Tag Archives: monthly list

Monthly List, Parenting, Photo Journal

23 Month Photo Session: Spooky Fast Halloween Edition

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Something spooky is going on here. Since it is October, I blame the spooky spirit of Halloween for our lack of punctuality on the picture post for her 23rd month since birth.

Just like the Monthly Memories posts, these Monthly Photo Session posts have become a tradition. This is the latest I’ve been on a post since the 15th of each month is the true change of age (in months), and for that, I’m making it a quick one.

Okay, Avery is the real reason this is a quickie post since, in typical toddler fashion, she would not sit still or look at the camera for a second! Geez, you’d think she has someone constantly putting a camera in her face and telling her to smile or say something. Oh, wait, she does. Oops.

The pics were taken late afternoon, right after we returned from Going Mom’s work that held a fun family Halloween trick-or-treating event. Avery dressed in the same pumpkin costume as last year since we know she’ll actually have a say by next Halloween. Of course, we didn’t go around collecting candy since we keep that out of the house, but she had fun naming the colors of wrappers to which she considered toys.

Overall, we had a good time going around seeing everyone Mommy works with and some I used to work with before becoming a stay-at-home dad. I’ll add the details to my “things I have to blog about” list for the near future, but for now, lets keep the tradition alive and look at the few pictures that made the final cut.

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When this is how things start, we basically expect them to end rather soon.
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Yep, to the floor went her bear. By now, he’s plenty used to it.
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I tried to bring him back with her “Lamby” as a reinforcement. We got a cute smile, but both animals got the shaft.DSC_0799

This look of innocence only means major guilt!DSC_0814

Oh, hey, my wife was smart and gave her a book! Duh, that actually got her to sit still.DSC_0819

Too bad 24 months is when we plan on stopping the monthly pic tradition, a book would replace her bear for sure!
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Maybe not. She lost interest and found something more exciting, her blue (a favorite color right now) cloth diaper. Apparently she needed a second diaper to go on over her pants.DSC_0805

Look at that long, wavy hair back there! And the face bursting with cuteness; you just can’t stay upset with this girl for more than a minute. Okay, maybe two minutes, depending on the severity.

And, since October 27th was Black Cat Day (who comes up with this stuff?!), my wife took a great shot of the black cat I don’t care much for.

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He’s an indoor cat, but I think he needs to be made into an outside mouse catcher to earn his keep. Trust me, Kelley has heard enough of my thoughts, and although it’s a losing battle, I still fight it.

Hopefully the final Monthly Photo Session, her 24th month (aka 2nd birthday) will turn out with a few more good pics, but only time will tell. Which, thanks to this post being overdue, isn’t that far away now. Yikes, we almost have a 2 year old on our hands!

Do you have traditional memory-type things you do with your kids?

Do you have a black cat or even know that it was Black Cat Day?

 

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

Life, Monthly List, Parenting

22 Memories From My 22nd Month Since Going Dad

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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 have 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!

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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 the 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. 🙂

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!