Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

It’s Lovely Weather For a HAYRIDE Together With You!

October 20, 2013 at 11:24 pm , by 

2 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

This is a picture of you on your very first hayride, at least that I’m aware of.

(You were obviously happy about it.)

The way I see it, going on a hayride is one of the most American things you can do in Autumn.

It starts getting too cold to enjoy being outside in October, so you show up to a farm (more marketably called a “pumpkin patch”) where enough other people want to have fun, despite it being too cold to be outside for an hour and a half compared to if they were simply in their own yard.

How it seems to go for most new experiences in your life, like the train ride at the zoo last weekend, you typically are quiet as you process what’s going on- to figure out whether or not you like it.

Typically, it’s not until at least the next day that you refer to the experience as a positive event.

But with the hayride, it was barely finished before you announced to Mommy and me, “I liked the hayride.”

After all, we got pulled by a tractor! That’s not something we get to do everyday.

Soon after, we made our way to the play area, where you had no trouble finding a toy tractor to reenact our adventure.

I was uncertain how you’d react to the Halloween decorations that were placed all along the ride, but you actually thought they were pretty cool- like the giant spider made out of hay.

So what are our plans for next weekend?

You guessed it. We’re headed back to the pumpkin patch to go on the hayride again.

I’m becoming more aware of the fact that I really get to have more fun with you these days. I’m especially looking forward to the holidays coming up for the rest of the year.

Now you are really starting to remember the activities and adventures we do together as a family.

That’s not to say you’re ready for Disney World, but I’d say you’re definitely approved for that 2nd visit to the pumpkin patch next weekend.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

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Annie’s Homegrown Is America’s #10 Best Small Company

October 17, 2013 at 9:55 pm , by 

2 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

Tuesday afternoon when I picked you up from school, your teacher Ms. Lauren directed me over to the current poster on the wall, featuring what you and your friends have been learning about this week.

The question was, “What do we buy at the grocery store?”

As always, you had the most random, confusing answer:

“Old MacDonald mac and cheese, apple squeeze things, fruit juice, pizza.”

By “apple squeeze things,” Ms. Lauren knew you meant fruit pouches (GoGo Squeez applesauce pouches).

But as for “Old MacDonald mac and cheese,” she had no clue…

I explained to her that Annie’s Homegrown makes a type of mac and cheese called Bernie’s Farm, which contains noodles in the shapes of rabbits, tractors, carrots, and cows.

That, to you, is “Old MacDonald mac and cheese.”

The only other peculiar answer I saw on the list was your friend Sophie’s:

Spoons.

Yes, well, I guess sometimes you do have to get spoons at the grocery store…

Of all weeks for this story to be something I would write about, when I signed on to the MSN homepage today, I saw a link to the story, according to Forbes, “America’s Top 25 Best Small Companies.”

Annie’s Homegrown is #10 on Forbes’ list!

Do you know how happy that makes me?

I love it that a food company like Annie’s Homegrown, who is committed to saying no to GMO’s (and Monsanto) and petroleum-based food dyes (like Kraft uses) is able to be so successful in the free market.

The other thing I love is that there’s enough people in America who demand real food (that doesn’t contain mysterious and potentially harmful chemicals) so that a brand like Annie’s can be this successful.

This is such a beautiful case of supply and demand.

But most of all, the best part of this story for me is, you love Annie’s enough to mention it at school as one of the necessary staples that you like to buy at the grocery store.

You’re as passionate about Annie’s as I am! (Okay, so maybe you just like the way their food tastes and looks, and you’re not really aware of Annie’s “no GMO” policy, but still.)

That gives me one more reason to be so proud of you.

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

I Think I Can, I Think I Can…Ride The Zoo Train

October 16, 2013 at 9:18 pm , by 

2 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

As we anticipated our 2nd trip to the Louisville Zoo, I had been trying to hype up the train ride they have, since we didn’t get a chance to ride it last time.

Your response:

“No, I don’t want to ride that train.”

I didn’t believe you. I figured maybe you just didn’t know for sure what I was talking about.

After all, how could a little boy who is obsessed with Chugginton and Thomas & Friends not want to actually ride a little train around the zoo?

But Z-Day came and you held true to your word: You still didn’t want to ride it, adding, “I scared!”

However, you weren’t given a choice. There we were in line for the train ride with my parents, my sister, my brother-in-law, and your girl cousin who is 7 months younger than you.

You were getting on that train. Whether or not you would allow yourself to enjoy it, that was the part I didn’t know.

For the first minute or so of the ride, you buried your head in Mommy’s shoulder.

Then you heard all the fun happening around and you just couldn’t pretend not to be there anymore. It was nearly immediately that you began screaming with excitement.

We blasted through a series of tunnels, which from what I can remember, sort of looked like the rainbow graffiti-looking artwork on the Coldplay album, Mylo Xyloto.

With the zoo being decorated in a Fall/Halloween theme, there were plenty of other interesting things to distract you from the fact that just minutes before you were somewhat terrified.

I remember we saw some giant spiders and goofy monsters.

You loved the train ride.

It was a challenge for you, though. It placed you out of your comfort zone.

I’m not fully convinced you won’t be afraid to ride the next zoo train you encounter, but at least now I know that you enjoyed the ride in the end.

Thanks for being a brave little toaster. I mean, the little engine that could.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

P.S. To see more pictures of our family road trip, go to The Dadabase’s Facebook page and click on the picture folder, Louisville AdVANture Road Trip October 2013.

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

Thank You For Letting Me Sleep In On Our Vacation!

October 16, 2013 at 8:20 pm , by 

2 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack,

Going into last weekend’s mini-road trip and vacation, I kept my expectations extremely low, as I’ve learned to do based on previous overnight family trips.

I kept in mind, as Clark Griswold puts it, that a family vacation is not a vacation, but instead a quest for fun.

The thing that most worried me was the sleeping situation in the 3 bedroom house we rented to fit my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and your cousin, as well:

Mommy made a pallet (a Southern term for bed of blankets) for you on the floor next to our bed.

So that I wouldn’t be disappointed, I just went ahead and assumed that you would wake up in the middle of the night, realize Mommy and I were in the same room as you, and cry until we let you sleep in the bed with us…

Which would soon after result in me sleeping on the couch because I wouldn’t get any sleep because you never actually sleep if you’re in bed with us; instead you cry/play.

Not only did you sleep through the night on Day 1, but on the 2nd day you actually slept in! Mommy and I got to sleep for over 9 hours in a California King-sized bed!

That is miraculous!

I actually got an abundance of rest while on an overnight family trip? Thank you, Son.

Not only that, but our family actually got to chill out. At one point, Mommy took the Sienna for a spin to Starbucks, and you and I watched Monsters, Inc., or at least the first 42 minutes of it.

Peaceful. How cool.

So, here’s to hoping our “pallet plan” works for next time, and every future next time.

Noted: You sleep better on the floor when we’re in a strange house.

 

Love,

Daddy

P.S. To see more pictures of our family road trip, go to The Dadabase’s Facebook page and click on the picture folder, Louisville AdVANture Road Trip October 2013.

 

Leave a comment Posted on car reviews, parenting, reviews

It’s Officially Cool To Drive A Minivan Now

October 15, 2013 at 9:12 pm , by 

2 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

There used to be this stigma with minivans. I was very aware of it.

I figured if I was a 32 year-old dad who drove a minivan, it would be like giving up on being cool.

To me, driving a minivan was like wearing a t-shirt of a wolf howling at the moon and tucking it into jean shorts, with a flip phone in a holder on my woven leather belt.

At best, driving a minivan would be an ironic thing to do- like it was when I did it in high school.

But this past year, I started realizing… minivans are actually pretty cool these days.

Call it perfect timing, but then Toyota let us take one of their 2013 Siennas on our family road trip from Nashville, TN to Louisville, KY this past weekend. That’s what made me realize, it’s officially cool to drive a minivan now.

(By the way, you were pretty sad to have to say goodbye to it today. You waved to it as I dropped you off for school.)

And no, I don’t just think it’s because I’m older now and have a kid that I think minivans are cool.

Driving a minivan is fun.

I can say this, now that I’m back in my normal car, it feels like I’m driving with the emergency brake on. Mommy coincidentally said the same thing today; with this being our first day back in our own vehicles.

She and I both agreed that the Sienna rode like a boat. I mean that in a good way.

It just seemed to effortlessly hover across the road; never seeming clunky or like driving a loaf of bread.

One of my favorite parts about driving the Sienna on our road trip this weekend was when I shuttled the 8 of us around Louisville.

You, me, and Mommy met my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and your cousin there in Louisville. There were 3 vehicles and I figured we would have to do sort of a caravan thing as we drove around the city for the weekend.

But sort of by accident, Mommy discovered the stowaway seat in the very back of the van which could be attached in between the 2 captain’s chairs in the 2nd row.

That meant there were 8 seats for 8 people; 2 of those people being 2 year-olds. It’s not like we felt like a can of sardines, either.

In fact, my mom (your Nonna) commented: “I feel like I’m riding in 1st class!”

(She’s never actually ridden 1st class so we’ll let this count.)

It was a lifesaver for me because I get stressed out when I have to lead, or be part of, a caravan; especially in a city I haven’t completely memorized. Instead, all I had to do was drive (with Mommy riding shotgun) and follow the built-in GPS to the zoo.

Also, we saved money on parking by being in just one vehicle.

So, I’m over my conditioned belief that minivans uncool, or at best, ironic.

Things have changed, now.

We had a great family road trip anyway, but it totally (!) added to the enjoyment factor and subtracted from the stress factor by having the Sienna. Now I don’t like the thought of taking another family road trip the old fashioned way… without a minivan.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Disclaimer: The vehicle mentioned in this story was provided at the expense of Toyota, for the purpose of reviewing.

P.S. To see more pictures of our family road trip, go to The Dadabase’s Facebook page and click on the picture folder, Louisville AdVANture Road Trip October 2013.