Storytelling

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Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

5 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

Dear Jack,

This past weekend was likely your final weekend as an only child. I recognize the significance of that and so I wanted to make sure we got out and made it exciting.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

On Saturday, our family met up with your friends Madison and Avery (and their families) at the park. You have known them both since you were around 1 year old.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

We didn’t realize it, but there were some vendors there including K-Love radio station. They had a man in a bucket in a crane truck who threw a foam ball to all the kids below. You loved it!

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

That afternoon, we dropped Mommy off at the house to do some further “nesting,” while we went back to explore some more of McCutcheon Creek, where we left off from the week before.

In order to cross the water, we had to “build a bridge.” I found an old piece on sheet metal nearby, so I tossed it across the water and it landed on a rock; giving just enough length for you to get to the shore.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

Whereas the theme of our McCutcheon Creek expedition the week before was mud, this time it was trees. We were trekking through an area of the creek where the trees served as a canopy over us. Some of the branches were so low that we had to cross over and under them.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

At one point I abruptly announced to you, “Stop! Do you hear that?” We immediately heard a swarm of bees, but didn’t see them. I wanted to make sure we weren’t standing on some kind of underground bee colony.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

Fortunately, we weren’t. However, we were standing right underneath them: The tree we were standing next to was rotted out, with the bees having their home at the top of the tree!

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

We turned around and escaped without any bee stings. It’s always an adventure when you and I go exploring the creek!

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

And once Papa gets here when your sister is born, I have a feeling we will go explore more of McCutcheon Creek with him too. Even more fun!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

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Dear Holly: I Want Mommy to Go into Labor Tomorrow Night

39 ½ weeks.

Dear Holly: I Want Mommy to Go into Labor Tomorrow Night

Dear Holly,

Here we are, 3 days before your due date on the 21st, and just 2 days before my birthday on the 20th. So you can imagine what I want to happen:

I want you to be born on my 35th birthday.

For that to easily happen, Mommy needs to go into labor with you late Tuesday night (the 19th) and then you can be born on Wednesday (the 20th). Even if Mommy has a long labor with you like she did with your brother Jack (20 hours), you would likely still be born within the 24 hour time frame of April 20th.

The stars are aligning for this to take place. Today begins Mommy’s 4 month maternity leave; plus, Grandma (Mommy’s Mommy) flew in from California late last night.

Therefore, Mommy has so many reasons now to finally be able to relax…and have a baby!

And that brings up another reason it be nice for you to be born on the 20th; Grandma specially had her flight moved up by 36 hours to help ensure she got here before you did.

Even if you’re not born on my 35th birthday, our birthdays will still be close so I’m happy about that either way.

That’s the way it was with Nonna; my own Mommy was born on April 11th, just 9 days before my birthday.

So ultimately, even if you’re not born on my birthday… you, me, and Nonna will all have April birthdays!

The strangest thing happened today on the home when I stopped to get gas. The lady across the pump from me asked me to help her unscrew the lid on her portable gas container. I then complimented her on her Honda Fit; which I want to be my next car.

As we were talking, I mentioned that “my wife is about to have our 2nd child in a few days.”

She immediately responded with a confident smile, “Your wife is having a girl?”

With amazement, I said, “Yes… but how did you know that? Did I already tell you?”

She told me she just could tell; even though she was just looking at me. I hadn’t show her a picture of Mommy or anything. I guess it’s even further fascinating that she followed up with, “And your first born is a boy.”

While I started to imagine she might be an angel walking among us, she told me she is a school bus driver named Darlene. She said she’ll be looking for me on my way to work each morning now, since her route is the same as mine. Her bus number is 69, so I’ll be on the lookout.

We are so happy and so ready for your arrival! While the whole labor process is obviously on the chaotic side, it’s something that Mommy and I are officially looking forward to now.

I am ready for our family to grow, by about 7 pounds… hopefully on Wednesday.

Love,

Daddy

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Sponsored Post- XFINITY X1 DVR: Taking Entertainment on the Go for Road Trips

DISCLOSURE LANGUAGE

XFINITY partnered with bloggers such as me for this program. As part of this program, I received compensation for my time. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about any product mentioned in these posts. XFINITY believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. XFINITY’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

XFINITY is Coming to Nashville Soon: Google to Go for Road Trips

We all know Google Fiber is coming to Nashville soon, so when XFINITY reached out to me to see what features they offer, I did some research to see what they offer versus their competitors!

XFINITY reached out to me, asking for my help in getting the word out on some of the features that they have to offer.

It’s no secret that here on Family Friendly Daddy Blog, we are a family who loves to travel. Every summer, we fly out to California where my wife is from, and spend time with her side of the family.

XFINITY is Coming to Nashville Soon: Google to Go for Road Trips

Plus here recently, we’ve made 4 day weekend trips to Atlanta in Georgia, Pensacola and Destin in Florida, as well as Asheville and Bryson City in North Carolina.

We are a family who road trips together, that’s for sure. Our 5 and a half year-old son does amazingly well on these long drives; but of course, my wife always loads up the Kindle with kid-appropriate shows for him to watch.

That’s one of the ways that XFINITY comes in to play: With X1 DVR, we can watch our recorded shows from anywhere. That’s a feature that Google Fiber doesn’t offer.

XFINITY is Coming to Nashville Soon: Google to Go for Road Trips

Not to mention, this is our son’s first summer off from school; he’s always been in preschool. But with a baby sister due to be born next week (!), he’ll be home with Mommy and the new baby. I have a feeling XFINITY X1 DVR can come in handy on those rainy summer days.

It allows for 500 GB of storage, meaning there is access to plenty of shows and movies after you download them.

I was curious- I went ahead and checked out which of my son’s favorite shows I recognized in the Family & Kids section of XFINITY TV:

From Disney Junior, I spotted Chuggington, The Octonauts, and Special Agent Oso.

From Sprout, I saw Animal Mechanicals, Caillou, and The Berenstain Bears.

From Cartoon Network, I noticed Legends of Chima and Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.

On Nick, there is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Henry Danger.

And on Nick Jr., there’s Blaze & The Monster Machines as well as Paw Patrol.

XFINITY is Coming to Nashville Soon: Google to Go for Road Trips

These shows I’ve named are only scratching the surface. The ones I’ve named here are simply the ones I recognize that my son likes and already watches. There are dozens more shows, not to mention movies- and even more channels I didn’t mention.

So there’s my overview of some the features that XFINITY offers in Nashville. I have more to say about XFINITY, but I’ll save it for another post in May. Stay tuned…

XFINITY is Coming to Nashville Soon: Google to Go for Road Trips

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Dear Holly: Mommy’s Big Bruise a Week before Your Due Date

39 weeks.

Dear Holly: Mommy’s Big Bruise a Week before Your Due Date

Dear Holly,

On Monday morning, Mommy casually bumped her leg on the side of the bathtub. She noticed it left a bruise.

By the time she got home that evening, she pulled up her pants leg to see if that little bruise had gotten any worse.

As you can see from this picture, the bruise got much worse. It looked like she just smeared black ink over her leg.

I’m assuming blood circulation must be worse in her legs right now during the pregnancy, for such a massive bruise to come from just a minor bump.

So when you read this letter, you’ll know that this was what was going on in our lives, exactly one week before your due date: She had a huge bruise on her leg!

Yesterday Mommy went in for what I assume will be her last visit before you will be born. The technician mentioned that there were pockets of fluid that looked a little low, but that a radiologist would review and make the final assessments on the report. The ultrasound showed you as being 7 lbs. 3 oz., though the technician said that is not very accurate and it’s generally about a pound off.

I suppose our family is as ready as we can be for your arrival. We all got haircuts. Our overnight bags are packed in the trunk. Grandma is flying in from California on Monday. And Nonna and Papa are “on call” for the moment we leave for the hospital.

There’s a very real possibility that since your due date is a week from today, the next letter I write to you will be about your birth!

I’ll be telling how hopefully short the labor was… and how hopefully Mommy went into labor in the morning time so we all had a full night of sleep before you arrive.

We’ll see how that works out, though.

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: The Quicksand (Mud) at McCutcheon Creek

5 years, 4 months.

The Quicksand (Mud) at McCutcheon Creek

Dear Jack,

This past weekend for our tradition of being dangerous but not getting hurt, we decided to explore the McCutcheon Creek at Jerry Erwin Park.

The Quicksand (Mud) at McCutcheon Creek

The Quicksand (Mud) at McCutcheon Creek

I insisted that you jump across every possible crevice with water flowing under it, as you have quickly proven you have a remarkable ability to hurdle spaces you shouldn’t physically be capable of.

The Quicksand (Mud) at McCutcheon Creek

The Quicksand (Mud) at McCutcheon Creek

Of course, I made sure you wore your Spiderman rain boots, to be better equipped to walk across the water.

The Quicksand (Mud) at McCutcheon Creek

While that was a decent amount of fun on Saturday, we decided to venture out again on Sunday for an afternoon of mud.

The Quicksand (Mud) at McCutcheon Creek

After driving through that big puddle again, we made our way to the field behind Lowe’s, which features the same creek from the park the day before: McCutcheon Creek.

At first, I wasn’t so sure our surroundings would be that unique. That is, until you asked me if you could go down to the water:

You got stuck in the mud on the way there. It was like the mud was pulling you in as you attempted to step out into the nearby water.

I explained to you that’s how quicksand works. As you can see from these pictures, you at some point fell down in it and became what I call a “soggy bottom boy”.

The Quicksand (Mud) at McCutcheon Creek

It became obvious to me that we will need to be returning this coming weekend to better explore that muddy, swampy part of McCutcheon Creek.

Granted, for all we know, your new baby sister could be born this weekend, which would delay our plans.

But we definitely need to return as soon as possible. That’s because I need to let you get much muddier this next time.

I can help ensure we can be dangerous without getting hurt, but I’m not sure we can get thta muddy without it leaving some stains.

Love,

Daddy

The Quicksand (Mud) at McCutcheon Creek