Baby Bucket List

As the days fly by and our son keeps getting bigger and bigger, the list of things that I want to do with him keeps getting longer. Actually, it is not just about things I want to do with him, it is also about the milestones that I am looking forward to witnessing. While by no means my complete list of scribbles, here are a few of the things that I am looking forward to as our son grows up:  

1. First Words – He is already proving to be quite the vocal child and while he is already making a sound similar to that of saying ‘Hi’ when I come home from work, I am looking forward to hearing that first distinct word. I am hoping that it will be either mommy or daddy (or something similar) but I am not completely ruling out the possibility that we could have a similar instance than that seen in “Meet The Fockers”.

2. Crawling./ Walking – He has surprised us at this point by standing with little help from either of us (we are mostly there for stability) but he also has no interest in laying on his tummy so I am curious to see how this progresses. While a whole new host of issues arise once he becomes mobile, I am looking forward to the day when he demonstrates this little kernel of independence.

3. Pool / Swimming – This one is more for my wife. We haven’t taken him to a pool yet. This should be an interesting experience. Hopefully he likes the pool as much as he enjoys his bath (at least the first half of the bath).

4. Baseball – Now we are progressing a little further in his development. While he has already shown an interest in throwing things and watching baseball on TV (made for a quiet dinner at Fox & Hound last week), I am looking forward to putting those two things together. I just hope he got his grandfather’s athletic ability because it definitely skipped me.  

5. Lodge Events – While we have taken him to the lodge once I am looking forward to the future events both at my lodge as well as other masonic events in the area (and outside the area like our trip to Pittsburgh coming up). There are a lot of us with young kids and I really want to see all of us get together for an experience far different from those on meeting nights.

6. Synagogue – We are a little behind on this one. While there isn’t much that he will comprehend early on, we want our son to be used to going to synagogue and make it part of his routine. We need to get moving on this search.

7. First Day of School – Again, looking into the future. This is a milestone that I think every parent looks forward to happening. I will be there the day that this happens (mixed emotions and all). Hopefully he proves to be a better student than his father.

8. Family History – My wife and I have spent a lot of time learning about our families and we want to share those histories with our son. We want to make sure that he knows where he comes from and learns all about the people we come from both more recent and in the distant past. Hopefully, I can find some answers along the way and share these discoveries with him. After all, he is a continuation of both our families.

9. Family Reunions – This is something that my wife and I agreed is incredibly important for us as a family. We are starting this year with my side of the family (I will be writing extensively about our trip to Virginia this summer) followed by my wife’s family next year. We plan on going back and forth every year. Again, we want our son to know his family and family history.

10. Family Vacations – In addition to bringing our son to some of the places that my wife have been and enjoyed over the last several years both local (i.e. Jim Thorpe, Gettysburg, Knoebels, etc.) and not so local (i.e. Florida, Massachusetts, London, Israel, etc.), we are also looking forward to exploring new places and destinations with him. While we have no idea where those places will be at this point, it is still fun to think of the possibilities.  

As I previously mentioned, there are countless other things that I am looking forward to but this at least gives you an idea of some of the things that I am eagerly anticipating. There are a few things that I have already been able to check off (cooing, smiling, first weekend trip, etc.) but the list is growing much faster than we are able to take things off. I guess this is also a part of parenthood… the annoying, slightly OCD, impatient part.  

So I now turn things over to you: What does your list look like? What have you already checked off? What are some of the things that you wish you had done?