Category Archives: Photo Journal

18 Memories From My 18th Month Since ‘Going Dad’

The months and memories have been flying by, and now we’re a year and half into this parenting gig. From what I hear, it only gets better with time, and so far, I would have to agree.

What’s better at this point; saying “18 months” or saying “a year and a half”? I’ve heard people refer to their kids’ age up to 24 months and that’s the max for me.

At 2 years, I’d say we can get rid of the months reference. Or maybe it would be cool to go retro and use weeks. Maybe even put 104 candles in a cake for their 2nd birthday. Actually, it would be 104.355 candles.

2 Years to Weeks Calc

Anyway, I’m still not feeling well from my butt issue the other day, so lets get on to these memories.

1. Avery, Mommy and I have known you were crazy for a long time, but now even the way you fall asleep has reached a new level of crazy.

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2. Your crazy sleep position was the same day you had a mystery rash that didn’t seem to bother you but looked horrible. Luckily, it came and went away within a couple days.

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3. That rash appeared the same time you became really ill with the highest fever to date. We missed seeing our crazy little girl run circles around the house, but it was kind of sweet to have in such a cuddly mood.

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4. You figured out your diaper a few months ago, but never repeatedly pulled it off until recently. When it’s just you and me, your diaper stays put, but when Mommy comes you, you go right for those snaps. No matter how many times we put it back on, you just undo it right away. So we’ve taken to duct tape diapering which proves quite effective despite the trashy look.

duct tape cloth diaper

 

5. I had a NuttZo tasting party for our neighbors to try all of the delicious varieties, and you took advantage of all the samples with gusto! I’m surprised there was any left for our guests!

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6. Rain has taken over pretty much the entire month, but we didn’t let it stop us from our daily walks. I even wore you in the Onya NexStep baby carrier which had been a while since the last time we walked with you on my back.

7. On our rainy walks, we found and rescued several turtles, big and small, by returning them to one of the lakes in our neighborhood. You’re still not sure what to make of them, but we have plenty of time for you to get the turtle experience. Except for the last one we saved, he almost bit off my fingers!

8. You’ve exclusively had Mommy’s milk and water for drinks until this past month when I introduced you to Zevia. I explained how it’s a great treat to enjoy after playing under the hot Texas sun or anytime really, and how it’s worlds better than other sugary or artificially sweetened alternatives. Obviously, you like it and will be enjoying Zevia with Mommy and me for a long time to come.

9. One day, during lunch, I picked your nose. Then I posted it for the world to see. You can hit me for this later.

10. Turtles aren’t the only wildlife in our neighborhood. We have been watching these 8 goslings grow into the full-grown geese that they are as we pass them on our daily walks. The Mommy and Daddy aren’t too friendly as seen when they stick their tongue out at us. but you can’t blame them for being protective. Just so you know, I’d stick my tongue out at people to protect you too!

11. I found my old boots I had as a kid and, like any parent would do, we put them on you to take pictures. The results were pure cuteness as always. You also seemed to enjoy the clunking noise you made when walking.

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12. One of the days that gave us sun instead of rain happened to be on the weekend, and Mommy had the awesome idea to bring you to a splash pad. It was your first time and although you weren’t too interested in the actual water part, we had fun slinging you around in the water.

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13. During dinnertime, where we usually take turns feeding you with our utensil or putting food for you to grab, we gave you a try at using the spoon yourself. After a few fumbles, you successfully brought food to your mouth several times! Yay, trial and error!

14. A current favorite of yours for breakfast is sliced banana with NuttZo. You are practically crying with impatience the moment I show you the banana, but once you get that first bite, it’s bliss!

15. Keeping still is not your forte, but running around and playing with several toys at once is. I’ll go about my business cooking our next meal or washing dishes as you go crazy all around me. Of course I’ll stop to read a book or three and throw the ball too!

16. Right after writing a post about your bottom lip, you went and busted the thing while playing with Mommy’s sweater. That was your first of many more to come, I’m sure.

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17. Mommy had a blast with you bouncing on our bed and trying to take pictures of when you were 6 months old. Turns out, you’re a little more mobile than you were back then. But still freakin’ cute as ever!

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18. You have a growing collection of balls that I’ve been finding on our walks and they provide plenty of entertainment for you at home. You’re even learning how to put them all in your basket when done. They usually come right back out, but it’s a start!

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The fun times just keep getting more and more interactive as she grows. I remember when Avery was just 6 months old, someone told me how it starts getting really good at 18 months. Now that we’re here, I’m excited to see this for myself since she’s already fun as it is.

Maybe actually talking or at least being more clear about her wants/needs? Yeah, I know, doubtful. Guess we’ll find out now!!

When did you start using years instead of months to give your child’s age?

What’s something noteworthy about your kid from this past month?

 

 

17 Month Photo Session: No Go With The Bow

This is the second month we’ve had to push off Avery’s monthly photo session. Last month, my wife and I had a date night paint night (King Kong even made an appearance), and this month Avery was too ill for us to subject her to pictures in the chair.

Once our little girl was back in action and running wild, we knew it was time for her photo session. She’s still not eating right and it’s obvious her current teething is the culprit. Poor kid, can’t catch a break.

I have to hand it to her though, aside from her stubborn eating, she bounced back from her fever rather fast and won’t let anything slow her down. She made sure to make her photo session difficult just to prove that she’s not sick anymore and we can’t just take pictures as we please like I did the other day. Taking her away from the book she was “reading” probably didn’t help either….

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But that’s what parents do, right, we annoy the hell out of our kids. The first setup seemed promising and Avery put up a front as if she’d cooperate.

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But not a second later, she was lunging forward with her crazy face.

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It became obvious this session would be added to the another one of those categories, so we just managed with what we had. Basically, just a lot of re-positioning.

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The only time she held still was when she was pulling on the bow in her hair.

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Which, of course, led to it coming off.

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Kelley only had to put the bow back on, ohhhhhhh, eleventy-billion times.

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Which only made Avery increasingly interested in the little white thing clipped to her hair. Maybe it would be something good to eat?

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Nope, maybe handing it to Daddy would be better.

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Or maybe I’ll just hold on to it and give a quick pose.

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Guess that was all we got, because things went “downhill” from there….

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And hey, what’s with this bow always getting stuck on my head?!

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So that was our photo session for her 17 month mark. I know there’s a lot of changes occurring each day in our growing girl, but does that mean she’ll be better or worse for her 18 month session?

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I don’t know!

16 Month Photo Session: Mad to Glad in a Second

I completely lost track of Avery’s photo session posts with the last one being her 10 month photos. But, hopefully this will get me back on track to capture her growth month by month.

Let me play catch-up and post at least one photo for each month missed.

10 Months

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11 Months

11 Months

12 Months / 1 year

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13 Months

13 Months

14 Months

14 Months

15 Months

15 Months

Yeah, so we botched her birthday and never took a pic of her in the chair with the bear. Ha, I love unconscious rhyming!

She turned 16 months on March 15, but we were a couple days late at taking the photos. As usual, it was late and she was cranky for the shoot, as you can see at the beginning. Luckily, her bear knows how to instantly cheer her up! She went from mad….

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…..to calm/kind of smirking with her bear….

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…..to full on giggle-fest 2015!

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And she even stopped and smiled for a good picture. This is very rare!

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But, just like most monthly photo sessions, the bear got the shaft.

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Annndddd off you go, bear!

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“Oops, did I do that?”

We set the bear back on the chair several times, but Avery finds a way to make kick him off every time.

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All in all, the session went better than I expected. One thing’s for sure, our girl is growing, fast, and we need to make the most of each day with her while we can. From what I hear, kids grow into unruly pre-adolescents that are embarrassed to hang out with their cool parents. What gives?!

Glad to play catch-up and get Avery’s monthly progression published for the world to see! It won’t be long until I’m posting her 17 month photos…..shhheeeesh!