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22 Memories From My 22nd Month Since Going Dad

Only two more monthly memories posts after this one until I take a different approach. Much like the memories, I’ll never stop sharing, but we only haveĀ a finite amount of time each day, and an increasing number of memories will take more than I’m willing to use. Plus, it’s better spent making new memories with my family.

Our little flower is blossoming more and more, and just like I’ve probably said in the past several all of these posts, growing so fast and doing so much! Well, like I said, there’s only a finite amount of time, so I’ll get to it.

1. Right after we got back from our Colorado family vacation, Mommy had to go on a business trip and was gone for almost a week. This was the longest time we spent apart, and we missed her dearly.

2. In order to get our Mommy/Wifey fix, we utilized Skype each night. It was always late, but I’d sit on the kitchen floor with you as video-chatted together. Of course, you’d hardly sit still, but you did give kisses to Mommy through the phone.

3. Before school was back in session, we made use of the playground at the elementary school nearby. You climbed up the equipment and went down the slide non-stop for the first time and obviously had a blast.

4. Then, as school started and everyone was posting pics of their kids’ first day, we rubbed it in that it was just another fun day together at our house.

5. While Mommy was still away, I brought you over to our friend’s house to try out their trampoline. As active as you’ve become, I thought you’d easily get right to jumping, but it turned out that you must be afraid of being above ground.

Yeah, I'm fine right here, thank you.
Yeah, I’m fine right here, thank you.

6. At least you had fun playing catch with their dog. I think he enjoyed it too!

Throwing ball to Arkus

 

7. I captured my favorite picture of you to date and had it printed and framed using Pictli. Now we have it right above the sink to enjoy each day.

my sunday photo, #MySundayPhoto, toddlers, parenting

 

8. Mowing with you had always been tedious as I didn’t feel safe having you outside as I cut the grass, but with Mommy gone, I decided to give it a try. Turned out to be no problem!

9. Keeping with the “firsts” trend, we walked around our .4 mile loop together in our Soft Star Shoes. That was the most you walked at once and you did great!

10. You wouldn’t keep anything in your crib for the longest time, but this month you finally gave in and accepted the company of your My Happy Pillow bear. Yay progress!

11. Something that has yet to change, is your crazy demon stare into the monitor as you resist sleep.

12. Since you did so well on the school playground equipment, I thought I’d bring you to another playground to climb up and slide on. Instead, your fear of heights came out and you wouldn’t even allow me to go through the obstacles with you. Regression!

13. One of our neighbors was giving away their playhouse and swing set with a slide, and thanks to Mommy for seeing the post, we got it! Only problem was, our slightly sloped backyard made it hard to find a good spot to put it. Until then, we just used the slide by itself where I would lift it with you at the top and Mommy caught you at the bottom.

14. It used to be that we had to read a book out loud during dinner while simultaneously feeding you, but now you enjoy reading the books yourself. And you eat much better too!

15. After going back and forth, we finally settled on a good spot for your playhouse. Now that it’s together, Mommy and I wind up pushing you on the swing and helping you down the slide every day. Sometimes you even try to swing by yourself!

DSC_2692

16. We knew it was coming, and this was the month it happened, you started saying “No” to us. Let this mark the beginning of the backtalk. I hear it ends right around after college….

17. With all of theĀ outside playing, we think you were bit around the diaper lining area which seemed like nothing major at first, but turned into a staph infection. We spent our Labor Day at the ER having it drained and cleaned. Thankfully you’re all better now, but that means all 3 of us have had a bout of MRSA this year. I think Mommy’s love helped your recovery a lot!

Mommy's Comfort in Hospital

18. Randomly, I took your diaper off at an attempt to start potty training you with a method I read about. Several pee puddles later, that was the last attempt for now. We’ll try again once you’re 2 years old. šŸ™‚

19. Feeling confident that you were ready to attempt the trampoline again, I brought you to the Urban Air Trampoline Park. You started off timid, but with the help of the bigger kids, you finally warmed up!

20. Every time we try to comfort you after a little fall, because you’re upset, or something big like staph, we always say “It’s okay.” by habit. Well, you picked up on it and now you say it all the time. When you’re really frustrated or scared, you’ll say itsokay really fast with a strained voice. It’s funny, sad, and, well, funny again.

21. Mommy taught you how to be even more adorable (how is that possible?) by putting your hands to your cheeks. Cuteness galore!

hands-to-cheeks

22. And finally, one of the best animal noises you’ve done up to this point is the bear/lion sound. You make the best (and cutest) roar ever!

Time can be a real jerk for never slowing down, so it’s up to us parents to make the most of our time together. Getting hugs from Avery is the best feeling in the world, unless, that is, it’s getting hugs from Avery and my wife. We have a family hug almost every day that I wouldn’t trade for anything else.

Now I’m off to make more memories, see you back here in another month!

What is your kid currently doing or recently done that you absolutely love/hate? Please share, I’d love to hear!

6 Throwback Thursday Posts from August 2014

Is Throwback Thursday bittersweet for any other parents out there?Ā Bitter, because so many things happen so fastĀ and your baby (even if they’re a teen, they’re still your baby, right?) is growing up. Sweet, because so many proud moments have happened and well, it’s also great that your kid is growing. Not to mention we’re getting older too! Bleh!

Looking back a year ago, we were still holding Avery and rocking her to sleep for naptime and at night, but now that’s a thing of the past. Going Mom has been successful a few times, but I have had no such luck. But that’s what memories are for, right? And since parenting seems to zap our memories sometimes, that’s whereĀ the internet (blogging/social media) lends a hand.

Let us now travel back a year to see what I was blogging about in August of 2014. Here are 6 of my favorite posts…

  1. My Wife Wins Again, Our Baby Throws Food, and More Banana Fun Facts #5Ā – She always wins, and other dads even agreed with this one thing when you have a house of girls. Avery has changed a lot, but she still throws her food every now and then.

    Goodbye, broccoli!!
    Goodbye, broccoli!!
  2. Uh Oh, Our Baby’s First Cold! – We waived her coughs off as no big deal, but then it happened….sickness! Luckily, it ended with this…DSC_1265
  3. Learning to Walk: Is It Wrong to Place Bets On Your Baby? – The funny thing is, I would’ve totally lost all bets since she didn’t start walking until around 3 months later!

    Walker in training.
    Walker in training.
  4. How My Daughter Is Saving My Life – Stress, it had built up for years before Avery, and although having kids is no walk in the park (unless, that is, you’re walking with them in the park), it’s a different kind of stress. I write about that here.

    Daughter vs Dishes....hmm, easy choice!!
    Daughter vs Dishes….hmm, easy choice!!
  5. Free Food And Booze Plus A Flat Tire: Our 7th Wedding Anniversary Recap – How could I not relive this experience as we celebrating moving beyond the itchy phase of marriage?RC and Kelley_Night Out_Splash Pad
  6. Having A Daughter: Learning to Conquer The Fear of Fatherhood – I proudly got this published on The Huffington Post, and hold the words near and dear to my dad heart.DSC_1903

August was a big month last year and it turned out to be a big month this year as well. Maybe I’ll share some of the posts again when August 2016 rolls around. No rush though! Year hear that, time? Easy does it now….

Hope everyone’s week is going well. Going Mom comes back home tomorrow!!! Yay!!!!

21 Memories From My 21st Month Since ‘Going Dad’

Yes, I know, this monthly memories post is 10 days past her 21st month since womb departure, but we’ve been a busy family! Mainly, our first family vacation to Colorado along with the obvious blog posts I had to write to share it with anyone that happens by my little space of the internet. I got that ideology/saying from a good blogger friend over at Skipah’s Realm.Ā Thanks, Gary!

And things haven’t slowed down since we’ve returned. Avery is learning and doing more each day, which means we’re learning and doing more as well. Plus, Going Mom is away for work all week! This is the first time she’s been away from us for so long, and it’s truly a test for all of us.

Sure, I’m a stay-at-home parent, but I depend on my wife’s reinforcements and loving company. I told her I missed her before she even left, and it’s the truth. Hopefully she’s able to make the best of her time in a peaceful (I hope) hotel room without a demanding toddler demanding every second of her attention. But, the silver lining is this should definitely help us appreciate each other more.

I almost decided to just skip this month since I planned on stopping after the 2 year (24 month) mark, but my Type-A OCD personality wouldn’t allow it. So, here I am, satisfying my brain and knocking out 21 memories. Not that it’s hard to find them, but in order to get through them, I’m making each new thing she says a memory on its own. Not that you care probably, but I prefer to explain myself for….errr, myself, and Avery when she’s older and reading this ancient post on her Samsung Galaxy S20.

Avery, this past month you have experienced and transformed so much. You continue to amaze Mommy and me each day, and these 21 memories hardly begin to capture it all, but it’s a start.

  1. You’ve started saying “It’s okay.” which you learned from Mommy and Daddy as we say it after you fall or drop something on accident.
  2. Obviously, the big memory this month is that you flew on an airplane for the first time!First Flight Family Selfie
  3. And you also flew for the second time on our way back from vacation. You were far from well behaved, but now we know not to schedule a flight for your bedtime if we can avoid it.

  4. Another phrase you’ve picked up on is “It’s good”. You say it after I give you our daily green smoothie, unless I really sucked at making it that day, and when eating various food.
  5. For a while, we resorted to reading books to you during dinner or simply reciting the text from memory. It distracted you enough to get a few bites.
  6. Now we just give you a book to read, and besides having to switch books every so often, this works fairly well.
  7. Any parent to a toddler knows you always need a backup plan for eating though, and we keep roasted seaweed on hand when books just won’t cut it. I’m just glad you think of seaweed as a treat!
  8. Birds had built a nest in the entryway to our front door and had several baby birds. Every night, you and Mommy would turn on the light to tell the birds goodnight, before bath time. Sadly, one baby after another fell out of the nest which required us to move it to a safer place.

  9. Your climbing skills have gotten better, but sometimes you get a little too confident, resulting in us having to say “It’s okay”……..a lot. Most of the time the little fall is nothing, but there are times that set you off in a downward spiral to fussville. Yes, it’s a place, and it sucks!
  10. What started with you instinctively knowing to get Mommy’s workout shoes, carried over to getting my Soft Star Shoes I use to workout in too. Such a smart kid!

  11. Your affinity for my weightlifting belt started a long time ago, but now you’ve figured out how to loop it around yourself. Often times, you’ll walk around with the belt holding it around you for the entire workout session. Those days, I just make do without the belt since the one time I tried. you let me know that was a BAD choice!DSC_1773
  12. Uncle Paul, Aunt Tammy, and your Great Grandma (G-Ma’s Mom) came down to visit to celebrate G-Ma’s 60th birthday and we had a blast with them on several occasions. I mean, how many toddlers get to go to a brewery? Okay, maybe a lot, but still….DSC_1576
  13. You’ve added a few new foods to your repertoire of eats. One being raw onion. We figure you just love crunchy things.Avery eating watermelon onion salad
  14. Trips to the pool happen fairly often, and I had fun turning your flipping skills into a slo-mo video. Your giggles are still adorable a 2x slower than normal.

  15. I used to take you for a walk in the stroller right after naptime, but that would mean you had to sit still which is not an option anymore. As evidenced by your inclination to run wild around the house, and of course do butt busters.

  16. As I mentioned, your climbing skills are getting better every day which means you can climb up most things at the bounce house by yourself now. You might’ve been motivated to climb on your own since I seemed to do a poor job at helping you….2015-07-21 20.42.41
  17. We all know you’re a big fan of NuttZo and banana, and now you’re even able to use a fork to feed it to yourself. Only a few times ended with the food on the floor before making it to your mouth.2015-07-21 09.59.56
  18. While in Colorado on vacation, you got to hang out a lot with Nana, Papa, and Cousin Ashlee as they agreed to play with you so Mommy and I could get away enjoy time together. Lots of reading and playground time for all!
  19. When reading or playground time wasn’t happening, you’d make full use of the stairs at Nana and Papa’s. So much up and down was enough work for anyone trying to keep watch over you, I’m sure this helped you sleep at night, as well as Ashlee.DSC_1955
  20. This was the month of diaper blowouts for us! You graced us with back to back to back poosplosions that had us begging for mercy. Or maybe just hoping they’d stop. *Crossing fingers* So far, we’ve been safe again.
  21. But, as you’ve shown us before, you are always full of evil surprises. Kinda like when you flipped the bird in this daddy-daughter selfie on Mommy’s phone.Avery Flipping Off Camera with Daddy

There you have it, 21 memories in the book blog and more being created daily. I’m off to spend another day of fun with my daughter, but don’t worry, 22 months is already fast approaching. Ugh….