This past weekend we ended a week-long celebration of Bean’s birthday at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  Now, the animal kingdom isn’t really my cup of tea.  I’m more along the lines of the thrill seeker type.  Actually ANY other park would have suited me better.  Magic Kingdom has a few pretty good rides, Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM) has a great roller coaster and the Tower of Terror, you can drink around the world at Epcot, Seaworld has two great roller coasters and they give you two free beers, and Universal Studios has the best rides around.  For the men out there, these are the parks that you want to focus on when visiting.

The problem for me is that Katie hates thrill rides.  She gets nervous watching them fly down a 100′ drop and turn into a barrel roll and twist and turn as fast as they can.  So…  because of that and because the little man is a little too little to get on those rides we ended up going to the Animal Kingdom.  However we had a great time and they have one coaster, so I was happy.  Mount Everest is nothing crazy, but you sit in a train car and zip around a few corners.  The ride got pretty exciting when half-way through it came to a stop and went backwards down a different track in the dark.  That part was great.  They also have one of the typical water rides in a big round raft that 8 other people sit in.  It’s not the best one I’ve ever seen, but its great for a hot afternoon in Orlando.

What I loved most about the park was their attention to detail.  Of course all of the parks have details so amazing that you sometimes can’t tell if its real or fake, and I love seeing all of that stuff.  Given my background in scenery, I always appreciate the work that goes into it all.  This was my favorite:

They paved the road on the safari to look like mud with tire tracks.  Yes…  That is a paved road with fake tracks… That is freaking brilliant.  And it looked amazing.

Bean Man was a trooper that day.  I mean, I was dead at the end of the day but that little guy just kept on crusin!  He loved every minute of it.  I have to admit, at first I was against the whole let’s spend $80 a person to go to the park for a day for Bean’s first birthday.  To me it was going to be a total waste of money we don’t really have right now.  He was only turning one, which means he wasn’t going to remember the day, so why waste the money??  But I will tell you, and just keep this between you and me, Kate was absolutely right on this one.  After seeing his eyes light up at the shows and the characters, it was 1000% worth every penny.  Bean Man won’t tell you, but I can tell you that it was probably the best day of his little life.  He had so much fun!

I learned a valuable lesson in parenting this past weekend.  When kids are little, even though they don’t know any better, it is still SO important to value those times together and make those days just as important as if they were 5 or 10 or 15.  Sure they aren’t going to remember the day years later, but that’s why you take pictures and videos.  Your kids deserve the best that you can give them whether that’s a blow up swimming pool in the backyard or a day at the parks.  As long as your spending time with them and celebrating their big day, they will think its the best thing ever.

Dear BeanMan,

I can’t believe its been a year already. Last year when we woke up today, we were grinning from ear to ear and poking you in your mom’s belly. Your mom and I were so excited that day. We didn’t know what was about to happen, but it didn’t matter, we knew it would be great. Then you came and it was so much more than great.

Bean Man, you have changed our lives. You made us a family! Its something we had always talked about but I never thought that it we be this much fun. From the first little speck on the monitor to the little man you have grown into, I can say that you have made me the happiest dad in the world. You brighten my day with your smile and laughs.

I know your only one year old, but you have taught me how to be a better person. You taught me how to be patient and I will always be thankful for that Bean. I can’t wait for you to grow up so I can teach you the same thing. I am going to teach you everything I know. We will build tree forts and I will teach you how to ski. I will teach you how to play golf and how to drive a stick shift. It makes me excited thinking about it because I know its going to be so much fun.

But for today, on your first birthday, the day when you finally get a number, I just want to tell you I Love You. This has been the best year of my life and you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Love You Buddy, Happy Birthday.
Dad

***************

Read Katie’s birthday letter to Bean over in The Bean’s Page.

Be sure to check out the Bean’s birthday video slide show over on the Confessions page.

I have been working for two weeks now and I think its time to say it.

Yes.

I admit it.

I loved not working.

It was bad once a month when we needed to pay the bills. Other than that, I played golf twice a week and made breakfast every morning. I watched daytime TV and played with Bean all day. I could watch movies and eat popcorn all day if I wanted and anytime we need to go somewhere we could just go. Those two months were fantastic. I never realized how busy I could stay without a job and looking back there were only a couple of days with nothing to do. On top of all of this, for the first time in his little life, Bean Man and I had all day together. Kate and I have always worked except in the very beginning and I think it was great family time. I think the transition would have been bad if I had started right away. Being off for two months gave us stable ground here in OTown. Believe me even with two months off stability was not easy to get.

Making a big move like this was tough. Sometimes it felt like the wrong move and other times it felt really good. It was back and forth like that all the time, and still is sometimes. But we just kept pressing forward and finding the good moments until that cloud passed. And it has for the most part. I think we made it to the other side. This house certainly isn’t helping matters, and Kate not working is still rough. But she is doing good. She seems better everyday. Yes, she has rough days, but they are few and far between now. To tell you the truth, I’m really proud of her right now. She is more focused than I have ever seen her. She is living her dream, and kicking its ass. I’m so happy that she found the right agent. It’s making a world of difference, and this book is going to knock your socks off. Really. She reads everything she writes to me and all I can say is its my story and when she is reading it to me, I never want the chapter to end.

But that is not what I wanted to tell you today. I wanted to say that I thought it was going to be hard going back to work after all of that great stuff above. But truthfully, going back has made all of that better. Finally we are in a little routine again. Work is great and what a change of environment for me. Everyone I work with wants to be there and everyone wants me to be there. I work with my superiors instead of never seeing them. It is a wonderful place and I’m glad to work there. Also coming home and seeing that ear to ear smile that Bean gives me when I walk in the door makes it all worth it.

Like I said, some days aren’t the best. And things will get even better when Kate gets this job. But I think we can see that we are on the right path. We are here for a reason. We left that wonderful place in CT for a reason. We are at another stage in our life and I am happy for the future.