So, “Hello World!” is the default post title for any new WordPress site. I’ve deleted it out of more than a dozen websites built on WordPress… but, for once, it seems to be perfectly appropriate.

It’s appropriate because I’ve built this site to welcome my daughter to the world (hello Ellie!) and also to document what happens when two independent, intelligent, 30-somethings decide to have a kid after deciding not to have a kid. Jess (pictured to the left, isn’t she absolutely adorable?) scrapbooks to document big events and we will totally scan and upload those here for you all to see because I think they’re amazing. I don’t have that particular skill so I can’t archive our lives that way.

But I can blog so I’ll do that instead.

The other thought behind this site is…

Ok, hold on a sec. I need to throw a disclaimer up here.

IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT I’M ABOUT TO TALK ABOUT, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT WE LOVE YOU. WE DON’T JUDGE YOU AND WE WOULD NEVER ASSUME TO TELL YOU HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE EITHER ONLINE OR IN THE REAL WORLD. PLEASE DON’T HATE ME BECAUSE OF WHAT I’M ABOUT TO SAY.

Ahem. Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way, the other reason I’ve built this site is because I know that a large portion of my friends on Facebook are not parents and don’t really appreciate the… um… enthusiasm with which parents (especially new parents liker we’re about to be) like to share pictures and information about their kids in that forum. They read STFUParents and they really really don’t care what little Johnny broke/ate/spit up/said/peed on/etc. They don’t want to hear about the “milestone” events of childhood because they don’t understand them enough to care.

I’m one of those people. I don’t care. I’m sure that I will when it’s my own kid – I’m told that things change. We’ll see.

But Jess and I have promised each other that we are each going to try our best not to become those annoying parents. We will always have ourselves in our profile pictures, not just a pic of a kid. We will try not to inundate our Facebook feeds with kid stuff… unless it’s really and truly funny.

But we’re going to be new parents. This is about to be a huge portion of our lives. We’re going to need to spill this stuff out on the internet (because that’s how our generation does things) and I’m going to need to share the insanity that is about to ensue. Facebook just isn’t the place for us to do that. Instead, I’ve set up this site. This is where you can come and get your Dumo kid fix. This will be Ellie’s home on the web where I will post about the things I’m learning through this journey. I hope to fill this thing up with funny anecdotes, heartwarming stories, interesting photos, and maybe even a few videos.

I have a feeling that this is going to be my wildest adventure yet… and I need to document it for the sake of my own sanity if nothing else. If you’re the kind of person to find this thing interesting, thanks for joining me here for the journey.

If you’re not? Well, no worries. I’ll see ya on Facebook, friend.

-chris