Dad And The Gas Pump

Filling up the car with gas is never fun.  First of all, you have to touch that pump handle which has been touched by millions of people, all of which I have no idea where their hands have been.  I'm a bit of a germ-a-phobe (no clue how to spell that) so you can understand why I fear that handle.  I always need to have a baby wipe or that liquid that kills everything on your hand or something within 5 seconds of putting that pump handle back in its holder.  On a side note, having a kid has done wonders for my germ-a-phobia (again no clue how to spell that).  I mean, I get to carry around a bag with all sorts of cleaning stuff.  Sure I'm probably turning my daughter into a germ-a-phobi-ack (pretty sure I'm making up words and spellings now), but I would rather trend toward cleanliness than the other way of playing in a pile of garbage.  Now if playing in garbage is your thing, then go for it, but I think I would have a heart attack.  You know what else isn't fun about filling up the car with gas?  Looking at the price, but that is beyond my control.  I can at least wear rubber gloves covered in purell to get past the pump handle.

Alright after that long detour back to the story.  Despite the constant battle in my mind about that pump handle, the family car needed fuel desperately.  On my way to work, I stopped at the gas station on the corner to fill up.  This fill up started like any other normal fill up.  The problem this day was that it didn't stay normal.  In fact, it turned into a scene from some sort of horror movie!

I was standing at the pump, and of course the little metal holder that is supposed to make it so I didn't have to hold that pump handle for an extended period of time was broken.  So there I stand, thinking about all the disgusting things a person may have done before handling this handle I now hold, when I notice out of the corner of my eye a giant black something flying about 10 feet behind me and about 20 feet up in the air.  I turn to see what it is, when the flying monster dive bombs toward me.  I immediately try to dodge, but I was too late.  The bird of death landed on my head.  I proceeded to do what any logical person would do when a giant rat with wings lands on you and started doing some kind of horrible dance with my arms flailing all around.  With one of my random flails I hit the bird off my head.  Praying this would end the birds obsession with destroying me, I turned my back to my defeated opponent.  I seriously underestimated the hatred this bird held in its heart for me.  It came at me again and landed on my back.  I then did my best break dancing move leaning back then dropping down and swatting the bird again.  I then made a move to dive under the car, but the bird had flown up and notice the guy at the pump across from me.  The devil bird then tried to dive bomb that guy but missed (obviously it was mesmerized by my awesome skillz at dance) and then flew up into some random hole in the overhang at the gas station to obviously begin to plot its next attack on some other non-suspecting soul.

After the monster retreated I picked myself up and looked at the guy across the way.  He asked if I was ok, and I said of course, you see my awesome dancing ability?  Ok, I didn't say that.  I told him I was fine, and asked if he had seen the whole thing?  He said it was the craziest thing he had ever seen, and was glad to have dodged the crazy bird himself.

Not sure what happened that day, perhaps the bird smelled goldfish and animal crackers on me.  Either way it was some kind of horrible adventure I hope never to repeat.  I'm thinking about taking up karate just in case though...

Dad And The Food Bowl

Sometimes when mom is away the kids will play, or in this case my daughter and me! My daughter has always been one to make big jumps. She decided to stop nursing one day cold turkey. She never liked the bottle, but preferred straws and sippy cups. I just hope she does the same thing with potty training. She never liked baby food, and only lasted eating it for maybe a month. If it was up to her, she would have been done with it the first day. As soon as she started tasting real food around the 6-8 month range she just flat out refused to eat the baby food and would fight us with every bite. In all honesty, can you blame her? Baby food is unseasoned mush that has been in a glass bottle for who knows how long. I’m pretty sure the only reason adults get away feeding it to babies is because babies can’t voice their opinions. Well, technically they do. Babies tend to spit the food out and as they get older they throw the food. Sure the initial spit out response is explained away as the baby learning how to swallow the food or some mumbo jumbo like that, but lets be honest, when you taste something horrible what do you do? Spit it out!

There was a moment that was the final straw on even attempting to get her to eat it. One night when she was around the 7 month mark Kristin and I were eating dinner and attempting to feed our daughter her food. We had finished and Kristin had to run out to the store, leaving me in charge of trying to get some of this baby food into our daughters mouth. As soon as my wife exited the building my daughter just looked at me as if to say good luck. I was up to the challenge though. I started to slowly give her the food, and she would counter. I bobbed one way with the spoon and she weaved the other. WIth each miss she mocked me. With each miss she slowly chipped away at my soul. Ok, maybe it didn’t hurt my soul, but you get the point. She was already breaking me when she decided dodging the spoon wasn’t enough. She wanted to feed herself with the spoon. I tried to explain to her she wasn’t quite ready yet, but for some reason she doubted me.

On a side note, sometimes I feel like Marlin, the little clown fish from “Finding Nemo”. Marlin constantly tells his son Nemo, “You just can’t!” every time Nemo wants to do something. That scene flashes into my mind constantly! No you can’t jump over the couch! No you can’t bite the dog! No you can’t take the dog’s food and shove it in his mouth! No you just can’t drive the car yet, you aren’t even 2 yet! No you can’t feed yourself with the spoon yet! Most of the time my very determined daughter tries anyway. This time she listened though. After I explained she couldn’t use the spoon tonight, she stopped going for it. I guess this was a little confusing since she had started to learn to feed herself. I was just tired at this point, and wanted to get the food in her. So the spoon was no longer in her sights, instead she went for the bowl. This so far has been one of the most frustrating 10 minutes of my life. I once again said, “You just can’t!” and tried to convince her to eat just a few more bites. She once again started the bob and weave. I finally gave up and just looked at her. She looked back at me with a satisfied grin of victory. I then simply said, “what do you want?” She simply pointed at the bowl. So I gave it to her. I handed over the entire bowl that was holding a full jar of baby food. She grabbed the bowl, looked at me, and then put the edge of the bowl into her mouth. She was slurping the food from the bowl! The bowl covered her whole face, and when she finally took it down, a ring of food was circling the outside of her face. She didn’t stop there though. I guess she wanted to fully immerse herself in the food, because the bowl then became a hat. That last part was probably because I couldn’t stop laughing at the sight of her slurping the food, and she always loves to make daddy laugh.

Just as she finished up, mommy walked through the door. Needless to say, she started laughing and wanted to know what happened.

What happened was I was successful. I got some food in her, or on her, either way food left the bowl.

Dad And The Exercise Bike

Starting toward the end of last year, my wife and I decided to get serious about getting healthier. Before we had our daughter we were close to being in the best shape of our life. We were eating right, going for walks, and all sorts of other things. Then my wife got pregnant and hungry. Like eating for two people hungry, which is understandable because she was eating for two people. Me on the other hand? Well apparently some Dads experience sympathy “pains” during pregnancy. I experience sympathy weight gain, like 20 lbs! The difference between my wife an I? She gave birth, and I bought new pants. What could I say when she wanted some chocolate cake? No? To a pregnant lady? Not gonna happen! So I sat down and ate chocolate cake, and brownies, and cookies, and ice cream, and, well, you get the idea. Fast forward a few months, and we got back to eating a lot better and getting back into form. We couldn’t always go on our walks around the neighborhood though due to rain, or just plain busyness. In February, we decided to get an exercise bike. Yes an exercise bike, not a coat hanger. We actually do use it. In fact, both of us love it. I ordered it online and within a couple days it arrived.

My wife and I were both excited about seeing the box by the front door as we got home from work, and were actually surprised it wasn’t bigger. So we went into the house through the garage and I made my way to the door. I soon found out that whoever packed this thing needs an award or something, because they somehow managed to fit a 6ft by 4ft machine into what seemed like a 3ft by 4ft box. When I first grabbed box to lift it into the house I was in for another surprise... the thing weighed more than me! Instead of lifting it, I dragged it into the house. It was at this point I learned something about my daughter who at the time was 1 year old. She wants to do everything I do, and is more curious than a penguin at a wedding. She had to help me drag this monstrosity into the house. I don’t mean that I needed her help, I mean she HAD to help me. As in, I’m going to scream for the next year if you don’t let me help you drag this into the house. I grabbed an end, and told her to grab a piece of tape that was on the box. She grabbed an opening in the cardboard instead. Either way we got it into the house.

My daughter then went and played with my wife while I pulled out all the pieces. She wanted to help then too, but I didn’t want to risk her getting into something. Piece by piece i started separating out the parts of this bike in order to put it together. Luckily the instructions were very informative. Well they at least looked informative. I’m pretty sure the text was in another language, but the pictures were pretty. No worries, I’m a man and as the man of the house I would figure this thing out. It really wasn’t too bad other than the actual wire that connected the handle bars to the pedals of the bike. The manufacturer conveniently let that little number slide down into the metal pipe of the base of the bike. This pipe had no other opening then the top, and I could barely see the little wire 4ft down inside it. But with some ingenuity, multiple pairs of pliers, a broken curtain rod, hammer, and a few punches to what would be the face of the bike, the wire was retrieved. Once I got that part down after only 2 hours (can you sense the sarcasm here?) my daughter entered the room again determined to help. As I went around the bike screwing in the various bolts with an allen key, she watched me so intensely. After a little bit she found the screwdriver I had brought in and immediately went to work. After each bolt I completed, she would come behind me and and put that screwdriver on the bolt. I don’t think she was happy with the work I was doing, because she double and triple checked everything. Within an hour, thanks to her help, we finished. Her work wasn’t done though. Over the next few days she constantly would go into that room and point to where the screwdriver is kept. She would then spend ten minutes making sure each bolt was in its place and tightened.

This fascination with putting things together didn’t stop there. A few weeks later, I was tightening up some of our chairs in the kitchen, and she needed a screwdriver to help me. She wants to fix everything now, to the point that we bought her her own little tool set. Without her there to help me with that exercise bike, I’m not sure I would have finished that night. She provided some very well needed comic relief in a situation that is very frustrating. Before she got in there I wanted to throw the bike out the window. I wouldn’t have been able to do it, considering it weighs as much as a car, but i could have rented a fork lift or something.

Now my wife and I can enjoy using the bike to help us get and stay in shape. Kaylee enjoys it too. She now thinks it is a motorcycle. She climbs onto the seat, stands up, grabs the handle bars and goes “VRRROOOOOOOOMMMMMM”

Hey, she built the thing, so she can pretend it is anything she wants!

Dad And The Bear Whisperer

I am disappointed with one aspect of my life... I never discovered a super power. I thought one would evolve at some point before I was 18, but it never happened. No ability to fly, teleport, shoot lasers from my eyes, super strength, amazing accuracy with a bow and arrow, ring from the sky that can turn into anything, nothing! I didn’t even get the ability to pop a kernel of popcorn by sneezing! That is probably why I love Batman. He has no super power, and yet, he is awesome.

Even though my dream of a super power didn’t come true, I can hold out for my kids. Maybe one of them will be able to fly or throw metal things around like Magneto (minus the evil part though). I have been waiting with great anticipation for over 16 months now to see if any kind of super ability will shine in my daughter. Well those months of waiting have paid off. My daughter is a bear whisperer. That’s right, bears do whatever she wants apparently. My wife and I learned this today while at the zoo. This was our first trip to the zoo with our daughter, and what a day it was with the discovery of her super power. I couldn’t be more proud.

The trip started out pretty normal. It was hot, humid, and rained just a little bit as we weaved our way through the giant trees and winding paths through the different animal exhibits. We saw tigers, birds, snakes, birds, frogs, birds, all sorts of dogs, birds, koala bears, birds, ant eaters, and of course more birds. Zoos have a lot of birds these days. Sadly no elephants! Which was one of the main reasons for the trip! Our daughter loves elephants! She walks around and at least 3 times a day makes an elephant sound and brings her arm above her head. She loved the birds, especially when mommy busted out a quarter and we fed them. She loves ducks and got to feed a mixture of ducks and swans. The whole time she is saying, “duck! duck!” When we ran out of food she begged in her little way for more, but alas, we had no more quarters so we moved on.

After 2 hours, we pretty much had walked through the entire zoo and seen all the different animals. We did notice that we missed the bears and they supposedly had a Florida Panther (we had to preface to our daughter that it was not a hockey player, but an actual Florida Panther. She has gone to some hockey practices and games with us, so I wasn’t sure if maybe she thought Stephen Weiss lived in the zoo or something. At least that is what I would have thought.) We walked down the path and noticed that the bear was pretty close to the fence. The enclosure had a fence, then 4ft of space, then another fence. There was also a 6 foot area where there was a swimming area for the bear and separating the visitors was a thick piece of glass. We made our way to the glass, because it was the most unobstructed view of the medium sized bear. Then it happened! My daughter’s super power manifested itself! As soon as she went to that glass, the bear swam over and started splashing! The bear came right over and put his nose up against the glass, as if to say, “Yes, how can I be of service?” I thought for sure my daughter would say, “go and stop evil!” She instead tried to pet him through the glass. Some other kids ran over to see the bear up so close, and my daughter started to walk away. Wouldn’t you know that as soon as she walked away the bear swam away? Further proof of the super power! Then after looking at some bushes, she ran back up to the glass and tried her best growl. The bear looked back, turned, and swam right back up to the glass!!! It was amazing! She loved it and was laughing the whole time. Honestly, i was pretty impressed. For a person so small, and a bear so big, i thought for sure she would be a little intimidated. The bear came up out of the water and shook himself right in front of him. He looked huge in that moment, and she just laughed at him! Here is a look:





Overall it was a very great day, and now I have the great responsibility to teach my daughter to use her powers for good.

With great bears, comes great responsibility.

Oh, and we never did find that Florida Panther... maybe they were hiding some of the actual hockey players?

Dad And The Ten Minute Conversation

For the first time in a long time I did not dread my birthday. Yes that seems ridiculous for a still very young 28 year old, but it is the way I’m wired. My brain tends to go forward 10, 20, 40, 80 years and with each birthday it reminds me of the eventual situations and life bumps I will undoubtedly have to face like any other person. It takes a lot of trusting in God and smacking myself in the face to stay in and enjoy the moment. Very surprising to me, this past birthday I did not care one bit. I love where I am, and it has a lot to do with my growing family. The conversation I had with my year and a half old daughter is a perfect example.

My daughter is really starting to show affection, and will come randomly over to me, jump in my lap, give me a huge hug, and exclaim “My DADA!” The absolute best is when she then tries to have a conversation with me. It is getting a little easier as her secret code transforms into the english language. On this particular day, I had just gotten off the phone with my dad, or Papa as my daughter calls him. As I put the phone down, my daughter walked over to me, gave me a hug, and then looked me squarely in the eye and the following conversation happened:

Daughter: Papa?
Me: Yes that was Papa
Daughter: Papa?
Me: Yes that was Papa and he was at home.
Daughter: Nonna? (That is my mom)
Me: Nonna is at work
Daughter: Ella? (What she calls my sister)
Me: Ella is with Kaylen (her friend)
Daughter: Ella?
Me: She is with Kaylen
Daughter: Ella? Ella?!
Me: She is with Kaylen, honey, you know Kaylen
Daughter just stares at me...
Me: They went to the beach or something, I’m not sure
Daughter: Papa?
Me: He’s at home
Daughter: Papa?
Me: He is at home, we will see him later
Daughter: Papa?
Me: Yes, we will see him later
Daughter: Yeah! Nonna?
Me: She is at work, I’m not sure if we will see her today
Daughter: Nonna?
Me: Work
Daughter: Ella?
Me: With Kaylen
Daughter: Papa?
Me: At home.......
Daughter: Nonna?
Me: Really? She is still at work...

She then grabs the phone I had placed on the couch

Daughter: Nonna?
Me: We can’t call Nonna right now, she is working.
Daughter: Papa?
Me: I just hung up with Papa, he is coming over here in a little bit
Daughter: Ella?
Me: Honey, give me the phone, go play.
Daughter: Papa?
Me: Where is Alf’s bone? You should find it

She then goes off looking for our dog’s bone to give it to him. This simple little conversation absolutely blew my mind. It confirms how much is going on in her little head, and the connections she makes with people. She knew that if I was talking with my dad then she could ask about my mom and sister as well. I could tell she wanted to ask about my brother as well, but she hasn’t figured out the “J” sound yet for Joseph. It is conversations like this that keep me in the moment. Each new conversation is a mini adventure. Between my amazing wife and daughter I get to have an adventure everyday.

Toy Thursday - Picnic Table

It's Thursday so that means a new toy idea!

Toy Thursday is all about a toy or piece of equipment my wife and I have found useful.  Again, I can't guarantee your results will be exactly the same, I'm just throwing out an opinion and what has worked for us and others we know.

One of the most fun toys my daughter has gotten is a picnic table that was given to her by my sister. It is the Shapes And Sharing Picnic Basket the by leapfrog and it loks like this:

 

My wife and I love sitting down and having pretend picnics with her.  She even sets it up on her own now.  It is a great little toy.  It also makes sounds, and plays music.

So check it out here:

LeapFrog Shapes And Sharing Picnic Basket

and be on the look out for Tuesday's adventure!

Dad And The Mall

The mall is a dark place of evil. Yes it is. I have never liked going to that dark place. It makes me shiver every time. The mall is a place where companies go and get mad that they have to pay such high rent, and then take it out on their customers with overpriced clothes, employees that don’t want to be there, and fattening food places all over the place. They want you to stuff your face with Auntie Anne pretzels, and Mrs. Fields (or Ms? not sure if she is married) Cookies so that hopefully you won’t notice you are paying $20 for a shirt or $80 for a pair of already ripped jeans! Back in my day (I realize I technically am not that old) jeans that were torn were given to Dad to be used during oil changes on the family car. If you can get past all the tempting food, and avoid the high priced stuff, there can be deals to be found in certain stores. The only problem with that is dealing with the 48,087 people who all think they know which said of the mall they should walk on. Listen, it is just like driving. DRIVE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD! If 90% of the 48,086 (yes that number is one off because someone went insane and ran out of the mall. Perhaps that person actually went “sane” - boggles your mind huh?) are walking in one direction, why does there have to be the “cool” couple walking against the crowd? Seriously. And if your phone rings, and you stop so suddenly that I or anyone else of the 48,085 (yep we lost another one) people bump into you... it is your fault. Period. So don’t give a dirty look or make improper gestures. Apologize so everyone can move on with their lives.

If you have not figured it out yet, I really dislike the mall experience. When my family needs to go to the mall because of a great deal or for a quick meal we try to go during the day on my day off while most people are either at work, or at school. Even then, most of the subtle annoyances are only slightly less irritable. Luckily, my daughter now serves as some amazing entertainment. My wife wanted to go to this one particular mall we had not been to in a long time. It is quite a ride, and my sister came along as well. We hadn’t been out of the house in a while so I decided to go ahead and go. I’m glad I did. My daughter is now at the point that she loves to do goofy things and get us laughing.

On this particular trip, my wife and I were introduced by my sister to the store H&M. We walked in and my daughter was in one of those small “umbrella” strollers. Immediately we realized all the girl and baby stuff was on the second floor, and all they had was stairs. My wife and sister started looking for an elevator, and I just looked at my daughter, she looked at me, and I picked up the entire stroller and carried her up the stairs. As soon as we hit the top floor she decided she did not like that and wanted out! So she and I went shopping. I love how she knows exactly what she wants. We walked through and I pointed out various shirts and shorts, and one after another she either shook her head no or said, “nah.” I couldn’t believe that she didn’t like one thing! That is, until we came across some bracelets. As soon as I held them up she pulled her hands together, raised her shoulders, and yelled out, “YAH!” We had found a winner. The joy of finding bracelets did not last long though. She wanted to explore, and thus we explored. As we started making our way throughout the mall, I could only imagine how her brain is processing all the information. Her favorite spot was by the water fountains. In just a few minutes, she was best friends with the various water fountains spread throughout the mall and on the way out had to say goodbye to every single one.

My favorite part of the entire trip was when she randomly started falling down, and then walking like the hunchback of Notre Dame just to get a laugh out of my wife and I. I still can’t believe anyone who thinks that these little ones don’t know what they are doing. At around a year and a half, my daughter is showing my wife and I how much she realizes what is going on. It amazes me! Even in one of the darkest place on earth, the mall, she is able to light up the trip with her exploratory mind! A day I assumed to be stressful was nothing of the sort, not like trying to dodge laser beams!

In fact, it was such a fun day I almost didn’t notice the person I nearly had a full out collision with because they nonchalantly walked in front of us, and randomly stopped in the middle of the fifteen foot mostly empty walkway. Almost.

Toy Thursday - The Coupe

Today is Thursday and that means a new toy!

Toy Thursday is all about a toy or piece of equipment my wife and I have found useful.  Again, I can't guarantee your results will be exactly the same, I'm just throwing out an opinion and what has worked for us and others we know.

One of my favorite toys when I was a kid was my very first car.  No, not the real kind of car, the Little Tikes car.  You know the red one that smiled at you?  I'm not sure how that thing was always smiling, especially being driven and pushed into so many walls, hills, and free falls.  Although the design has changed some, Little Tikes still makes those cars, and my daughter is in love with hers.  Her grandparents got her one for Christmas, and she practically lived in it for a month.  The company makes a generic one, and one for a little princess:


 


So if you are interested, check them out here:

Little Tikes Princess Cozy Coupe - 30th Anniversary

Little Tikes Cozy Coupe 30th Anniversary Car 

and be on the look out for Tuesdays adventure!

Dad And The Binkie

Well, it happened. I never thought it would happen so soon though. I mean, my daughter was only around the thirteen month mark, but it happened. I knew the day would come, but I thought it would come when she was a teenager, or at the very least eight or nine years old. This dire situation that needed resolving was a simple one. I, along with my wife, disapproved of one of our daughters friends. Yes, it happened. And so early! Of course this friend wasn’t an actual person which made the solution that much more simple. No her friend was not made from flesh and blood, but instead of plastic and rubber. Her friend was the binkie. At first, the binkie put on the smooth talk, and made us all love it, but then the binkie’s true self started to appear. The truth always comes out, as does a person’s true nature. The binkie started influencing my daughter in bad ways, by always wanting to be around. The friendship had to end!

In all seriousness though, we probably waited a little too long to start the process of getting rid of the binkie. The binkie was not only my daughter’s friend, but our friend as well. It is a simple equation really:

Binkie = Daughter Sleep = Parents Get Break

But all good things come to an end. We weren’t scared of the process of removing the binkie and thought our daughter could stop whenever. This is her nature you see. Baby food only lasted a month, and barely that. Once she tasted solid food that didn’t taste like cardboard, she quite baby food cold turkey. She just refused to eat it. Same thing happened with nursing. My wife and I had planned for our daughter to be nursed up until the year mark. We had read about all the ridiculous health benefits nursing had, especially in that first year. Then she would be slowly weened off the nursing over a month or two. Well, on her birthday she had some regular milk in a sippy cup. She looked at me, then at my wife, as if to say, “You mean I could have been drinking from this cup the whole time?!?” She never wanted to nurse again. Ever. My wife tried that night, and our daughter just pushed her away and wanted the cup. So after all this we just assumed the binkie would be the same way.

We. Were. Wrong.

We started noticing she was asking for the binkie more and more. This was not normal. She normally only wanted the binkie when she was taking a nap or going to sleep. She started wanting it randomly through out the day. Then on a Friday we decided it was time. We had a plan to only let her have the binkie at night, when she was going to sleep. Why we started this on a Friday is beyond me. If you didn’t know, my wife and I are Children’s pastors and have services on Saturday night and Sunday morning, and we decided to take away the thing that makes our daughter go to bed on a Friday. Friday, the day before our two busiest days of the week. Life is adventure though right? So nap time came around on this Friday, and our daughter could not understand why we were withholding her binkie. She kept tapping her mouth as if to nicely point out we had forgotten something. This polite tapping transitioned into a screaming strike. A screaming strike is like a hunger strike, but instead of not eating, she screamed to try and break our spirits. This of course only made me stubborn. I quickly realized the weening off of the binkie was not going to work. It had to be all or nothing. So I walked into the room and gathered up all the binkies we had in the house and hid them. They were gone. I kicked that friend to the curb, and my wife and gave up sleep for the next three days. Our beautiful little girl who would fall asleep quickly now took over an hour. This didn’t last long though. It passed, and the three of us are better for it. Although, we did have to take away every version of the binkie, including the one that is sewn onto the baby dolls around the house.

The binkie can be your best friend and worst enemy, and there is only one way to end this adventure. I leave you with the great wisdom of Elmo:

App's for Parents - Wee Sing & Learn ABC

I am a mac guy, and thanks to the pushing of my beautiful wife, I got an iPad for my birthday.  What I didn't realize is how many apps are out there for parents, whether it is entertaining kids or just to help run the house.

So as I come across apps that have helped us, I will pass them along to you.

The first is this app:



It is a pretty amazing learning app.  It has a whole bunch of different sections in it, and my daughter loves them all.  In the "read to myself" section, my daughter loves to push the different buttons with pictures of stuff on them, and then the app will say what it is.  Kaylee has already learned multiple words from this one amazing app.  She is constantly asking to play with it too, which could be a good or bad thing, since she always seems to want to play when I'm working on something.

So check it out, they make an iPad version here:



and an iPhone version here:



As always, be on the look out for Tuesday's adventure!

Toy Thursday - Mother's Day Off

Today is Thursday and that means a new toy!

Toy Thursday is all about a toy or piece of equipment my wife and I have found useful.  Again, I can't guarantee your results will be exactly the same, I'm just throwing out an opinion and what has worked for us and others we know.

Today's Toy Thursday is going to be a little different.  It is a day to give Mothers some time off!  Sunday is Mother's day, so Dads, here are 5 things to help you when you give your wife a break!

1. Gyro Bowl - The Spill Resistant Kids Gyroscopic Bowl with Lid

Dads, get this.  While you give your wife a break, you can let your little one munch done on some goldfish.  Plus, when you get bored

For some reason this thing did not get that great of reviews on Amazon.  I have to say though, it worked for us.  My daughter walks around the house without a care in the world with her little snacks.  A lot less spills for Mom!  We do have to be careful though.  We are on our second Gyro Bowl when my daughter through it off her highchair and one of the plastic pieces on the inside broke.  So keep it away from heights!

2. Boppy Pillow with Slipcover

This one is to save your arm.  If you have ever hold an infant or toddler for any length of time, you know it is only a matter of time before your arm falls off.  This is the pillow that will save you.  Enough said.

3. Cheap Inflatable Ball

Yes, one of these.  I can't even post a link, because the only place to find these $2 balls is at your local grocery shop and maybe a Walmart.  Kids love these things though!  This is hours of running around and chasing and playing!  Dads definitely need this, for entertaining the kids, and also it is some good exercise!  Give Mom a break and get in shape all at the same time.

4. Roku Box

This one is for helping Dad cool down with the kids after running around chasing that ball.  The Roku Box Can stream all sorts of services that you already subscribe to like Netflix and Hulu Plus.  Netflix has all sorts of family movies and TV shows, including stuff like Sesame Street and Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heros.  It is also a great way for Mom to get some alone time and watch a movie she will enjoy!  It is a gateway to get the things you already have on your computer to your TV for pretty cheap.

5. Kindle Touch

This one is for your wife.  While she is taking a break she can read!  If reading isn't necessarily her thing, you could always go the Apple iPad route.

So Dads, give mom a break this Mothers day!

And everyone stay tuned to our next adventure this Tuesday!

Dad And Naptime

Fear is something living inside everyone. You may be afraid of something simple like the dark or something crazy like a green polka dot elephant. Some may be afraid of being alone, or standing on a tall building. There are fears of spiders, ants, buffalos, and armadillos. Some people say they aren’t afraid of anything. Well those people are afraid of admitting that something makes them hesitate. Nothing in life is certain, but one thing you can count on is fear will impact your life at one point. It is just a fact of life. For kids, one of the earliest fears they have is abandonment. It is why they cry when being dropped off at school, or run away from nursery workers at church. They are afraid they are going to be there forever. That fear can come and go, and is brought on by a variety of events.

For Kaylee, she started randomly experiencing this fear around nap time just around the fifteen month mark. My wife and I tried to figure it out, and we are guessing this was brought on by the week before. That week, Kaylee had fallen asleep a few times at my parent’s house just before Kristin and I had run some errands and a second time we had gone out for our anniversary. She did not really show any signs of worry. In fact, when she is with her grandparents she outwardly appears like she could care less if we are there. With good reason too, at my parents’ house she has all sorts of treats she normally doesn’t have like ice cream and cookies. So it was strange that this particular week she was glued to Kristin and myself. She did not want to take a nap. This is somewhat normal for a kid her age, but the way she went about protesting about it was different.

Every time Kristin had her a sleep, or so she thought, and tried to put her in her crib, Kaylee would jump up and start crying. She sensed the mattress or something, and would not let herself go into a deep sleep. Finally, after almost an hour I went into the room to give Kristin a break. I sat down in the rocking chair with Kaylee and got her sleeping. So I slowly stood up, determined to get her into that crib. You see, I have a full proof maneuver to get her into the crib that I use every time she falls asleep in the car and I transfer her from the car to the house. The maneuver is simple. I rock her all the way down, like a pendulum, until her little head and back are touching the mattress. It works 100% of the time. I’m awesome at this dad stuff. Well, I was at least. This day the pendulum maneuver (I am currently getting that move trademarked) failed. As soon as I pulled her away from my chest, her arm shot out and latched onto my armpit like a monkey who just dropped his banana. Her eyes opened for a full two seconds and shot a gaze into my very soul as if to say, “DON’T YOU DARE EVEN THINK ABOUT LEAVING ME IN THIS ROOM BY MYSELF, THIS IS YOUR FIRST WARNING!” I got a little scared. So I rocked her a little while longer and watched the clock. I would give her a full three minutes from the time her breathing went into that heavy sleep breathing that babies do and then once again try “The Pendulum Maneuver” (its officially mine, don’t even think about stealing it). Once again the arm grip of death latched onto the backside of my armpit and her eyes pierced the innards of my soul shouting, “THIS IS YOUR SECOND WARNING FATHER!” That was it. The Pendulum Maneuver had failed, and all hope was lost. Any alone time for Mommy and Daddy were gone now. No, I couldn’t’ give up and surrender to this baby. I would defeat her! I just had to make an adjustment to The Pendulum Maneuver. The part that was waking her up was the separating her from my chest, so I simply didn’t do that! I held her tight, and slowly crawled into the crib with her. Then i slowly laid her onto the mattress, rocking her the whole time. She did wake up for a second, but saw me there in the crib with her and went right back to sleep. Aha! Who outsmarted who now!

Well, I guess, she still is winning at this point since I find myself in this crib, on my side facing her, with her right hand under my neck, while she is asleep staring at the ceiling. I was determined to prevail. She would take a nap, and know that Mommy and Daddy were in the living room right outside her door. So I slowly started to get out of the crib, when the scariest thing in the world happened. She sensed the movement on the mattress and her eyes flung open. I tried to lay back down, but it was to late. In one motion she turned on her side and her left hand grappled me around the neck while her right hand, that was already under my neck, latched on completely. She now had me in a headlock, and stared at me with her eyes wide open and communicated to me, “THIS IS YOUR THIRD AND FINAL WARNING FATHER!” She then closed her eyes and went back to sleep. At this point, I was ready to give up. I could just take a nap with her, I was getting tired after this whole ordeal anyway. I was pretty much scared to death as to what would happen after this third and final warning. Could I really just give up though? Of course not! I had gotten this far. I realized what was setting off her highly sensitive motion detectors was the movement of the crib mattress. At this realization, I slowly just grabbed the four sides of the crib and pulled myself straight up and out, instead of rolling to the end of the mattress. I bet I looked like a ninja. A really cool ninja.

This worked! I left her room quickly and quietly, some would say ninja-like, with my arms raised. Kristin and I would get some quiet time after all. We were so excited! I told Kristin of my adventure, and of my relief that I did not find out what happened after my third and final warning.

It was then time to enjoy our quiet time... all 27 minutes of it.

At least I got a good story and Kaylee dropped the whole super attached thing after this. Technically, it happened again the next day while I was at work, when I received a call from Kristin. She had said she finally got her to fall asleep for a nap, but she had to get in the crib with her! I immediately exclaimed, “what have we started?!” Luckily, Kaylee was back to her normal self the next day. :)

If you have a great nap time story, or any other improvements on “The Pendulum Maneuver” (movie rights pending) leave it in the comments!

Toy Thursday #6 - LeapFrog My Pal

Today is Thursday and that means a new toy!

Toy Thursday is all about a toy or piece of equipment my wife and I have found useful.  Again, I can't guarantee your results will be exactly the same, I'm just throwing out an opinion and what has worked for us.  One of my daughters favorite stuffed animals is the LeapFrog My Pal Violet which Grandma got her for Christmas.  She loves this thing, and I have to admit it is pretty cool.  They also make a boy version called the LeapFrog My Pal Scout.  They look like this:




I have to admit they are pretty awesome.  You actually create an account with LeapFrog and then plug the toy into your computer and fill out some questions.  The questions are simple like what is your child's name, favorite color, animal, food, etc.  The toy will then call your child by their name and make up songs with their name and favorite stuff.  You can also pick an assortment of other songs that will show up when certain paws are pushed.  It is a great toy which my daughter wants to bring everywhere, and I get a kick with how customizable it is.

So check out the LeapFrog My Pal Violet for a girl and the LeapFrog My Pal Scout if you have a boy!

Also, be on the look out for this Tuesdays adventure as well as any updates!

Dad And The Secret Code

I have to admit, I would love to be a spy. I think I would be awesome at it. I have seen and studied every Burn Notice episode on USA. I have also seen every Mission Impossible and Borne movie, so I’m basically already trained in the important stuff like hand to hand combat and how to lose a tail. I think that is how you spell tail. You understand I mean someone who is following me when I say tail right? I don’t actually have a tail, although that would be pretty cool. Imagine the balance I would have! Anyways, back to the spy thing. I thought I knew all that I would have to know about the trade until my daughter, Kaylee, came along. Thanks to her, I now have over 15 months of secret code breaking experience along with multiple months of non verbal cues training. That’s right, I can now tell what someone wants even though they don’t say a thing! Well maybe this won’t work on everyone, but it works on Kaylee!

Most people don’t give kids enough credit. They definitely know what they want in their mind from a very early age. When I say “early” age, I mean as soon as they pop out of mommy, and perhaps even when they are in the womb. I know this because you can see a baby getting frustrated when you can’t figure out what they want. In the first few months it is pretty easy because there are only three things in their world: Eat, Sleep, Poop. So you just go through that cycle and hope you hit the mark. There is also only one sound they make at this point. That sound is crying. As they get older their wants and needs grow as does their frustration when you can’t figure out what they are saying. It’s like a volcano getting ready to explode. I personally love the “babbling” that starts to happen, and the language that each child starts to develop that is unique to them. I feel like I’m a spy with my daughter all the time. She will say something to my wife or myself, and no one will have a clue as to what she is saying except us.

Now this secret code language took some practice to master, and still my wife and I have not perfected it. Kaylee will walk up to me and say something like “Ah da da oh wa wa.” And then I just stare at her. She then will say it again, but even louder, “Ah da da oh wa wa!” I immediately know that this means now, “Father, would you please as to be so kind as to hand me my cup that is filled with wonderful h2o so that I could quench my thirst?” The first time she said this though, the next 10 minutes was a game of walk around the entire house as Kaylee points to 1,000 different objects randomly shaking her head “no.” The secret code is not only words though. There are many non verbal cues. The best example of this was on a car ride the other day. I was sitting in the back playing with her while my wife was driving, and Kaylee looked at me. I knew something was coming, she had that look in her eyes. She said, “da da,” put her right arm above her head with her fingers stretched out, made the sound “bbbbbbbbbbrrr,” then shook her head and body. Go ahead, guess what that means, I will give you a second.

It meant she wanted me to take out my iPad and open up the app that has the dancing elephant on it. She wanted to dance to the music it played. Twelve months ago she was only asking to be fed or a diaper to be changed. Now she is wanting a dancing elephant to play music so she can get her groove on. The one amazing thing about trying to decipher the secret code is when we do figure it out, Kaylee claps her hands and yells, “YAH!” I know this secret language is not going to last long as she continues to grow and is able to form the english language all the way, but I’m going to try and enjoy every second of this game we play on a consistent basis. I know my skill level is growing when the amount of YAHs outnumber the no head shakes I get.

So thank you, Kaylee, for better preparing me for my future job as a spy!

Have you ever had to figure out the secret code of a child? If so, comment below!

Toy Thursday #5 - The Sleep Sheep

Today is Thursday and that means a new toy!

Toy Thursday is all about a toy or piece of equipment my wife and I have found useful.  Again, I can't guarantee your results will be exactly the same, I'm just throwing out an opinion and what has worked for us.  Today's toy is kind of a toy, and kind of the greatest thing ever.  A friend got this for Kaylee at one of the baby showers and it has been invaluable. It is the Sleep Sheep, made by a company called Cloud B.  It looks like this:



The sheep makes a few different sounds and is basically a "white noise" machine to help a child sleep.  It has basically become a trigger for our daughter to know when it is time to sleep, as well as something for her to hear while we are still up and about the house after she falls asleep.  She loves it, and has even started pushing the various buttons on the back to turn it on herself.

So check out the Sleep Sheep and be on the look out for this Tuesdays adventure as well as any updates!  Last week I posted a random update about the first boo boo.  Check it out here in case you missed it: Update: First Boo Boo

Dad And The First Crying Night

Overall, if I had to describe my daughter, I would use words like smart, beautiful, cute, joyful, etc. But there was a night that the only word I could use was creepy. Yes, creepy. It was the first night that my wife and I let Kaylee put herself back to sleep. Now I know many people say you should start letting your kids “cry themselves to sleep” way earlier than the 14 month mark, but we didn’t do that. Kaylee started sleeping through the night after only a month, and if she did wake up, neither of us could stand hearing her cry. So we rocked her back to sleep. Around the 14 month mark, though, she would “wake” up but wouldn’t be awake. She was like sleep crying. Her eyes were closed, she would just start crying as soon as my wife or I would place her down or just randomly throughout the night. It was starting to get a bit frustrating, and it lead up to the night where the word creepy jumped off my tongue.

It was a Sunday night, or Monday morning depending on how you look at it, and Kristin and I were very tired from the weekend. We are children’s pastors with services on Saturday night, and Sunday morning, so weekends can get us pretty tired. She went to sleep at her normal time around 8pm, which was great! We thought we could relax a little a bit and then head to bed ourselves. Then the clock hit 2:30am. I woke up just long enough to see Kristin leave the room and head toward Kaylee’s room. What seemed like moments later, my beautiful wife came back in the room. She was standing near the bed, and I could still hear Kaylee crying. The following discussion happened (At least, as best I can remember. It was 3:00 in the morning, or something like that.):

Me: “Is everything ok?”
Kristin: “She won’t let me put her down, every time I do she wakes up and cries”
Me: “Its only been like 5 minutes though”
Kristin: “It’s been 2 hours”
Me: “What time is it?!?”
Kristin: “4:30”
Me: “Come to bed”
Kristin: “Let her cry?”
Me: “We’ve never let her cry before, and if we don’t get sleep we are gonna cry”
Kristin: “Ok”
Me: “Give her 5 min”

5 minutes later

Kristin: “Should I go now?”
Me: “Do five more minutes”

5 minutes later

Kristin: “What do you think?”
Me: “We’ve done 10 minutes, let’s go another 5”

5 minutes later

Kristin: “You think another 5?”
Me: “You do realize I’m not letting you go back in there right? The 5 more minutes thing is a sham.”

2 minutes later

Kristin: “I think she is sleeping.”
Me: “I will go check on her. You know what would be creepy? If i walk in there and she is just sitting and starring at the door waiting like in a movie or something.”
Kristin: “That would be creepy.“

So I get up and head to her room. It is pitch black in the house, and we had turn the light on in our room, so my eyes were having trouble adjusting as I transitioned from the bedroom to the main part of the house. I slowly opened her door to check on her, and as my eyes adapted to the low light all I could see was Kaylee sitting straight up and staring at me! At first I was terrified that she would attack me for letting her cry. Then, I couldn’t stop laughing. Kristin heard me and came to the hallway just outside our daughter’s door, and asked me what was going on. I told her it was my biggest fear, our daughter was going to kill me with a death stare. I slowly moved further into the room, trying to not make any sudden movements. I was, after all, trying to avoid the laser beams I knew would start shooting out of Kaylee’s eyes. As I ninja-d my way into the room, I noticed her eyes did not follow me. I quickly thought of motioning to Kristin to get down. Perhaps Kristin was the target! I didn’t motion though, I thought Kristin would be able to get behind the door in time to avoid the laser rays while I threw a pillow or something at Kaylee. Yes this was all going through my mind... it is almost 5am at this point, give me a break! So after the ridiculous scenario had run its course in my head, I realized she had actually fallen asleep in this position, sitting straight up with her eyes open. I walked up to the crib and gently laid her down. She immediately rolled over onto her stomach (butt straight up in the air, like how all babies sleep) and went right to sleep.

It was a crazy night to say the least. It was a break through night though. Now anytime she wakes up, within 2 minutes of crying she is back asleep. I also realize that most parents will look at this story and tell us we lucked out that we only had to hold out 17 minutes. Well, yes, Kaylee rocks, what can I say? I may be a bit biased though :)

Update: First Boo Boo

So very quickly after my wife read the first boo boo post she reminded me of another time our daughter had gotten hurt. Officially, I can not count the time she is recalling as a boo boo. It clearly falls under the bumps and bruises category I had earlier explained. This was the first time she did get hurt enough to cry though. She was at the stage of walking while holding our fingers. This is an exercise of how much can mommy and daddy’s back take until the pain is so great we collapse. It was fun to see her trying to figure out the walking thing though. One night at my parents’ house, I was walking around with her and she was getting pretty tired. She kept trying to go faster when all of a sudden she fell sleep. Sleeping does not bode well when you are holding onto someone’s fingers. She fell, and I kind of caught her before she hit the floor with full force, but she did bang her lip enough for it to hurt her. She woke up because of the pain or surprise, not sure which, and was trying to figure out what happened. I was too. I mean, she literally fell asleep while walking, who does that? My mind wasn’t there for long though, it was more on the how in the world could I let this happen to my little princess! How could I let her get hurt! The pain didn’t last long though, especially since within 30 seconds my mom handed her an ice pop (her first one), my dad handed her a $20 bill, and I handed her my phone (she was like 9 months, and already knew how to use my phone better than me). This of course is one of the more priceless pictures we have.

And for those of you thinking that in both of these stories it was dad’s fault, well, I know, I feel bad ok?! But honestly, she almost never gets hurt. It is probably why these two instances stick out in my and my wife’s mind. Our daughter has a knack for avoiding the bigger falls, and usually doesn’t run into anything. I’m pretty sure she is more aware of what is going on then I am!

That’s the update!

Check in for Tuesday’s adventure!

Toy Thursday #4 - Activity Table

Today is Thursday and that means a new toy!

Toy Thursday is all about a toy or piece of equipment my wife and I have found useful.  Again, I can't guarantee your results will be exactly the same, I'm just throwing out an opinion and what has worked for us.  Today's toy is a table made by Leap Frog.  It is the LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table and it looks like this:





My daughter played with it for the first time when some friends of ours came down for a visit.  She absolutely loved it! And so did my friend and I.  In fact while everyone else was asleep, we had a bit of a video game night.  We used the tables sound as a commentary on how we were doing, since the table makes a lot of happy and sad sounds.  Yes, I'm a nerd.  Back to Kaylee though.  She just couldn't really do to much with it yet, since she was only 2 months old.  We wanted to get one when she got a little bit older, and what do you know, but Grandma had sent one in the mail without even knowing we were looking at them!  The table has a bunch of different stages and can be used without the legs at first.  My daughter loves it and has been playing with it pretty constantly since she was around the 4 month mark.

It is a great toy with lots of music, and learning.

So if you have a little one, this may be a good pick up for you.  That name again is the LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table.


That's all for now!

Be looking out for the next adventure this upcoming Tuesday...

Dad And The First Boo Boo

There she was, looking up at me with her big brown eyes. She had a confused look on her face, as if asking, why Daddy why? She gazed at the hard cement flooring on our porch in absolute horror. She just wanted to know how this outdoor wonder land which she loves so much had just reached up, tripped her, and drawn the first blood she had ever seen. I had no answer for her, only an outstretched hand of help. I picked up my little girl, dusted her off, and assessed the damage. It is official. She had gotten her first boo boo.

Now, I’m taking about her first actual boo boo that counts. This one drew some blood. Yes it wasn’t really “bleeding” per se, but it was a scrape. It is the first boo boo that signals my little baby girl is not a baby anymore. She is officially transitioning into becoming a toddler. The baby injuries are not a boo boo. Starting around the three month mark bumps and bruises started coming as she learned to move around. Just like any kid learning to crawl and walk, she has gotten plenty of small bumps and bruises. When she started climbing? Forget it! Her shins constantly had little bumps and bruises. But this day, this day was different. This day the cement part of our porch had reached up and tripped my child. In broad day light, the ground struck my little girl and had drawn blood!

I’m still not exactly sure what happened. Much like most 15 month olds, my daughter is still mastering the art of walking and running. She was banging on our fence one moment, trying to entice the neighbor’s dogs to come out, and the next she was on the ground. I think she was practicing her ninja moves, for when she is a superhero. Anyways, I ran over and scooped her up. I saw the damage had been done, and she just looked at me like what happened. She didn’t cry too much, which is surprising, because I would have cried (somewhere my parent’s have a video of a baseball hitting my finger and I fell to the ground crying. I’m coming out with this before they can try to make fun of me with it again. In fact when I recounted my daughter’s first boo boo to them, they immediately brought up the baseball story. They would). Back to the story though. I quickly went inside and along with mommy, we cleaned up the little scrape. I kept telling her it would be ok, and she would get a band-aid. On the band-aid went, and immediately she wanted it off. I told her it would help her in the long run. Something tells me that didn’t click with my daughter because she kept trying to rip it off.

Now the babying started. I went and got her a juice box, which is a special treat for her. She immediately clapped and cheered. We then sat down to watch THE Elmo DVD. If you don’t know what THE Elmo DVD is, read here. I then went into the bedroom and along with Kaylee we explained to mommy that she needed ice cream. Sadly it was getting late at this point, so she had to settle for some goldfish. She quickly figured out that she had all the power now. Daddy wanted to make her feel better, and she knew it. Anytime she wanted something she would point, and then look down at her knee and go “oh”. Once again I had been out done by 1 year old. So for the rest of the night, I got her whatever she wanted.

I know there will be more boo boos along the way, but I hope to avoid them as much as possible. The few moments of real pain I saw in her eyes is something I never want to see. Oh and if you think a man of my age should use another word than boo boo, too bad. That is the correct medical terminology!

Toy Thursday #3 - The Ball Pit

Today is Thursday and that means a new toy!

Toy Thursday is all about a toy or piece of equipment my wife and I have found useful.  Again, I can't guarantee your results will be exactly the same, I'm just throwing out an opinion and what has worked for us.  I'm pretty sure that one of every kid's first words is "ball."  Once they learn this word they say it over and over and over.  I'm not sure what it is about this spherical shape, but kids love it.  Pretty early on in Kaylee's life we got her a bunch of the little round plastic Ball Pit Balls.  There are about a hundred different options of these, but here is what one such set would look like:



We even found her a Disney Princess Ball Pit to put those balls in.  I have never seen a kid so happy before in my life.  Of course, there are all sorts of different kinds of ball pits, they don't all have to look like this:




The ball pit is both a blessing and a curse.  My daughter loves it and will hide her other toys in it.  She will play with all the balls, and we play catch with her.  The downside you ask?  You find these plastic balls everywhere... under the couch, under the TV, under the bed, in your drawers, etc.  The overall fun we have though is worth it.


That's all for now!

Be looking out for the next adventure this upcoming Tuesday...

Dad And The First 2 Months

Down the white hallway we went. I had been up and down the elevator what seemed like a thousand times, carrying all the various items that were brought over the course of five days out to the car. This last time down the hallway was different though. This time my wife and our brand new daughter were walking with me. Well sort of. Kristin was in a wheelchair cause that’s how they roll at the hospital. (I hope you got that roll joke. If not go back and read that last sentence, cause I was on a roll with it.) So there we were, being escorted out of the hospital and then left at the curb. For days now, we had been surrounded by nurses and doctors. Honestly, for months we had professional people telling us exactly what was going on with our daughter; how she was developing, what we could expect, how to take care of Kristin while she was carrying this little thing inside of her that “fed” off of her. Seriously, pregnancy is like having an alien inside of you. If you have ever seen those sonograms, especially the early ones, you could definitely make the argument that the kids look like some kind of lizard. But the story of the sonograms are for another day. Back to the curb, where we find ourselves staring at our silver mini suv. The nurse that was escorting us out of the hospital said good bye, waved, then turned around and walked back toward the hospital. I’m pretty sure I heard an evil maniacal laugh and a “good luck, suckers” while she headed back into the hospital, but I can’t be 100% sure. I was too busy trying to figure out how to lock the car seat into the base unit that was already in the car. I’m pretty sure while I was struggling to figure it out, my 5 day old daughter was staring at me thinking, “oh gosh please don’t drop me!”

We were so happy to be out of that hospital after a few complications and a 5 day stay, we forgot to ask for our manual. I’m sure you have heard of it, right? It is the manual with a step by step guide the hospital gives you, and then a nurse will come to your house and make sure everything is good at least once a day. The nurse will guide you until you are ready. They kind of wean you off the help, and leave you with the all knowing manual that can answer any question you have now that you are in charge of the well being of an actual person’s life. Wait, what? That’s right, that’s not how it goes at all! It actually goes something like, alright you guys are done here at the hospital, so we will see you at your one month check up. Good luck!

Luck has nothing to do with surviving those first two months. Life still goes on. Luckily my parents live just five minutes away, and my wife’s parents were able to stay with us for about a week after Kaylee was born. I seriously have no idea how we would have survived without our families’ help. I experienced what true selflessness is. Anyone can say they aren’t selfish, but I now believe that the true test of how you will react under extreme conditions is having a baby.

After years of the world revolving around myself, it was now around this little human. Getting married does force one to learn to be unselfish at times, but still it is all about the two of us. Kristin and I did everything together, and were very rarely apart. If we wanted to go to a midnight release of a movie at the last minute, we went. If we decided to go to Orlando for a weekend, we went. If we wanted to take a nap at four in the afternoon, we did it. Basically, we still could do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. That changed instantly.

In the first two months, there was almost no sleep. The world warped itself into a 2-4 hour cycle. Eat, Poop, Sleep, Repeat. That was the baby’s cycle. Our cycle was feed, change diaper, someone sleep for 30 min, repeat. We entered what seemed like an endless void of sleeplessness. All the while, our normal responsibilities continued. For the first two weeks, you have people coming over, bringing you food, seeing the baby, etc. Then nothing. You get into the cycle of sleeplessness and it seems it will never end. Kind of like the “It’s A Small World” ride at Disney. The world doesn’t stop either. Work still needed to be done. Groceries need to be bought. The dog needs to be feed (We totally forgot we had a dog at times). Kristin did her best to let me sleep as much as possible so I wouldn’t be completely dead at work, and I tried to give Kristin as many breaks as possible. Kristin still wanted to do all the grocery shopping, just so she could get out of the house.

I remember our first date after Kaylee was born. She was around the two month mark, and we brought her over to my parents’ house. Kristin and I went shoe and grocery shopping. That was our date. Sounds fun right? Well to us, being able to just do simple, boring errands was like an all expense paid trip to Disney Land. Each shoe we looked at was like a forbidden look into a magical kingdom. Each grocery we put into the cart was like finding a golden goose, and taking the eggs it laid. Teenagers thought we were crazy, parents understood.

Fourteen months later, and we see our all grown up little girl. She is very independent and walks around the house with a notepad in one hand, and a crayon in the other taking “notes” about all the things she sees around the house. We can’t even remember those first two months at times. Although, when we look back and are able to look at them through rested eyes (Kaylee has basically slept through the night since she was around a month and a half) we miss that fragile little human being who depended on us for everything. We miss how she would just lay on our chest and sleep for an hour or two at a time. We miss cradling our little girl with one arm. Our little baby isn’t a baby anymore. She is about 80% into the “toddler” stage. She gives hugs out of love, which is awesome. Sometimes, Kristin and I miss the embrace out of dependance.

It was tough to survive, but probably the most either of us had grown in our lives. We had to depend on each other, and be willing to give up our individual needs. For all the adventures we already have had, as well as the ones coming, it was all totally worth it!

Toy Thusday #2 - The Super Heros

Today is Thursday and that means a new toy!

Toy Thursday is all about a toy or piece of equipment my wife and I have found useful.  Again, I can't guarantee your results will be exactly the same, I'm just throwing out an opinion and what has worked for us.  I love playing with my daughter and last week I shared one of her favorite toys, the The Little People Happy Sounds Home.  Well, having a playhouse with a bunch of "girly" people is great and all for my daughter, but as a man - yeah I said it - playing with dolls all the time can get old.  Enter the Little People DC Super Friends Wonder Woman & Batgirl Figure Pack.  That's right, the same people that make the playhouse makes superheros:

Now not only do I feel a bit better playing with dolls, but my daughter can grow up knowing she can put on a costume and fight crime!  Bonus!

They make more than Batgirl and Wonder Woman though.  I personally am looking forward to introducing her to Batman...  The whole set they make are called the Fisher Price Little People DC Super Friends Figures ~ Set of 6 and those look like this:

 

The price on this goes up and down, just got to watch for them.  I love super heros, and now my daughter can too.  Plus they fit her doll house!


That's all for now!

Be looking out for the next adventure this upcoming Tuesday...

Dad And The Timeout

There comes a time in every child’s life when they start doing things that are no longer cute and cuddly. This usually starts when they can move on their own. As soon as they taste the freedom, they must “explore” every inch of every place. All of a sudden you find a cabinet completely emptied onto the kitchen floor, or your TV box completely void of the wires attaching it to the TV, or your child jumping from your couch, swinging from the ceiling fan, and then drop kicking a lamp. Well, that last one would actually be pretty impressive and great practice in case your home was ever broken into. Not sure if I would discourage that one, just give them better targets. Anyways, there comes a point when discipline needs to be introduced. This is not fun, but absolutely necessary. Boundaries are so important for kids!

My wife and I have been working with kids for a long time now. We understand the principle of setting up boundaries and rules with a child. Children actually want these boundaries. Without rules and guidelines, a parent can lose control of a kid pretty quick and the earlier you start establishing these rules the easier time you will have. Our daughter started getting time outs as soon as she could crawl over and rip the DVR out from under the TV, or dump our dog’s food all over the kitchen floor. At the time of her first timeout, she was probably around 10 months old. The timeout only lasted about 20 seconds at the time, but she got the message. Well sort of. At first she screamed the whole time, and kept trying to wiggle her way off the little tiny blue stool we use as the timeout stool. There are a lot of people who may think that it was useless at that age for a timeout, but after a few times she started figuring it out. Kids understand a whole lot more than what most would give them credit for. Our daughter definitely understood, and would start to sit there all on her own for the 20 seconds. She also stopped ripping out the DVR and Alf was allowed to eat once again.

As time went on, our daughter eventually stopped crying and trying to get out of her timeout. The timeout has grown to a full minute now that she is older. This minute though is a practice of self control on us the parents. My wife and I have to do our best not to laugh. She now just talks in her gibberish. I can only imagine what she is saying. Probably things like “You know, timeout really isn’t fun daddy. Can I at least have a ball to play with?” I know it has something to do with a ball, because she sits there smiling and pointing everywhere going “ball, ball, ball, ball.” She also knows how to work me over too. There was a time where she had randomly gone back to flipping our dog’s bowl over again which she hadn’t done in months. So she went right to the timeout stool. I stood there trying to be tough, and she sat there with her eyes half down and half piercing through my soul. She didn’t cry, but jutted out that bottom lip of hers. 15 seconds into the minute timeout she looks straight at me with that lip, reaches up with her arms, and says, “da da?” Of course that timeout was cut short... daddy wanted his hug.

Fast forward a few months, and the timeout has been established. She very rarely even needs to actually go to the timeout stool. Just the threat of the small blue stool is enough. She can now climb on the couch, and loves to stand, run, and then try to jump from the couch to a chair right next to the couch. This of course is almost as dangerous as the swinging from the ceiling fan trying to drop kick home invaders. Well, maybe not that dangerous, but unsafe none the less. The standing on the couch had to be stopped. We did not want her getting hurt. Most of the time just saying, “you want a timeout?” and she shakes her head “no” then sits.

As she is growing, though, the connections are being made that she can get around this not being able to do what she wants. Every few months she goes back to the dog bowl. It stopped for awhile because of the timeouts, and the one time she lifted it not knowing we had just filled the bowl with water. She got an early surprise bath, which she did not enjoy at all! This stopped her for awhile. One day, though, she walked into the kitchen and had that look in her eyes. My wife immediately told her no. She headed toward the bowl with a wry smile any way. My wife once again said no and asked if she wanted a timeout? Kaylee, at her ripe old age of 14 months, sat there for a few seconds, contemplating the punishment and the joy of hearing dog food scattered all over the kitchen floor. After those few seconds, she made a decision. That decision was simple, she flipped the dog bowl over and immediately walked to her timeout stool and sat down, smiling. We had been outsmarted.

To her, the punishment was well worth it.

Luckily, she doesn’t make that choice very often!

Toy Thursday #1 - The Playhouse

My plan with this site is for every Tuesday have a new adventure up.  I would like to have other things going on as well.  So from now on, Thursdays will be known as Toy Thursday.  Basically, I will share something Kristin and I have either gotten Kaylee, or that someone else has that keeps her attention, or she likes to play with.  Maybe it will work for you, maybe not.  There are no guarantees with this, since every kid is very, very different.

So here goes!

For Christmas, Kaylee was almost one and she got her first "playhouse."  It is made by Fisher-Price and called The Little People Happy Sounds Home. It looks like this:


They also make a pink version that looks like this:



The house makes all sorts of sounds while your kid plays with it.  I constantly hear the toilet flushing, the washing machine buzzer going off, etc.  This thing has been amazing!  Kaylee will sit there and play with the little people and the house all by herself.  It is a nice little break for myself and my wife.  Now, our daughter has always been very independent, so another kid my not like it as much.  I just know for us, it has been amazing!

That's all for now!

Be looking out for the next adventure this upcoming Tuesday...

Dad And The Elmo Alien Invasion

I love Sesame Street, I really do. I think it is pretty amazing even after all these years. The show helps kids learn in a very fun way, and I know it keeps my daughter’s attention. My only problem with Sesame Street is Elmo. Yes that red monster who has completely invaded my home. You want to talk about an adventure? How about fighting off a mind controlling alien invasion. You may think that lumping in Elmo with the likes of other aliens who have tried to take over the earth in various movies, TV shows, and video games since the age of media is a little harsh, and I see your point. Elmo after all has never blown up the White House like in Independence Day, or made people where tin foil on their heads like that movie (I think it was “Signs”) with the aliens that looked like Power Ranger villains. If you don’t believe me about that last one just google it and leave some comments below with your apologies for doubting. Elmo may not have done any of those things, but he is slowly invading household by household. He already defeated Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert & Ernie, and every other Sesame Street character that used to be ahead of him when I was a kid. Now, I’m afraid to admit my house is under siege. Elmo’s plan is simple, invade and then mind control. It is already beginning. Here is how I know:

Step 1: Invasion
80% of the things in my home now have a picture of Elmo on them, and my daughter runs around the house saying “elmooooo”. Well, technically she doesn’t say it, it is more of singing it. Which is pretty impressive, since she can’t really talk yet. In fact, we are pretty sure Elmo was one of her first 5 words. She has multiple Elmo toys, three of which are stuffed dolls of various sizes. You may say, well it is easy to stop this invasion, just don’t buy her any more things with Elmo on them. That won’t work. She is 14 months old as of writing this and Elmo has worked himself into the American culture. When someone wants to get Kaylee something, the default is Elmo. Elmo is on t-shirts, singing toys, stuffed animals, plastic action figures, DVDs, etc. There is no stopping him!

Step 2: Mind Control
The other night we sat down to dinner. As a general rule, we try to put away all electronics and turn off the TV. We want to do our best to establish dinner time as a family time, and be, at least for the moment, disconnected to the outside world. Most nights this works out and it is great. Kristin and I laugh at our daughter as she learns to use spoons and forks, and mashes food all over the place while our dog, Alf, does his best to get every scrap she drops. It is an adventure every night.

But then came the night where the fog lifted from my eyes and I realized what Elmo was truly up too... world domination through mind control! Kaylee was sitting and eating when all of a sudden she looked over at the TV. It was not on. She quickly started pointing to it and saying Elmo? It technically sounds like em or elm or sometimes just o, but we know what she means. We told her she needed to finish eating, which she immediately did her arms in the air signal that means “I’m all done!” We then tried to explain to our 14 month old child that she had seen enough TV and we were going to play some games that had nothing to do with Elmo or the TV. That didn’t go so well. She immediately went over to the living room and pointed once again to the TV and very calmly said, Elmo? We once again said, no honey lets play with your toys over here. Now she got serious by grabbing the TV remote, pointing it toward the TV, mashing buttons, and then looking at us and saying in her still calm voice, Elmo? We once again assured her that we could watch Elmo later, but right now we were going to have lots of fun playing picnic and catch. Now the mind control escalated. She went to the cabinet where her Elmo DVD is stored and started pulling out, and throwing, every DVD case until she found the one she coveted... Elmo's Music Magic. She then pushed on the sound bar speaker we have (she thinks this is the manual way to turn on the TV) waving the DVD in the air saying over and over again in her still calm voice Elmo, Elmo, Elmo! Before we could once again try to explain and play with her, she put the DVD on top of the satellite box, hurried over to my recliner with remote in hand, climbed up by herself (this was one of the first times she did this. Apparently Elmo mind control gives super human strength), pulled a blanket over her lap, and then pointed the remote at the TV. She then said again in a calm voice while looking at us with her big brown eyes, Elmo?

It was at this point the mind control transferred from our little girl to us. We turned on the DVD for the 3,091,293,409,409,841st time, and sang and danced with her through the movie.

Elmo won again...

Sadly, resistance was futile.

How about you, has Elmo taken control of your house? If not what has?