Baby Rock!

Baby Rock! That's the name of my latest band. And by latest, I mean the first band that I've started since Kaylani was born. The previous one, Beer Me, was a late night adventure that consisted of Jay and Daddy rocking out and drinking beer until 2am while Mommy went to sleep early because she was pregnant. This band had a bit of a different feel to it.

Baby Rock! started out with just Mommy on the drums and Daddy on the guitar while Kaylani was napping in her carseat. We haven't played Rock Band in quite awhile, and while it was still fun, it was just different playing on medium to low volume and hoping not to awaken Kaylani from her nap. To make sure we didn't wake her immediately, we rolled her into the kitchen, which is about 20 feet from the edge of the family room. I guess that wasn't the nicest thing to do, but it worked...for at least 2 songs.

The meanest part was that Mommy left in the middle of the third song to go get Kaylani because she was crying. Wait, let me rephrase that. The meanest part was that Kaylani started crying in the middle of the third song and Mommy and Daddy didn't go get her right away. Instead, we kept playing. In all fairness, we did try to calm her by singing to her. So instead of singing "Roxanne", we sang "Kayyyylani. Don't cry all night. Kaylaniiiii. Please don't cry tonight." After about 90 seconds of crying, Mommy gave in and went to get her and left Daddy to save the band by himself (which he did).

It was after that point that Baby Rock! turned into a solo act. Instead of renaming the band, Daddy kept the name and rocked out for a few more songs. Rob, Jen, and Sofie came over shortly after and Baby Rock! turned back into a duo with dueling guitars. The funny part was that the babies loved it. Both Kaylani and Sofie stared at the colors going up and down the screen, and enjoyed listening to "In Bloom" by Nirvana, as well as "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. It was a different experience then Kaylani had when she watched Baby Einstein, but a far more enjoyable one for all parties involved.

So tonight's rock session was a great one, especially for Daddy. Not only did Mommy and Daddy get to relax a bit and play Rock Band together, but it also gave Daddy a reason to buy Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero World Tour. Prior to tonight, the attempts to buy either resulted in Mommy asking when we would ever play it, and to be honest, Daddy had no good answer. But now, the answer is whenever we want because Kaylani likes it. And if Daddy gets good enough, he might just be able to play the guitar with Kaylani in the Baby Bjorn.

Like every good rock session, this one is going to end with the roadies passing out. Since Kaylani can't play any of the instruments yet (even though we tried to get her to play the drums), she's a roadie, and she needs to pass out. So it's time for us to say goodnight to Kaylani for now. But for you, here are pictures from the last couple of days, which include Uncle Tommy and Auntie Gretchen's visit, as well as tonight's visit from Rob, Jen, and Sofie. Enjoy!

My Daddy Rocks!

"My Daddy Rocks" is true in so many ways I don't even know where to begin. And before all of you wiseasses say its only true because it says so on her shirt (thanks Neha!), I'd like to tell you a few more reasons why.

I mean, look at that picture! I'm sure my daughter wouldn't let her dad join her band if he didn't actually rock. Now it took a lot of convincing to get her to let me rock out next to her. It's actually taken me 2 weeks of auditions to convince her that I would actually fit in her band (Wii Rock Band that is). And here, at The Daddy Diaries, you get to hear what an audition sounds like.

Each night, Kaylani's room sounds like its inhabited by Wayne Brady because I often say "I'm Wayne Brady Bitch!" to get her to sleep. Just kidding, I was more referring to the Wayne Brady from his new show "Don't Forget The Lyrics" combined with Wayne Brady from "Whose Line Is It Anyways" (the Drew Carey version). I say this because daddy knows the first line from a whole bunch of nursery songs, but nothing more. It's more like "Don't Know The Lyrics" when I sing. It usually starts out something like this:

Goooodnight, sweet-heart
It's time to go to bed.

And then it turns into something like this:

Gooood-night, sweet-heart.
I'll always hold your head.

So that song is done (I'm not even convinced that the first part is a real song). Next one goes:

Hush little baby don't you cry,
Daddy's gonna buy you a pumpkin pie.
If that pumpkin pie don't work,
Daddy's gonna take you to go see Cirque.

By now, she's crying because Daddy has butchered two songs, so that's when I REALLY start to improv:

Kayyyyy-laaa-niiiiii. Miiii, aaaaa-mor. Whyyyy are youuuu cry-inggggg?
Pleaseeee don't cry. Daaaa-dy will continue to try.
Mamorcita, Kayyy-laaa-niiii. I loveeee your cuuuuu-te little hiiiii-niii.
You are the sweeee-test thing
Pleaseeeee don't ever, haveeee a fling.
Kay-la-ni, you are so cute.
Eveeee-n though, you likeeee to toot.

And it goes on and on. I've actually surprised myself by how often the lines I sing make sense, and also how she really does stop crying (unless she's really desperate to nurse which means unless my songs produce milk, it's not going to work).

Well tonight's live show is about to begin, so it's time for me to brush up on my lyrics before bathtime. One of these days I'm going to find Kaylani with a lighter, and I'm going to be so proud that she wants her daddy to sing an encore, and ignore the possibility that she might be trying to burn the place down to shut me up.

And in case she does get her hands on a lighter, I've uploaded new pictures from the last 2 days which is when Titi Glenda and Primita Alisha came to visit with Madrina Maria! Pssst, Padrino Tim, time to make the trek (Padrino means Godfather)