Tag Archives: love

Avery Talk

The Love-Hate Relationship: A Toddler’s View

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Hi there! It’s me, Avery, I’m taking over Daddy’s blog for a quick explanation about love-hate relationships. Don’t worry, he won’t mind, I practically have him wrapped around my finger…..or at least on my shirt. See?

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I’ve had a certain stuffed bear around me my entire life, and no matter how many times we fight, we always seem to make up. Well, now there’s a new animal in the house, Lamby, and he’s become my new favorite stuffed buddy. Even though Bear can make me feel like dancing at times…..

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…..he usually just bums me out.

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Finally, I decided I must tell him about Lamby and how he is no longer my best stuffed bud. I kept pushing it off, but finally, during breakfast, there was an awkward silence.

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I looked over to initiate the conversation with my old plush pal.

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He seemed to sense my uneasiness and simply refused to respond or even look at me. Eeek, that awkward feeling got even awkward….er?

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Knowing that I must get closure, I was the bigger only person and walked over to him so we could talk, pretty blue eye-to-beady glass black eye.

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Then, all of the fights we had, the times he kept getting in my way when sleeping, and how Mommy and Daddy obviously didn’t like him since they just tossed him at me built up inside. I couldn’t help what happened next, my toddler rage took over and wrung his neck!

Just leave me alone, Lamby and I are happy without you!!
Just leave me alone, Lamby and I are happy without you!!

I didn’t know I had so much anger inside of me, but I immediately felt bad. I think I even heard poor Bear sniffle a little. Or maybe he has a hidden squeaker…oooo, that would be cool. No, getting sidetracked here, I simply felt the guilt sink in and only grow stronger. We both needed a big bear hug!

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I’m so sorry, Bear, I promise, we can still be friends.

And now it’s right back where we started. I still love Lamby more, but Bear thinks we’re all good again. This love-hate relationship stuff is hard, and is truly exhausting….ugh.

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Well, whatever the case, I don’t like these confusing relationships one bit. I know I love Mommy and I love Daddy, and apparently I love to hate Bear. For now he can stick around, but if ever goes near Lamby, well, here’s how I feel about that, and no, I’m not pointing at the red “R”.

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#MySundayPhoto, Parenting, Silent Sunday

Afro Curls: #MySundayPhoto – 10.25.15

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There’s no doubt that I’ve already posted plenty of pictures that our daughter will despise me for later. This pic of her crazy afro curls is no exception.

Her hair, like most of ours, fluctuates with the current weather conditions. When it’s mostly dry air, her hair keeps rather straight, but when it’s humid outside, well…..

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As it gets longer, I’m sure the afro effect won’t be as bad, but until then, it sure is a fun sight. Right? Almost has a Medusa-like quality to it, no?

Medusa, Greek Mythology

Good thing she’s not cursed with turning anyone who looks in her eyes to stone or we’d all be screwed. Those beautiful blue eyes are too hard to resist! However, I would argue that her toddler temper tantrums are becoming close to Medusa standards.

Enough with comparing our daughter to Greek mythology, she’s freakin’ cute and we love her crazy hair. Much like the weather around here, it’s changing daily, but unlike with the weather, it never gets old to see.

Does your kid have hair that seems totally different than their mom and dad’s hair?

What Greek Mythology character would you liken your kid(s) to?

 

OneDad3Girls
Life, Monthly List, Parenting

23 Memories From My 23rd Month Since Going Dad

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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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.On Dad's Back_1
  5. 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.
  6. 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….DSC_0561
  7. 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!
  8. 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.
  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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….

  12. 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.

  13. 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.
  14. 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!#mysundayphoto, toddler, kids, parenting, growing up, love
  15. 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…..

    What should I help with next, Dad?
    Sorry, Dad, I don’t know where everything went.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.Avery on Mommy's Back
  19. 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.DSC_0531
  20. 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.

  21. 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.

  22. We added a new kid’s table and chairs to the kitchen for you to sit at climb 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.DSC_0549
  23. 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