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.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
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!
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!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
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!
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!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
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:
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:
Monday, May 14, 2012
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!
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!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
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
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
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
3. Cheap Inflatable Ball
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!
So Dads, give mom a break this Mothers day!
And everyone stay tuned to our next adventure this Tuesday!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
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!
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!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
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!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)