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Dear Holly: The Postpartum Beard and My Ability to Burp You

1 month old.

https://familyfriendlydaddyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/beard1.jpg?w=680

Dear Holly,

I love having a little baby girl! I really do. I love knowing I get to come home each day and hold you, talk to you in my special baby voice, stare at you, change your diapers, feed you, and perhaps most important to Mommy… burp you.

Oh yes, that’s one of the biggest ways I can help Mommy take care of you right now. It’s currently my exclusive niche.

Mommy actually depends on me to get that done each time either one of us feeds you. I have a special yet effortless way of sort of tossing you over my shoulder. You instantly seem at peace, as you do this combination of a purr and a grunt. Usually within a couple minutes, a huge burp escapes you.

It makes me feel good to know I have a new official super power.

You are now a month-old and I do admit, it doesn’t seem you should be that old already. The time has flown by. It hasn’t been chaotic, though. Mommy and I have naturally worked out a system to share the load of caring for you.

Your brother Jack is the only one at our house who gets to sleep through the night, but that’s alright. Mommy and I are teamed up to care for you as you need to be fed, changed, and burped every 3 hours.

In the midst of all this, I have accidently invented something I call… the Postpartum Beard.

I’m a low-maintenance, low-overhead kind of guy. Therefore, I traditionally just shave once a week, every Sunday; so I’m only clean-shaven that one day and then quite stubbly for the rest of the week.

This has been my tradition for quite a while now. But now, it’s clearly been more than a week since I’ve used my Norelco.

I know people typically associate the word “postpartum” with depression, but the word simply means “following childbirth.”  I have a feeling I’m not the only dad of a newborn out there who like me, accidentally ended up with a beard.

The Postpartum Beard demonstrates something we as happily married men already know, something that apparently the media will never choose to legitimately celebrate:

As far as all of my friends who are dads, we are all very involved as parents; even with infants.

I personally don’t know of even one happily married dad who doesn’t get up in the middle of the night to help his wife with the crying baby. To me, that’s simply a given.

That doesn’t make us heroes or even special. It makes us good modern husbands and good modern fathers, which is something that we find much identity in as men, here in the year 2016. It’s masculine to sacrifice sleep and hobbies for our babies and kids.

And it’s pretty masculine to have a super power of being able to burp a baby.

You and I are a good match. Thanks for burping so easily for me.

 Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: Our 1st Time to Church as a Family of 4

5 years, 6 months.

Dear Jack: Our 1st Time to Church as a Family of 4

Dear Jack,

This past Sunday our family amazingly made it to church…early! I truly didn’t expect us to get there at all- with it being this soon; after your sister being born a month ago.

As Mommy is currently on maternity leave, I think she was especially inspired to get out of the house for an exciting event other than buying groceries or buying new “baby stuff” for Holly.

So we talked about it, planned for it, and actually made it out of the house on Sunday morning about 30 minutes before the service began, even though we only live about 10 minutes from our church.

Fortunately, there is a giant atrium leading up to the sanctuary, where there are sofa chairs adjacent to several monitor screens streaming the service through the closed doors. Mommy and I camped out there with Holly, who conveniently was asleep the whole time.

While in your class, you made an edible “torch” out of a pretzel stick and a Fruit Roll-Up as the craft. After the service, when we came to pick you up and asked why which Bible story featured a torch, you suddenly became forgetful about what you had just learned minutes beforehand.

Dear Jack: Our 1st Time to Church as a Family of 4

Or maybe you were just distracted because you were able to get away with eating a torch made out of a Fruit Roll-Up wrapped around a pretzel stick.

After we got back to the house, you were singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” which I had never you sing before. Granted, you were substituting the word “world” for “Lego”, as you were building a “giant tank for the bad guys”.

Every night for bed time since then, you’ve requested I sing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” in addition to the other songs I always sing you: “Jesus Loves Me” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”

Even if you don’t know what the edible torch symbolizes, you definitely paid attention in class while they were teaching that song.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Our 1st Time to Church as a Family of 4

3 Comments Posted on parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

We’re Going to Nashville Monster Jam on June 18, 2016 (Father’s Day Ticket Giveaway)

We’re Going to Nashville Monster Jam on June 18, 2016 (Father’s Day Ticket Giveaway)

It’s no secret that our family enjoys going to see the monster trucks whenever Monster Jam comes to town. I’ve written about our Monster Jam experiences each and every time we’ve gone. Fortunately for us Nashvillians, next month will make the 2nd time within the year that Monster Jam has graced our city.

This will be the first time we’ve ever been to an outdoor Monster Jam show, as the event will be taking place at the Nissan Stadium in downtown Nashville.

The show is on Saturday, June 18th, 2016 and begins at 7 PM.

We’re Going to Nashville Monster Jam on June 18, 2016 (Father’s Day Ticket Giveaway)

You know me- I love to celebrate fatherhood and masculinity. Both themes seem to mesh naturally well with monster trucks. My wife and a month-old daughter will be sitting this one out, but I’ll be taking my son and my own dad. After all, the show is on Father’s Day weekend.

So, thanks to the folks at Monster Jam, I was able to give away 4 tickets to giveaway away for the show! I held a giveaway and here was the winning entry:

My daughter is 7 years old. her daddy passed away a few months Shy of her second birthday. She’s in to big trucks and mud. I think this would really brighten her spirit up around this tough time of the year. Although I’m a momma I’d definitely LOVE to treat my kids to a fun night out. We have never been to anything like this and it would be a dream come true.

On Memorial Day, I’ll announced her as the winner on my Facebook page for Family Friendly Daddy Blog.

And even for those who didn’t win, you still can save $5 on tickets. The discount code is: MJAM.

I wonder who will join us there?

We’re Going to Nashville Monster Jam on June 18, 2016 (Father’s Day Ticket Giveaway)

MONSTER JAM® To Make Debut 
at Nissan Stadium This Summer 
Tickets On Sale Now                     
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It’s official, MONSTER JAM® will make its debut at Nissan Stadium on June 18, 2016. Tickets are on sale now. The action takes place Father’s Day weekend, making it the perfect outing to celebrate Dad. The Party in the Pits will bring loads of family fun, all leading up to the main event. Fans will be treated to aggressive, head-to-head racing action with more than a dozen of Monster Jam’s fiercest athletes competing in a stadium in Nashville for the first time. 
 
Party in the Pits:      1:30 p.m.–5 p.m. outside Nissan Stadium (Lot H) 
Show Time:              Saturday, June 18, 2016
Gates Open at 5 p.m. 
Opening Ceremonies at 6:30 p.m.
Racing Starts at 7 p.m.
Location:                   Nissan Stadium, 1 Titans Way, Nashville, TN 37213
Tickets:                     Tickets start at only $15*
           Pit Passes are $10
*Subject to facility, convenience and handling charges 
Tickets are available at https://www.monsterjam.com/tickets or by calling 800-745-3000
Trucks:                     Grave Digger®
Max-D®
Scooby-DooSM
ZombieSM
Son-Uva Digger®
Soldier Fortune 
Metal Mulisha 
                                   Plus many more!
Approximately 12 feet tall and about 12 feet wide, Monster Jam trucks are custom-designed machines that sit atop 66-inch-tall tires and weigh a minimum of 10,000 pounds. Built for short, high-powered bursts of speed, Monster Jam trucks generate 1,500 to 2,000 horsepower and are capable of speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. Monster Jam trucks can fly up to 125 to 130 feet (a distance greater than 14 cars side by side) and up to 35 feet in the air.
For more information on the Monster Jam, log onto www.MonsterJam.com.  To follow Monster Jam on Facebook at Twitter, log on to Facebook.com/MJOnline and Twitter.com/MonsterJam.
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No, I am Not Tai Lopez

No, I am Not Tai Lopez

Sunday after church, my family was out running some errands in Spring Hill, Tennessee. A guy I had never seen in my life approached me and asked me, very excitedly:

“Hey, are you Tai Lopez?”

Having never heard of Tai Lopez, I somewhat strangely replied, “No, but I am part Mexican, so maybe I look like him?”

The stranger then explained to me that Tai Lopez has a blog and YouTube channel and talks about money management.

I explained that I do as well, but I am indeed not Tai Lopez.

After a quick Google search after I got home, I learned that Tai Lopez was a self-made millionaire by the time he was 30 years-old and a member of MENSA, the high IQ society.

I suppose it’s flattering to be mistaken for a more intelligent, famous, and multi-millionaire version of myself.

This may sound a bit weird but I’m not that aware of what my distinguishing features are other than dark hair and sort of yellow-tinted olive-colored skin. I mean, I know what I look like, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m just a normal looking guy.

Other than maybe Fred Savage, I hadn’t give much thought to anyone else who else in the world I might look like.

I do become aware of my inability to understand the outside world’s perception of what I look like when I look at my kids. I feel that neither my 5 and a half year-old son nor my month-old daughter specifically look a whole lot like either my wife nor me.

While I do see more of my wife in our kids, I get confused when I try to see myself in them; ultimately, because I’m not exactly sure what my distinguishing features are… other than being similar to those of Tai Lopez.

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Dear Holly: Your Pennsylvania Cousins “Adopted” You and Your Brother for the Weekend

3 weeks.

Dear Holly: Your Pennsylvania Cousins “Adopted” You and Your Brother for the Weekend

Dear Holly,

Mommy’s older sister Jenny, along with your Uncle Tom and your cousins Taylore and Rachel, visited us all the way from Pennsylvania; near the New Jersey state line. They were here for about 4 days.

Immediately upon arrival, Taylore “adopted” you for the weekend, as she is planning on going to school to become a labor and delivery nurse after she graduates high school next year. She visited Vanderbilt University (where Mommy works) as a potential college.

Dear Holly: Your Pennsylvania Cousins “Adopted” You and Your Brother for the Weekend

Taylore immediately (and literally) jumped up at every opportunity to hold you, feed you, burp you, change you, and play with you. She loved taking care of you.

Similarly, your cousin Rachel naturally “adopted” your brother Jack for the weekend. Though he is 5 and a half and she is 13, they were perfectly suited as buddies. The way they played together was effortless.

Dear Holly: Your Pennsylvania Cousins “Adopted” You and Your Brother for the Weekend

This sort of double cousin adoption was evident the whole weekend. While we were all at Starbucks enjoying the parade right outside, Rachel and Jack followed each other around. Meanwhile, Taylore studied the way Mommy fed you your bottle.

Dear Holly: Your Pennsylvania Cousins “Adopted” You and Your Brother for the Weekend

Later on at Mellow Mushroom, Jack wanted to try his hand at the crane machine, in which all the prizes are rubber duckies. In addition to the black with rainbow polka dots one that I won for Jack, Rachel also won one for Jack.

Conveniently, Taylor won a very appropriately themed princess rubber ducky for you!

Dear Holly: Your Pennsylvania Cousins “Adopted” You and Your Brother for the Weekend

We had a wonderful time having them in town. Not to mention, Aunt Jenny’s family gave us a break by staying with us. I say this not only because your cousins took care of you and Jack the whole time:

Your Aunt Jenny helped with cooking, washing and drying the dishes, as well as waking up at 6:00 AM to take care of you each morning; allowing Mommy (and me) to sleep in.

As for now, it’s back to the real world.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Your Pennsylvania Cousins “Adopted” You and Your Brother for the Weekend