!

Brin and I have been married 11 years! Yea ELEVEN already (I guess that’s what happens when you get married young!) But in my case it’s been easy with someone so wonderful. Through the good times and bad she never ceases to amaze me. She’s the most natural mother I know, the most organized person I know and an all-around amazing person. She’s disciplined enough to work out of the home, keeps the house clean and takes care of our son during the day all without skipping a beat.

When you get married young you never know what you’re really in for. All you know is that you “love” this person when in all honesty you don’t learn what real love is until you’ve been married a few years. All I can say is that I really lucked out finding her. In the words of one Jerry Maguire, she “completes me”, picking up where I leave off and vice versa.

So do we have the perfect marriage and perfect family? Heck no!! (though some believe that we seem to think so) All I can say is that we’ve sown good seed so far and we’re reaping the benefits of that good seed. Yea there are rough patches along the way, but with each day we gain experience, we learn something new and we get a little closer to each other. The key here is “learning”. So many people I know don’t learn from their experiences or apply things they read or hear.

While I’m not sure what’s around the corner with another little one on the way, one thing is for sure… With a woman by my side as amazing as she is, we’re ready for whatever comes our way together.

I can honestly say now that having a child really puts God’s love for us in perspective. I’ve heard this most of my life but you can never relate until it actually happens to you. I’ve read the creation story countless times of how he created man to have a free will and of his desire for us to worship Him. I’ve read the stories of His time here on earth and how he died for us. And these are amazing accounts of His love for man. But there’s something about being able to relate to God’s relationship to mankind.



Seeing our little guy get hurt or well up with tears wanting our forgiveness will melt a father’s heart. Being a father gives you special insight into just why God created man. There’s NOTHING like your child showing you love out of free-will. There’s also NOTHING like the paing in having to discipline your child because because you love him/her. And there’s NOTHING like your child running into your arms after that discipline with tear filled eyes telling you he loves you so much.

“Evan, these first three years have flown by! Now that Tanner’s on his way I’m looking back on our first three years together and how wonderful they’ve been. Watching you grow from baby to little boy has been an amazing experience for a father. One that I could never have prepared for, but I wouldn’t change for the world. Each day holds something special and new as you learn the ropes of life. I’m so proud of you! You’re such a polite little guy saying “please”, “thank you” and “no thank you”. You will remind us to pray when we happen to forget (usually at restaurants). You love to dance, sing, play your drums and occasional air guitar. You love being with friends young and old. Just know that your mom and dad love you so very much and we’ll be by your side as you grow, enjoying every minute! – Daddy“