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Avery, of course.

This past weekend was actually a lovely 4 day weekend for Going Mom and we had a wonderful time together!

On Saturday, G-ma came over to watch Avery as I took Kelley to Martin House Brewery for her 30th birthday, the same place I went for my 30th. We love our little girl, but it sure was nice with just the two of us; big thanks to my mom for watching our increasingly crazy girl!

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We are lightweights when it comes to drinking (not ashamed), and the 3 full glasses we each had with the tour had us slightly numb in the face with, ummmm, happiness! I also blame the beer on my over-determination to take a good selfie of us; I swear I was hitting that button!

After we returned home and G-ma left, we were sluggish the rest of the day and ready for bed. Geez, being 30 is rough! But we still had a cute little girl to care for and get to bed before we could do the same. Luckily, we had a giant box for Kelley and I to play around in with Avery and get her energy out.

Best free thing I took from a neighbor’s curbside in a looonnngg time!

The next day, Kelley’s actual birthday, I made chocolate French toast and coffee along with this fine presentation….

She gave my good beer for my 30th, and I returned the favor, plus Chimay cheese, also a great beer! Needless to say, we’re fans of good beer. I normally hand write my cards to her, but since I finally installed the printer we bought several months ago, I figured I’d use it instead.

My mom, G-ma, came back up to take Kelley out shopping as I stayed home with Avery. Basically just another day for our baby and me, but Kelley had a great time shopping with my mom and I was happy to stay at home. Shopping for clothes is not my strong suit (ha ha, get it?), and when I do, it’s online. Plus, Avery and I had some more cardboard box playing to tend to.

On Monday, we made plans to go to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden to see the pumpkin exhibit and take pictures. The drive ended up taking longer than we anticipated and we left later than we should’ve, but Avery had a nap and we enjoyed our time together surrounded by a beautiful landscape.

We wondered around taking in the scenes, and yes, we were a little lost too since we really wanted to find the pumpkin patch. Turns out, if you just follow the pumpkins lining the paths, it leads right to the patch. Go figure!

Avery kept pretty well-behaved as we took turns posing with her and taking dozens of pumpkin packed pictures.

Obviously, you MUST raise your arms when posing for pictures or the Pumpkin Ruler (aka Avery) will turn you into a pumpkin. Note the field of previous violators behind us..

Many pictures and poses later, Avery started to get fussy and we were about ready to head out to make the trek back home. But first, we had to shamelessly ask an innocent bystander to take our picture in front of this cool “squash house”.

I mean, c’mon, who wouldn’t want their picture with this gorgeous gourd home?! Okay, probably Avery, but she didn’t get a say.

Going Mom and I enjoyed the family trip, but we both agreed it will be a while until we drive back out to Dallas for something like this. Once Avery is older and can run around and talk, we’ll look into it again, but there are plenty of similar things closer to us and that’s good enough!

Our 4 days of togetherness were fun-filled and now we are both parents in our 30’s…..uh oh…getting older!! Avery stood on her own several times making us think she would take her first steps, but still won’t do it! I thought it would be a cool birthday present, but Avery thought otherwise. Maybe it’ll just be a little belated?

Have you ever been to a pumpkin patch or something similar?

How long did your little one go from standing on their own to actually walking?

Wow, this time last year I was still a working man with a pregnant wife and the both of us very anxious to meet our baby still in the womb! Now we’re one month away from a full year!

Becoming a parent is essentially the same as a jumping in a time machine set on high speed for the future. In retrospect, the moment Avery was born, Kelley and I virtually hopped into Doc’s DeLorean from “Back to the Future” after it was fully fueled with high quality trash.

It’s been great watching our little girl grow and become so mobile, but she still has yet to take her first steps. Something I was so sure would happen this past month, but she’s still a little timid about doing it on her own. But it’s coming, I just know it!

Here we are at 11 months and the memories keep piling up. But to stick with tradition, I’m only listing 11 for you, Avery, and I just like all previous monthly memory posts, I hope you enjoy reading these with your Mom and Dad (that’s me) some day. Keep on growing, dear, just not so damn fast!

1. I brought you to KidMania where, as you might guess, is a place for kids to play and use their energy. There was a 3 and under section where you obviously were confined, but still had a great time! You definitely seemed a bit puzzled in the new environment at first though.

2. Mommy and I bought you a swing after seeing how much you enjoyed it at a neighbor’s house. It was great seeing the giant smile on your face as we took turns pushing you. Swinging = Happy Avery!

3. Aaaannnnddd not swinging = upset Avery!

4. We forged through the ridiculous Dallas traffic to go to a nice park, Klyde Warren Park, which had an unexpected splash pad you couldn’t use. Luckily, there was a dry area you seemed to enjoy just as well.

5. You were in your play area with teddy keeping you company as I ran around the house, and you seemed to wear yourself out since the next thing I knew, you were asleep. Poor teddy..

6. Mommy had to leave us for 3 days on a business trip and we really missed having her with us. But, I finally started the brewing process for a Belgian Saison that, at the time I’m writing this, still has a few weeks of fermentation left before it’s ready. I couldn’t of done it without your help though.

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7. Also, while Mommy was away, I took a shot at making cultured breast milk using the kefir grains we have to make homemade kefir. End result? You absolutely hated it and didn’t trust me to give you a bottle for a while after. I then got smart and mixed a little cultured milk in a bottle of regular milk to which you didn’t mind. Phew, can’t waste Mommy’s milk!

The last kefir grains I will ever put in a breast milk bottle.

8. And of course, while Mommy was away, we had full reign of the TV and obviously we had none other than the classic 1980’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on most of the time.

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9. We have been working to get you to walk on your own for the past 2 months and you still have not taken a step without assistance. But, you’ve done everything else up to that point, including standing unassisted.

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So still no walking at 11 months…..how about before you’re 1 year old? Seems promising..

10. Mommy and I have also been trying to get you to say “Mama” or “Dada” to no avail; all you say is “Uh oh” along with cute (and not so cute) baby coos and screams. We can’t tell which one you’ll say first, and at this point, I’d be happy to hear you say either word….or maybe take a neutral stance and say “Poop”. Right now, I can only tell you pooped when you start hanging on my legs when we’re in the kitchen.

The view at my feet for most of the day.

11. Your mobility keeps getting better every day and it’s really fun seeing you smile when I drop on the ground to play with you. I can only imagine the fun we’ll have when you finally start to walk. Only time knows when, dear….

I can’t believe my next post will be for her 1 year mark! 12 memories should be easy to come by, and I’m really hoping that walking is one of them. Going Mom has been hard at work planning her 1 year party while all I am in charge with is making the food. A healthy (obviously) cake for Avery to smash as well as snacks and sweets (healthy again) for our guests.

How much planning did you do or plan on doing for your kids’ 1st birthday?

Any tips on things not to do? One of our friends put their daughter’s cake in front of her with a lit candle and she grabbed at it right away. She found out very fast that fire hurts! So, I don’t think we’ll give Avery a lit candle for her 1st.