This is the second to last monthly memories post I’ll write before our little girl turns two. Then I’ll have to think of a new way to celebrate each month. And no, it won’t be 25 memories!
Not that I don’t think Avery will give us plenty of memories each month, but writing them out is starting to get a little too time consuming. Nap time is when I’m usually able to make the list, but as I write this, I’m watching our toddler pace back and forth in her crib and do butt busters. In other words, not napping! With that, I have my first memory to start things off.
- Hey, Avery, you’re crazy dear! You will sit calmly while having lunch, but after we read and sing and I kiss you before putting you in your crib, you go into berserker mode! As I just mentioned, I’m watching you walk around your small rectangular space and even doing what seems like modified headstands. But the internet says you still need your naps, and we all know everything on the internet is real and true.
- Last month, I mentioned we officially entered the back-talking stage with your use of the word “No.”, and it has only increased in severity since. You’ll tell us “no” even when you don’t really mean it. This is especially true during dinner when Mommy asks if you want an awesome bite of goat cheese with cinnamon sweet potato and you say “no” as you open your mouth for her to feed it to you.
- No worries though, you still use “yes” too, especially when we ask if you want to go outside. Which has led to us spending more time together as a family in our backyard as a result.
- During one of our family outside adventures, you crawled on my back all by yourself (before, you needed assistance), and Mommy even got a cute pic of us that I find myself looking at every day.
- We’ve always just put food on the tray of your high chair, but this month, we stepped it up in the domesticated world and gave you your own plate. We had to constantly ask that you leave it on your tray, but you do enjoy the added color from The Lion King or Barney and Friends character-themed plates.
- Testing the boundaries a little more, I started giving you one of your favorite breakfast items, banana, on a plate for you to feed yourself. I tried giving you NuttZo once, but only watched in horror as it fell to the floor. It has since been replaced with sprouted raw pumpkin seeds which I figured would be much cleaner. You proved otherwise….
- Then, finally, you had your first successful dinner eating from your own plate full of food and nothing ending up on the floor! And you left your plate right-side-up!
- Mommy pushed the boundaries that same night and gave you a fork to use too. I was doubtful after several banana and NuttZo fork fails, but you proved me wrong and used the pronged utensil better than ever. We did, however, have to take it away once you started using it as an instrument.
- I remember wearing you in our Onya baby carrier every day for a walk in the morning and afternoon, but those days have passed. You do still seem to enjoy a little daddy-daughter bonding though, and I carried you a few times this month. One even being as I mowed the lawn.
- Mommy created a nice backyard garden area for us this month using my digging and dirt moving skills. You enjoyed running back and forth picking up dirt clumps and “helping” us out every chance you got. It was the first somewhat big project we all had a hand in, and thank to Mommy’s great work, we’ll be able to enjoy it for years to come.
- The frog population has been very active this month, and you’ve taken great interest in the amphibians hanging around our house. This makes me happy since I’m an amphibian and reptile lover over any other type of animal, so it’s great to share the interest. Maybe I need to take it slower though….
- I left you and Mommy for the weekend to go to my first At-Home Dad Convention. Before I left, I explained that I would be gone, but your reaction wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. I’m putting this in the No means Yes category.
- Which reminds me, your extensive use of No is mainly part of what we deemed toddler regression. You were sleeping, eating, and acting so well for a while, and then WHAM, we ap-parently forgot how to parent. Or so it felt that way.
- The most popular new thing you picked up on this month was “jet” or “airplane”. We never noticed how many planes flew over our house until you let us know about each and every one passing by. Turns out, there’s a lot!
- You must of been bit by a happy-to-help bug after doing so much with Mommy in the backyard because now you’re “helping” with laundry, starting the dishwasher, and even putting up our big orders from Thrive Market and Amazon. Maybe soon I’ll be able to remove the quotations from help…..
Sorry, Dad, I don’t know where everything went. - There’s hardly a dull, or at least quiet, moment in the house as your vocabulary continues to increase. Mommy and I have noticed that you’re speaking a little more clearly and combining words to make small sentences. You still have your babble time, but even that sounds more like words than before.
- When you’re not pacing around looking for what to get into next, you have started running up to me and initiating a foot attack. I’ll be in the kitchen just washing dishes, and out of no where you’ll come and stomp on my feet as you let out a battle cry. All I can do is retaliate and we’ll go back and forth for a good minute. I love seeing the smile on your face and how playful you are becoming.
- Mommy’s not safe from your playful attacks either. Just the other day you did your best to jump on her back without warning. Of course she helped you up a little, and of course I took a picture.
- It’s apparent you’re becoming more independent and *gasp* actually aware of things around and on you! This means you now get very upset if we choose the wrong color shirt for you. The majority of the time, you request a blue shirt, but if there’s not a clean one around, green will do, and occasionally pink or purple. But right now, your favorite shirt is the one Mommy brought back from her week-long work trip to the Northeast.
- Your new-found fashion sense doesn’t stop at shirts either, you are even more demanding of what color diaper you wear. If we don’t have a blue or green one that’s clean, that could spell disaster! Luckily, the multi-colored ones suffice as blue to you.
- I brought you to the tiny playground in our neighborhood thinking you’d be all up for going down (ha, that sounds kinda funny), but I guess your fear of heights is still present. I thought for sure that your Soft Star Shoes would give you the courage, but I ended up getting to go down the slide with you. It was fun, but I did bang my shin up from my clumsy climb.
- We added a new kid’s table and chairs to the kitchen for you to
sit atclimb all over and push across the floor. You actually enjoy using it, and the plan is to get coloring books and crayons to keep yourself busy once you know not to color everything but the books made for coloring. Until then, the chairs house your favorite bear and the table makes for a great place to eat breakfast all by yourself.
- Just last weekend, we spent the night at G-Ma’s house and it ended up being better than most of our past experiences. Yeah, the last time was back in July for Independence Day, and the combination of lack of sleep and stimulating fireworks made for a rough night. This time, Mommy laid down with you in a real bed where you both slept through the night. I stayed away and slept on the recliner. Major kudos to my wife for keeping you safe from falling off the bed at the expense of a good night’s sleep for herself.
There are plenty more memories Avery gave us just in this month, but I just wrote as they came to mind. As you can tell, Instagram and past posts serve as an excellent memory refresher.
Kelley and I are leaving Avery at home to go camping together while my Mom / G-Ma stays at our house to watch her. The camping trip is for Kelley’s birthday, but I know I’ll love the time away too! Win-win! I’m sure the happenings this weekend with Avery and G-Ma and us camping will make for plenty of memories in my last edition of this post next month.
Until then, have a great weekend, I’ll be back to posting next week, unless the campsite has bears….hungry bears…..Oooooo
Enjoy the outdoors, and that kid is growing like a weed! Must be the Nuttzo.
Can’t wait to be under the stars, I just hope we don’t forget anything too important! And yes, NuttZo is part of her growth for sure!
Ah, the back-talking phase… my mom is still hoping I’ll grow out of it. 😉
Funny thing, so is my mom….and wife. oops!