5.5 months

i'm writing most of this entry on june 20th, 2010, my first father's day.
this picture is a few months old but i think you all get the idea.
that's right.
i accidentally glued my nose to my child.
the doctor said it's not the first time he's seen this, but i sort of wonder. i mean, excuse me for wanting to be close to my son... and forgetting that just seconds before this picture was taken i had placed a small but effectively strong dab of industrial adhesive on the tip of my sniffer.
would it help if i promised it will never happen again?
well, i'm sorry but i can't do that.

*********
big news!
literally...

at 27.5 inches, PD is now officially taller then the shortest man on earth! as you can imagine, this is a huge relief to me. i have lived the passed 6 months with a dreadful fear that my son, despite his preordained mission to one day save the planet, would end up being the shortest man on that very planet that he exists, as mentioned just now, to save.
i'm sure you'll all join me in a collective "phew!"
(collectively)
phew!
thank you.

p.s. - he's pushin' the scales at 24+ pounds at this point and he's not even on solid foods yet. not entirely true. he did eat little pieces of banana and delicious farmer's market strawberries (what else!) on memorial day weekend at our good friend josh's house upstate. and a few days before that he licked a grape but didn't actually eat it. baby steps. or in this case, baby licks.

CUTE PICTURE ALERT!
CUTE PICTURE ALERT!!

this one's titled "find the baby"
clever, right?
(bonus points for finding the baby's hand.)

and one more for good measure...

swingin' with his girlfriend, talia.
(PD's the one in the hat who looks kind of like winston churchill.)

developments...
- he's learning how to sit up, but based on his progress i can't help but suspect he's been drinking.
- he slept for ten hours straight recently!... once... then he stopped doing that.
- he now seems to be laughing at specific things, though cleverly worded political satire is not yet one of them.
- he's been toying with the idea of constipation, but then every few days he let's us know the hard way that he's simply toying with it.
- he's teething, and though i can't specifically recall the experience myself, he certainly makes it sound unpleasant.
- he smiles from his crib when you walk into his room in the morning. it's very, very nice.

we now interrupt this blog for a message from parker delgado havlan
MAGICAL LINK TO MESSAGE
(http://bit.ly/GD3YSr)

one of the fun things about having a baby is you get to buy a lot of things that you don't really need but you can easily convince yourself will be good for the baby. new ray ban sunglasses, for example, so the sun doesn't get in my eyes when i'm playing with him in the park.
what?
then there are those rare items that genuinely work out for everybody.
enter...
baby backpack!
we love this thing, and PD seems pretty fond of it as well. this particular shot is from atop a lookout tower on a hike near the lake house. it's one of the things we love to do.

we drove down to virginia to help PD's great aunt-in-law, Vi, celebrate her 90th birthday.
it was a pleasure to meet her along with some other family members we hadn't met yet. Vi was energetic and fun and happy and delightful. she showed us her home where she practiced her favorite hobby of weaving on one of several looms that she had. she told PD and me about meeting her husband (ellen's father's oldest brother) in the service and getting married in hawaii and travelling and living in various places around the world. it was a lovely day.
sadly, Vi passed away just a week after our visit, but she was definitely extraordinary and i can only hope that some of her longevity, kindness, and joy rubbed off on our little man.

PD's first music festival - and by proxy his first introduction to hula hoops and the scent of patchouli - was just last week at the clearwater festival in croton point park on the hudson river. the little man had a great time no doubt in part because he is not yet old enough to be embarrassed by his daddy running around in public without a shirt on.

with mommy and friend shannon at the lake.

photo by our friend mark.
lighting provided by nature.

as long as we're out on the dock, let's join ellen, PD, our friend shelley and PD's sister-doggie, charlotte, who loves doing...
THIS
(http://bit.ly/GG0544)
PD has yet to join her, but that's just a matter of time.

today's song is courtesy the extraordinary bob marley.
it's "Three Little Birds".
dig it...

Rise up this mornin'; smiled with the risin' sun.
Three little birds pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs of melodies pure and true; sayin',
"This is my message to you-ou-ou."

Meanin': "Don't worry about a thing,
oh! Ev-ry little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing",
‘cause every little thing gonna be all right."

indeed.

and in closing...
lake house, father's day, 2010
life = good.

3.5 months

excuse me while i gush, but...
to your left is one of the cutest baby pictures that ever existed in the entire universe.
(too much?)
maybe, but i mean come on!

the big news since last we checked in is that the planet's latest superhero baby can fly!
on a plane of course.
wait. you didn't think...

here he is with mommy dearest (but in a good way) as they board the plane for his very first flight.


is it cliche to say i see where he gets his crazy cuteness from?
too late!

anyway, the flight was great. he didn't cry at all. just slept and ate.
and pooped.
then pooped again.
did i mention the poop?
which brings us to this weeks installment of...
"how to change a diaper in an airplane lavatory"
i'm sure many of you out there have done this before but i hadn't. not until our trip that is. fact is it wasn't so bad since the changing table is roughly three-quarters the size of the bathroom itself. hell, i almost crawled up there myself to take a nap. in fact, i would have and if not for the chance of having it break off the wall and drop me in the toilet where i would be sucked down by the jet-engine-like flushing mechanism and spit out somewhere over kansas.
but resisting my toilet-nap wasn't the hardest part. the hardest part came during one diaper change when i realized i also had to pee. without getting too graphic about it, here are the basic steps:
- put down changing table
- change baby
- unzip pants and prepare "self"
- pick up baby and put up changing table
- pee
- put down changing table, place baby on it
- put "self" back
- et voilà

anyway, we took our first official family trip out to the area near the bay that surrounds the city of san francisco.
(there's got to be an easier way to say that.)
why take our baby clear across the country at the ripe young age of 10 weeks?
why indeed!
it was time to meet the family, including...


grandpa bob and grandma kaaren!
(not a misprint. her name is spelled with two "a's". hi kaaren!)

... cousin hana and cousin kobi

looks like PD has his first non-mommy crush!
he also met his namesake, uncle parker, his uncle speed, and his aunt hae-sin, and - funny thing - i didn't seem to take a single picture of this despite the fact that we spent the entire week in their lovely new home.
bad daddy!
bad... daddy!
rest assured, this will be remedied in droves upon the morrow.
(not sure why i went all "middle english" on ya there... just felt right.)

PD also met...

uncle glenn and aunt liz.
may their kindness and good vibes rub off.

cousin reuben...

are you guys looking at the hair, the baby, or the boobs?
just pick one (or two) and go with it.

and the hardest working uncle in show business,
the multi-talented uncle who needs no uncle introduction but i'll give it to you anyway...

uncle ed!
may his talent and determination rub off.

of course, what trip to anywhere near san francisco would be complete without a day in san francisco...

look out! it's a classic cable car! ahhhhh!


PD with mommy, new sun hat, and infamous island prison in background.


the famed golden gate bridge.
i'm told that beyond it lies shangri-la.
and just beyond that, marin county.

developments?
i can name a few.
the little man...
- realized his hands are attached to him
- realized his thumb is attached to his hands
- realized his thumb fits snugly in his mouth
and yet skeptics of evolution remain.
balderdash!

he has also started making what i guess can best be described as "non-accidental sounds". i love having extended conversations with him and convincing myself that we are in complete understanding. i don't know what it is. he just seems to get me.

he's taking a music class with mommy. they're taking long walks in central park thanks to the springing of spring. he spent his first day with a nanny - a lovely young woman named cindy. and he played on his first swing...

this is actually his second swing but you get the point.

on a personal note, i've always considered myself a fortunate man, but after witnessing the past few months i realize even more then before that i really did hit the jackpot when i met ellen. then i hit the jackpot again almost two months later when she interrupted a date i was on to tell me to call her.
(if you don't know the story, i'll be happy to tell it. she's quite a gal!)
with that in mind, this edition's song is inspired by the mother rather than the son.
it's The Four Tops' "Ain't No Woman Like the One I've Got".
dig it...

Every day the sun comes up around her
She can make the birds sing harmony
Every drop of rain is glad it found her
Heaven must have made her just for me
When she smiles so warm and tender
A sight for sore eyes to see
Ain't no woman like the one I've got.
Oh, no, they don't come better.

(too much?)
too late!

one last note: my boss announced this week that he has signed a contract through june 2013. yes, i've been there for nearly 14 years now, but i think i'll stay. unless anybody out there knows another place i can make 17 million dollars a year (give or take) writing jokes.
i didn't think so.

55 days

PD came to visit me at work for the first time. here he is explaining to popular television personality jon stewart that separation of church and state is a novel idea that has been worn down through the years, and though noble in theory, can lay no serious claim to modern day practice.
or something like that.
i think the next picture was of jon cleaning spit-up off his sleeve.

now then...
it's been way too long since we last checked in with PD the superhero baby. that's entirely my fault. i could take the easy way out and blame the baby, but he'll read this one day and i fear he may take it the wrong way. and there's no telling what his powers may be at that point. he could melt me with a stare for all i know or control my emotions by hacking into my "mind computer" or take our hovercraft for a wild joyride or some other unforeseen, futuristic act of defiance.
so, yeah... my fault.


the highlight of these few weeks has quite simply been waking up every day and knowing that PD is my son and ellen is my wife. it's a feeling i'm 99% certain i will never get tired of. (for those of you who don't know it already, i'm 1% idiot.)
i don't have room here to get into what's happening in the world - the constant folly of our political leaders, devastating earthquakes, potentially hostile countries bragging about developing nuclear weapons... MTV's Jersey Shore. it's a long and sad list. suffice to say, it's a good thing the world's latest superhero baby has already started a significant workout regimen to help him one day battle such evils.
to see it, just click on this magical "link"...
BABY PUSH-UPS!
(http://bit.ly/FRFKmw)

special added bonus video!
i'm currently pitching this to the networks...
BABY MASSAGE!
(http://bit.ly/FQ3I4S)

and now... by popular demand... MORE PICTURES!


PD in the safe and wonderful hands of his beautiful cousin, Emeline.
(technically, she's his second cousin once removed or some such thing, but let's just agree on "cousin!")

speaking of which, how's this for a rockin' family-style photo...

i call it "happiness times 12 at the lake house".
more specifically, it's me, ellen and PD (in blue) with cousins, nieces, nephews and loved ones paxton, mary, annabel, emeline, peter, pam, susan, jackson and sus.
we robbed a bank right after this picture was taken.
true story.

and one more, for purposes of cuteness...

what?
you've never seen live baby puppet theater before?

this week's song comes courtesy of The Ronnettes. It's Be My Baby.
dig it...

I'll make you happy, baby
Just wait and see
For every kiss you give me
I'll give you three
Oh, since the day I saw you
I have been waiting for you
You know I will adore you
Till eternity
So won't you please
Be my little baby

and that goes for you too, ellen thomas.

30 days

time once again to check in on the ongoing adventures of "PD the superhero baby".

first of all, he's growing.
and how!
i'll tell you how.
you know how when david banner (mild mannered scientist) gets angry (every episode) he turns into "the hulk" (thanks to an overdose of gamma radiation) and rips all his clothes (yet somehow his pants still basically fit him)? well, PD's not quite like that, but he does get angry sometimes and he did grow out of a couple of his onesies. so... i feel like it's a suitable comparison.

that used to be on the inside!
believe it... or not.

one thing is clear: it takes about a month for the (above) average baby's cheeks to fill out. from the looks of it, little PD spent january storing up some nuts for february.




the big, sad, bundle of news since last i typed words here is that after 3 weeks of 'round-the-clock love and support, the one and only, the incomparable, the fantabulous auntie pam had to leave us and return home to atlanta.

ellen, PD and i are stronger, happier and all far better rested thanks to her. her presence was an extraordinary gesture of kindness and munificence.
(i'd like to thank both merriam and webster for their assistance in that last sentence.)

i'd be remiss if i didn't share some of her parting words. ellen thanked her for giving up her life to be with us. pam responded, "i didn't give up my life. i just lived it up here. i just lived it differently and it was a wonderful different."
well said, auntie pam.
we miss you.

the love is mutual.

a few "firsts"...
- first art show (in SOHO no less!)
- first smile (sleeping, see above)
- first dinner at a restaurant (Pampano - our favorite!)
- first bottle feeding (thank you, auntie pam!)
- first 4-hour nap (thank you, PD!)
- first signs of functioning neck muscles (thank you, functioning neck muscles!)

this week's song...
"Fly Like an Eagle" by The Steve Miller Band
i heard it and thought of PD soaring through life like the superhero baby that he is.
but it also made me think of children less fortunate then our little man.
dig it...

Feed the babies
Who don't have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House the people
Livin' in the street
Oh, oh, there's a solution.

maybe one day PD will grow up and be part of that solution.
no pressure though.

oh, like you never took a bad picture.

20 Days

there are times in our lives when we feel happy
times in our lives when we feel sad
and times in our lives when we experience
feelings we didn't even know we had.

in this ongoing account of the life of parker delgado havlan, i will have many opportunities to make it clear the joy i am feeling and the delight my life has become. i will do this (perhaps repeatedly) not only for the benefit of those of you who are happy to know it, but mainly so that one day my beautiful son can read this and know that he is deeply loved and that will never change.
don't get me wrong, my life wasn't exactly a bag of crap before "the little man" came along. i've been to the galapagos islands where i swam with sharks and penguins. i climbed mount machu picchu and rode an elevator to the top of the world trade center. when i was 7 years old i won two trophies for being such a good little baseball player - and i have the trophies to prove it! i love my wife. my wife loves me. and now, every morning, i get to wake up and watch this...
parker delgado wakes up...
(http://bit.ly/FSpX7P)

good luck having a bad day after a start like that.

my song of the week... (did i mention i'm going to include a "song of the week" from now on that for reasons i may or may not explain in detail makes me think of PD? well i am)... was written by a man named Ewan MacColl and sung beautifully by Roberta Flack way back in 1972 -
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".
dig it...

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the endless skies, my love,
To the dark and the endless skies.

there's more, but you're probably out of hankies by now so i'll spare you. but please listen to it if you get a chance. and enjoy.

p.s. - PD gave himself an "arm hickey" this week. sucked his arm until there was a little bruise on it. auntie pam was the one who figured it out, but it's up to all of us to never let him forget!
isn't that what family is for?

first week

and WHAT a week!
let's start with monday, january 4, 2010 - parker delgado havlan is born. and that's putting it mildly. more accurately, parker delgado havlan decides to join us following a lengthy decision process during which he seriously considered just staying where he was.

i couldn't figure out how to embed the video of PD's trip home from the hospital, so here's the link to it. we all hope you like it.
PARKER DELGADO COMES HOME!
(http://bit.ly/FQ3f5h)

now then, for prosperity's sake, i believe i'll just post the official announcement (which many of you may have probably already read) and catch up on baby-related details (cuteness, poopiness, adorablosity) later.
here it is.

****

we have created...

LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!!!!
(SFX: Thunderclap)

it's official!
ellen jackson thomas and j. robertson havlan are very happy to announce the birth of their above average looking baby boy, Parker Delgado Havlan.
(named in honor and memory of his loving grandmothers, carol parker and gloria delgado)
his grandmas would have been proud!

here's the deal.
i COULD take this opportunity to prattle on and on about how amazing ellen was and how hard she worked and what a miracle the whole thing turned out to be...
so that's exactly what i'm going to do.

ellen was AMAZING!
she worked SO HARD!
the whole thing was a MIRACLE!
that's the truth. it was truly epic. i haven't seen a physical effort like this by a human being since that time i was vacationing in jamaica and watched a really fat guy try to get into a wetsuit.
hey-OOOOOOOO!!
daddy's still got it!

unfortunately, as is the case with "plans", ours did not quite end up as... well, as planned.
though we wanted little P.D. - as he may or may not be called - to be born at home, he decided he wasn't into it and we ended up at st. vincent's hospital in greenwich village. seems his head was turned a bit awkwardly to the side. he was apparently distracted for a second at a very crucial moment by what i'm guessing was either "things" or "stuff". probably gets that from his daddy.
...
where was i?
oh, yeah!
we had a baby!!

so... hospital birth. BUT, our baby was born in greenwich village in new york city and that's pretty cool. plus, on the upside, maybe he'll be a doctor considering how badly he wanted to go to that hospital. then again, i suppose he could also end up being that upbeat but slightly deranged guy who sells mylar balloons at the hospital gift shop. flip of a coin really. am i right, parents!!?

bottom line is ellen is even stronger and braver and more determined and more focused and more beautiful in every single way then any of us even thought she was. and i don't know for sure about you, but i've always had a pretty high opinion of her.
mommy and son will be at the hospital for a couple of days but will hopefully return soon to the very home where P.D. will one day watch TV his mother and i think is trash and listen to music we will undoubtedly consider “noise”.

our apologies for the lack of a more personal announcement, but we assure you we will make calls and answer e-mails as soon as we catch our breath - or several months from now, whichever comes first.
in the meantime, thank you all for caring and for being such great friends.
oh, and for the record, i'm doing just fine. thanks for asking.

with love,
ellen, p.d., and coming in a solid third place from this day forward, j.r.


official stats
(for those who like official stats)
date: 1-4-2010
time: 4:40 p.m. (during Oprah!)
weight: 7 pounds, 15 ounces
length: 21 inches
eyes: squinty
head: conical
face: adorable!!

early signs of mad skills...

i got a FlipVideo for christmas from my wonderful, thoughtful, "belly-full" wife, so expect a lot of videos. i promise i'll keep them short if you promise to pretend you watched them next time i see you.
this is ellen playing quite actively with her 17-month-old nephew, kobe, despite very clearly being 8-and-a-half months pregnant herself. what a gal!!