Tag Archives: memories

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. 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….

“Nothing Gold Can Stay” Debunked: #MySundayPhoto – 08.23.15

Other than the pictures from our family vacation in Colorado, we have been eased up on the picture taking as of late. Maybe because we’ve felt it a bit excessive in the past, or just that Avery’s so active that we’d rather spend the time playing with our growing girl.

Whatever the case, I am absolutely in love with this picture and glad I took the time for a few shots (while playing) to get it. This was one of those pictures you don’t even realize you captured until going back and looking at them later. My wife and I were both in awe of this one.

 

my sunday photo, #MySundayPhoto, toddlers, parenting

 

My heart fills warm with love and I turn speechless every time I look at this photo. How much she has grown in just the past few weeks is unreal, exciting, as well as a little depressing. It makes me think of the poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost, and how it’s both right and wrong.

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Right, because obviously so many beautiful things in life come and go every day. A newborn baby is only newborn for so long until they get older and older and older until they’re taking care of the couple that raised them.

Wrong, because, as you can see, pictures will forever capture that one “Gold” moment enabling it to “Stay” or last forever. Plus, that newborn baby will continue to be golden in so many ways throughout life.

Whoa! What happened? I feel like Will Ferrell in the debate scene from Old School where he snaps out of it after his winning debate. Even a pun-loving guy like myself has serious deep thoughts at times.

Anyway, I’ve gone on too long, but just wanted to say how much I love this picture I’m happy to have it for us to enjoy even as she continues to grow.

Do you have a certain photo that totally captivates you?

What do you think about the saying “Nothing gold can stay”?

 

OneDad3Girls

Diaper Blowouts are Crappy

Pun very much intended here! Diaper blowouts are indeed crappy both figuratively and literally. Anyone who claims otherwise is either A) some weirdo who loves poop or B) in the business of blocking blowouts. Like, for instance, this appropriately named Blowout Blocker Diaper Extension.

Butt (ha ha, get it?), Avery doesn’t have her poop shoot up her back, it’s escaping from the seams around her legs. We use cloth diapers, and I’m starting to wonder if the elastic is just losing it’s strength or Avery’s crap is just getting more powerful.

Going Mom and I are positive it’s a combination of the two. Probably doesn’t help when they are on the runny side. Am I getting too detailed? No? Okay, I’ll keep going then. Just be glad I don’t have pictures to share! 🙂

On Wednesday morning, I walked in on Avery rolling around her crib with poop all over the sheets…….and her……and then me. A quick bath, lots of wiping, spraying the diaper forever, a change of clothes, and load of laundry later and we were good again.

The morning carried on as usual; she threw her green smoothie on the floor several times and we had a lot of standoffs. I even brought her to the bounce house since I had to go to Costco which is nearby. I was sure the bounce house would keep us on good terms, but Mickey Mouse was there and she DID NOT like that giant cheese lover!

Once home, we had lunch, ran around the house, and even read an instruction manual.

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Then it was nap time.

But I just got to the French version of the instructions!
But I just got to the French version of the instructions!

Just over an hour later (yeah, she doesn’t give us much for naps these days), I walk into her room and am overwhelmed with deja vu. There she is, rolling around her crib with crap…..everywhere…..again!

Same lengthy routine as last time and we were good once again. Her sheets are pink, but at this rate they’ll be washed out white in no time!

The next day, Thursday, I cautiously walked into her room prepared for another blowout, and not the fun, party variety, but was pleased to see a clean Avery and bed. But there was no poop, which means she’s a ticking time bomb. This girl has crapped 5 times in a day, so we never feel safe.

Sure enough, right after changing her, she took one drink of her morning smoothie and that got things moving. Still no blowout, and she even came to me with her guilty “I pooped” face.

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Changed and good to go once more, we finished our NuttZo and banana breakfast before getting ready for the morning walk. As I was cleaning up in the kitchen, Avery ran off to the couch to jump around, her current favorite activity despite my pleas to be careful. Shortly thereafter, she came back to me with her arms extended to pick her up to which I obliged because, parenting.

Damn parenting, I should’ve known she was too quite for her own good. I look down and have a nice plop of poo on my shirt and see it oozing out the side of her legs. Crap, I thought (yeah yeah, literally and figuratively again), the couch! Sure enough, she tagged the couch with her crap. My patience gets tested mostly every day, but this felt like the final exam…..or at least mid-terms.

Same cleaning routine again, including all of couch cushion covers and all of us getting stripped down. I think Avery enjoyed my frantic state, but seemed unsure of her wild post-shower hair.

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I was trying to cook that night’s dinner before the episode, so I went back to finish while handing Avery a few fresh green beans to snack on. This helps to keep her from standing on my feet and pointing at my butt and then saying “butt”.

The girl has yet to understand chewing her food, so this resulted in her gagging on a tiny green bean. A big cough and a two gags later, and viola, I have a very viscous vomit on my feet. Can you even call that silver lining since it wasn’t a blowout?

I took Avery to clean her and my feet and then shut her in the playroom where I setup our tent which is obviously a little too big for indoors….

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….just so I could clean the floor without her going to wipe everything around with her hands like I know would and has happened.

Friday was a blowout-free day, but her morning diaper was so overloaded with poo that she leaked all over her sheets. Washed out white, I tell ya, those sheets won’t be pink much longer!

What a week! Who knows what the weekend holds (or doesn’t for that matter), but I guess only time will tell. Wish us luck!

How often, if ever, do you experience blowouts with your little ones?

Any tips you want to share for cloth diapers in order to prevent more blowouts?