Category Archives: Parenting
This Pumpkin’s Not Amused: Our Baby’s First Halloween
Another first is in the books as Halloween has come and passed. We didn’t do anything too elaborate, just bought a pumpkin costume from Costco and we were all set. Of course, Avery wasn’t too impressed with her orange attire…
Sorry, dear, next year we’ll try for more originality. Deal?
I’ll take that as confirmation that she’s okay with this.
For her first trick-or-treating experience, Going Mom, G-Ma, and I took turns holding our winter squash as we walked around a small loop of our neighborhood. We went to the homes of neighbors we knew just to say hi and kindly refused any treats they offered.
It was easy this year since Avery is still too young for candy, but I’m thinking next year will prove more difficult. I get that she’ll inevitably have candy, but hopefully we can keep it limited and I can’t stress enough how some of the sweets have ingredients we should never consume. Hydrogenated oils and basically all chemicals, for instance. Bleh.
Anyway, I’ll spare you my thoughts on ingredients in food……for now.
We have a really great neighborhood filled with fun-loving people and a lot of kids around the same age as Avery. It will be great watching them grow up together and hopefully creating lasting friendships.
Our pseudo-trick-or-treating walk lasted a little too long to Avery’s liking, but she didn’t throw a huge fit. Most of the time she just had a very unimpressed look which I think was partly because there were several little superheroes, animals, and plenty Elsa’s from “Frozen” running around squealing with delight from their bags overflowing with sweet treasures.
The night was calm and the air was cool and crisp from a cold front that just came in making it an ideal night to wander the streets. It was the ideal setting for Halloween and seemed to resemble the scene of kids out on Halloween in the movie E.T.
As usual, we stretched our limits for bedtime and Avery became very fussy as we sat her in her highchair for a late night dinner. She was still happy during bath time and after another bout of fussiness, she was out with Kelley nursing her to sleep.
Our baby is almost one, just two weeks from today, and she makes both Kelley and I extremely happy! I love experiencing firsts together as a family and want to share some of the better pictures of our Halloween on here.
Taking turns posing with our pretty pumpkin princess……who will look anywhere but the camera!
Had to bust out the “tickle bird” to get a few squirmy smiles.
I thought the shoulder time would help amuse her, but even that yielded sub-par, probably out of pity, smiles. She would hardly budge with Kelley trying to entertain her!
Annnnd, the perfect way to end the day with a pissy pumpkin….wine. Oh hey, at least the bottle is amusing!
Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!
Did you go out or stay in?
Any favorite costumes you’ve dressed yourself or kids in this year or year’s past?
Help Show the World Why “Sometimes You Need A Jellyfish”
Going Mom and I have been reading more to Avery lately, and although she loses interest rather quickly, it’s apparent that her interest level is increasing. When reading to a baby or any young child, there are a few “must haves” I look for when choosing a book.
The book must have great artwork. Not like “Mona Lisa” art, but big, bold animations with bright colors that seem to jump right out at you. The words need to flow along smoothly and not have you backtracking because a sentence didn’t seem to fit right. This equals instant attention lost from Avery, and I’m sure most other little kids too.
Also, I need something engaging, something I can get into and emphasize words that need to be emphasized by changing the tone and volume of my voice. These key criteria, when combined, make for a wonderful parent-child bonding experience we should enjoy on a daily basis with our children.
Such a book meets and exceeds these “must haves”, and needs your support to help get it published. The book is called Sometimes You Need a Jellyfish, and is written and illustrated by Christopher Routly. Chris is a fellow stay-at-home dad to two boys, ages 6 and 3, and finds inspiration through is daily adventures with them.
Sometimes You Need a Jellyfish begins with two brothers packing to visit their grandparents when the younger brother reveals that he packed a jellyfish.
The story then flows along as the little brother proceeds to give reasons for why you really do need a jellyfish sometimes.
Just reading the story by myself, I found that I was instantly engaged from the beginning and each rhyme-filled sentence flowed wonderfully into the next. I imagined Avery’s eyes filling with excitement as I read through the book, changing the tone of my voice and took pleasure in the thought of her having fun and reading along with me.
With fun characters, excellent illustrations, and a catchy story that rhymes and flows with ease, this is a perfect book your kids (and you) will want to read over and over again. In this book’s case, there are not many more jellyfish in the sea. Pun intended. 😉
Christopher Routly is a fun, loving father and husband who has published several other fun children’s books centered around the alphabet. You can find out more about these books on his blog, The Daddy Doctrines.
To find out what inspired Chris to write a book about a jellyfish and to help support his efforts in getting his book, a guaranteed instant family favorite, head on over to his Kickstarter page now. While there, you’ll learn why sometimes you need to help make Sometimes You Need a Jellyfish a reality!
Make sure to stop by the Sometimes You Need a Jellyfish Facebook page to like and share with friends too!