Tag Archives: walking

Learning to Walk and Butt Spins + Friday Foodie Fun Facts: Pears

Only 3 days left until my “bet” that Avery would be walking by 10 months will expire. Of course, technically, this counts as walking, right?

She’s getting very close, just needs to let go and realize she doesn’t need support to stand on her own. It’s hard, but we are trying not to rush it as that will make the task of keeping up with her all that more difficult! A crawling baby is hard enough as it is!!

Although, she does give us a break every now and then just to spin on her butt….

This is pretty new and took me a while to actually capture on video, but now she does it multiple times a day. Her Aunt Lindsay, Going Mom’s sister, said she just likes a panoramic view, and I fully agree!

But I don’t think she’ll be “grounded” much longer. I’ve been catching her working on her leg strength with squats to prepare for her momentous first steps.

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What do you think? Before 11 months for sure or would say even longer?  I feel pretty confident she’ll make those steps before her 11 month mark, but only time will tell for sure.

Maybe she’ll be motivated as we start going to meetups with the Dallas Dads Group another stay-at-home dad, David Kepley, and I just started with a lot of help from some great guys at City Dads Group.

Our first official meeting is tomorrow, at nice park with a miniature train to ride! How do you think an almost 10 month old will handle a train ride? I think she’ll love it.

Now, being Friday, that means I have a few fun food facts to share. We’ve been receiving organic, local produce each week from a co-op we just joined, and I’ll start giving facts about one of the items we receive. Today, it’s pears.

I love pears and haven’t had them in a while, so it was a nice treat to see them in our last box. Being organic, I just grabbed one and ate it as is, no need to wash since even organic soil has nutrients. It was delightfully tasty and left me eager to learn more about this sweet treat. Turns out, there’s a lot to know; here’s a few things….

  • Before tobacco was introduced in Europe, pear leaves were smoked.
  • Pears are often recommended for weaning babies because they are low in acid and aren’t too harsh on a baby’s digestive system.
  • Pears have more nutrients per calorie than calories per nutrient which is surprising since they are so sweet. They are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, copper & vitamin K.
  • Pears don’t float.
  • Most pears ripen from the inside out, and if left on the tree to ripen, many varieties will turn brown and rot in the middle.
  • The skin of pears contain at least three to four times as many phytonutrients as the flesh. These phytonutrients include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory flavonoids, and potentially anti-cancer phytonutrients like cinnamic acids. The skin of the pear has also been show to contain about half of the pear’s total dietary fiber.

Wow, I’d say when put against these bell-shaped treats, other fruits just can’t com-pear!

Happy Friday!

Learning to Walk: Is it Wrong to Place Bets on your Baby?

As long as it’s just among friends and family, it’s fine, right? Not like I’m setting up an online betting site where people around the world can place wagers on when Avery will start to walk. Plus, how would they know if I rigged it or not?

I could rig it and say this counts as "walking"

I could rig it and say the above picture counts as “walking”. Or if she’s in her walker, that must count, no?

Ummm, no, dad, this doesn't count.
Ummm, no, dad, this doesn’t count.

Not that I’d actually try to make money by creating a gambling business centered around my daughter, but I’ve been making bets with myself on when she’ll actually take her first unassisted steps. I was thinking she’d do it before 9 months, but that’s only 5 days away, so now I’ll revise to before she’s 10 months.

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What do you think?

Here’s several pictures of Avery showing signs of progress, please let me know your thoughts and we’ll see how close you are when it actually happens!

Walker in training.
Walker in training.
If only those feet would go flat!!
If only those feet would go flat!!
This is my "Spider-man" impression....
This is my “Spider-man” impression….
On the tip toes
On the tip toes
Flat feet!!
Flat feet!!
Sup, dude?
Sup, dude?
You need something?
You need something?

I’m feeling pretty confident her crawling days are numbered. Should I be scared or excited?

Enjoy your Sunday!

Is it wrong to Take Toys from the Birthday Girl?

Hey, remember when it was July? What happened?!

I remember as a kid I’d try to squeeze in the last days of freedom before the looming school year began, but now everything just runs together. #lifeasaparent

On the topic of kids, we brought Avery to her first party this past Saturday for our neighbor’s little girl who turned 1. They have an older girl who just turned 4 and were celebrating that day too. For the older kids (and adults), an awesome bounce house was setup and getting a lot of use.

I can’t wait to get in a bounce house with Avery, but we decided to give the swing set a try. This was Avery’s first time in a swing, and as you can see in this video, I’d say she enjoyed!

The one year old party scene was not as “bounce-housey” with only Avery and another baby from the neighborhood who will be 1 next weekend, but they were all adorable and fun to watch nonetheless. I can see these three getting into trouble years from now.

Avery, Natalie, and Emma_Aug 2014

Avery’s attempt to keep cool in front of the older babies was thwarted when the sight of a camera got her excited. The birthday girl is in the middle, and the soon-to-be birthday girl is on the right.

We are grateful to have such good neighbors around us, and everyone had a great time at the party. Since the birthday girl is walking on her own now, there were a couple “walker” toys that have become obsolete in their house. Avery, on the other hand, took to liking one the sit-to-stand one, so our gracious neighbors sent us home with that and another walker!

Not too bad. Go to a party for someone, and leave with their stuff; that’s a win in my book! The rest of the weekend was spent with Avery effortlessly pulling herself up on everything and enjoying the new toys. I’ve thanked the already, but I want to thank our neighbors again for being so kind and letting us use these while Avery learns to walk.

I could go on, but I’ll let the pictures of Avery playing on her “new” walkers do the talking.

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And here’s a video of her smiling proudly as she stands “on her own”.

How was your weekend?

Have you ever attended someones birthday party and left with awesome gifts for yourself….or kid?

Have a great week!