First child arrives . . . months ago

Presley James Vogts, born Sept. 7, 2017. (Photo from Sept. 17, 2017)
Kendall and Presley pose for a picture before all three of us headed to a friend’s house to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

Call me a bad father if you want since I’m a little late to writing this post, but I’ve had my hands full raising a daughter.

Remember in May when I announced my wife Kendall and I were having a baby girl? Well, we did . . . several months ago. Presley James Vogts made her grand entrance into the world on Sept. 7, 2017.

It’s been a wild ride since then. The sleepless nights weren’t too bad, though, especially since she quickly figured out how to sleep through the night. Now, we put her to bed around 8:30 p.m. and wake her up around 6:15 a.m. It’s pretty great.

It’s also been great to see how wonderful of a mother Kendall is. She is a true rockstar. She knows just what to do when, and she has been instrumental in getting Presley onto a schedule. If it weren’t for her, I’m not sure Presley would be such an agreeable baby that rarely cries or fusses. I’m blown away by my wife every day.

Presley is growing and doing great. She’s starting to develop her own personality, and she likes to “talk” to us all the time. She smiles, holds her head up, and rolls over. She’s recently started to try cereal. So far, she seems to like it. She doesn’t like to sleep at daycare, but she’s usually in a good mood when she gets home for day. So we can’t complain too much.

I didn’t know what to expect when I became a father, but it has been magical. I could spend all day staring at her. I love seeing her face light up when she recognizes me or my voice. She kicks her little legs in excitement when I go to pick her up. It’s incredible.

Sure, Presley has changed Kendall and I’s lifestyle. We can’t just do whatever we want whenever we want. We have to consider what Presley will need. This isn’t a bad change to our lifestyle. It’s just different, and I love it.

I’m not going to tell you that everything has been perfect because that would be a lie. When she cries for no apparent reason, that can be frustrating, but it is also incredibly special. This little baby completely relies on Kendall and I. It’s humbling and inspiring.

Every day she grows and does something new. I don’t want to be the parent that believes his child is perfect in every way, but I do believe she is amazing. I can’t wait to continue to watch her grow. I hope she develops into an intelligent and kind young woman.

I’m sure the questions of when we are going to have another child will start coming soon. However, because she has been such a good and easy baby, I’m not sure we want to risk a second child. Undoubtedly No. 2 would be a hellion. Even so, I’m sure we will have another child. However, it is going to be a while. At the very least, Kendall has to build up her sick days again. In the teaching world, one must use sick days for maternity leave in order to keep income flowing. It isn’t ideal, but it is the way it is.

Also, we still need to finish thank yous for baby showers that were generously hosted for us, and I need to get a birth announcement put into the papers for posterity’s sake. I know. We are behind. But again, we’ve been raising Presley and having fun doing it.

She’s the center of our world, and, even though I’m sure she’ll be less than agreeable all the time when she gets older (a teenager . . . what is more terrifying?), I love her to pieces, and I vow to be more timely in posting updates about her in the future.

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About toddvogts 848 Articles
Todd R. Vogts, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of media at Sterling College in Kansas. Previously, he taught yearbook, newspaper, newsmagazine, and online journalism in various Kansas high schools, and he ran a weekly newspaper in rural Kansas. He continues to freelance as a professional journalist from time to time. Also, Vogts is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Journalism Education Association (JEA), and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), among others. He earned his Master Journalism Educator (MJE) certification from JEA in 2022. When he’s not teaching or writing, he runs his mobile disk jockey service and takes part in other entrepreneurial ventures. He can be reached at twitter.com/toddvogts or via his website at www.toddvogts.com.