family

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Dear Holly: Your Invisibility Cloak

18 weeks.

Dear Holly: Your Invisibility Cloak

Dear Holly,

Sunday afternoon after you woke up from your nap, I sloppily picked you up in your blanket, as it flopped over on top of your head.

I could tell you were in the mood to be walked around the house; looking out windows and at wall decorations. Obviously, the most interesting thing going on in our house is typically your brother Jack.

He was busy this time making a plane out of the couch, covered with his tent as well as blankets and pillows. He explained to me that the motor is the sword he made out of blocks.

Then he looked up and saw you: “Daddy, how can she even see with that blanket over her eyes?”

Dear Holly: Your Invisibility Cloak

I hadn’t noticed that the blanket had fallen from on top of your head into the form of a hood, leaving just enough room for you to see.

As I continued walking you around our house, I was surprised that you hadn’t made a peep; even though your diaper was wet, since you had just woken up from your nap.

But I wasn’t going to stop the show. If you were happy in your strange condition, I wouldn’t be the one to interfere.

By the time 30 minutes had passed, and you were still quiet and content under your homemade hood, I developed a likely theory:

You believed that the hood from the blanket made you invisible.

And I say this because I’ve never seen you go so long while in need of a diaper change, without making a sound. It was as if you felt if you did, it would expire your superpower of invisibility.

In the end, you went about an hour before finally choosing to expire your ability to be unseen by the rest of the world.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Your Invisibility Cloak

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Dear Holly: You Turned 4 Months Old This Week

4 months.

Dear Holly: You Turned 4 Months Old This Week

This week as you turned 4 months old, you discovered your feet. It’s been very exciting for you, as your toes are like a new toy for you.

Sometimes as I’m talking you while you are laying down, you’ll be smiling at me and even talking to me (in your “goo goo” language), and then all of the sudden you’ll just grab your toes and instantly roll over.

Because that’s another thing you’re into these days: Successfully rolling over on your tummy.

Even in the midst of being really tired and ready for me to wrap you up in a blanket for a nap, it’s typical for you to grab your toes and roll over… if for no other reason, to kill time until I get you to sleep.

Something I’ve officially learned about you this week is this: Pink is definitely your color.

Dear Holly: You Turned 4 Months Old This Week

We had you dressed in a blue outfit on Monday and you just didn’t seem like yourself. It was as if you felt out of place.

But every day since then, Mommy has chosen pink outfits for you, and you were back to thriving!

Obviously, I’ve been Instagramming you a lot. One of my recent favorites is from Tuesday, when you decided while I was feeding you breakfast, that it was more fun to play than to eat.

The way you looked at me, it was as if you were so much older than a 4 month old girl. I think you knew exactly how you adorable you were.

Another one of my favorite pictures of you is one that I took of you right before I took you and Jack to school. You held your hands together in a way that seemed to say, “I’ll just be here if you need me.”

I’m pretty sure that everyone knows I’m crazy about you.

Love,

Daddy

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Parental Guide Summary of Pete’s Dragon (2016, Rated PG)

Parental Guide Summary of Pete's Dragon (2016, Rated PG-13)

The new Pete’s Dragon movie takes place in circa-1983, just like this year’s X-Men Apocalypse, as well as Netflix’s summer hit show, Stranger Things. The funny part is, I have no idea why the new Pete’s Dragon movie takes place in the Eighties; it has nothing to do with the plot in any way.

Never at any point do they acknowledge the year. This is simply information you deduce from the clothing, hairstyles, cars, and lack of cell phones. When the movie begins, “1983” doesn’t flash up on the screen.

Similarly, I’m led to believe the movie takes place in either Washington state or Oregon, based on the redwood trees. But they never come out and say that either.

Oh yeah, and, by the way: Take your kids to see this movie!

It is totally worth it. It is the perfect family movie to see in the theater this year. Plenty of heart and adventure, yet not cheesy in any way.

Here’s a breakdown of the new Pete’s Dragon movie, from a “family friendly” perspective:

Profanity:

None; not even any form of “OMG”. There is a mention of literal hell, as the dragon’s eyes are compared to “the color of hell fire.” But I have a feeling no one is going to find that be be offensive.

Sex/Nudity:

Not even a kiss.

Violence:

A crew of men use tranquilizer rifles to hunt down the dragon.

Drugs/Alcohol:

Not even the sight of an empty beer bottle.

Dark Themes:

Just like virtually every Disney movie ever made, the boy becomes an orphan in the opening scene, in the event of a car accident. However, the trauma of this is downplayed greatly: The car is show flipping upside down but the bodies of the parents are not seen.

I strongly recommend this movie. My son just started Kindergarten this week; he’s about 5 and a half years-old. Pete’s Dragon was perfectly relevant and appropriate.

Go right now. Take the kids. See Pete’s Dragon.

Also, here’s the video version of this blog post:

 

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Dear Jack: You Started Kindergarten This Week, Exactly 30 Years after I Did

5 years, 8 months.

Dear Jack: You Started Kindergarten This Week, Exactly 30 Years after I Did

Dear Jack,

Exactly three decades ago in August 1986, I began Kindergarten back at Forest Avenue Elementary in Fort Payne, Alabama. I remember how much I cried, begging your Nana (my Mommy) not to leave me there.

She said, “Oh look, it’s Heath Owen. He’s the son of lead singer of Alabama (the Country music group).”

Somehow that distraction helped ease the chaos in my mind. After all, “Roll On Eighteen Wheeler” was, by default, by favorite song around that time.

I will quickly acknowledge that your first day and first week of Kindergarten have been nothing like that. Instead, you have been literally and figuratively hopping to go to school.

You love it!

Granted, you have been in daycare, and then preschool, since you were 7 months old; which was 5 years ago.

So for the past 5 years of your life, it has been completely normal to spend most weekdays with a teacher and other students.

Simply put, you were more than ready to start Kindergarten this week. I know you’re going to have a very exciting year!

It just so happened that your first day of Kindergarten was also your sister Holly’s first day at daycare.

She’s only half the age you were when you started going to preschool. There’s no doubt it’s a heavy psychological thing for a parent to drop off their baby all day, for the first time. It’s just not easy.

But I know in the end, I will see the positive benefits that come from growing up in day care and preschool.

I just look at you. You are so bright, so creative, so eager to learn, so energetic, and yet so behaved for your teachers.

So as tough as it is to see Holly go to daycare this week, I know that you turned out just fine… and are going to make the best Kindergartner I know!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: You Started Kindergarten This Week, Exactly 30 Years after I Did

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Dear Holly: Riding on Your Brother Batman’s Shoulders

14 weeks.

Dear Holly: Riding on Your Brother Batman’s Shoulders

Dear Holly,

You now depend on Jack to entertain you each evening while Mommy and I finish preparing dinner. These days, we are able to lay you down on a blanket while Jack finds new ways to amuse you.

Earlier this week, Jack discovered his Batman mask from his Halloween costume two years ago in his closet. He also grabbed his favorite blanket and decided to “fly” around you, flapping his “cape” and regularly stopping abruptly in front you to proclaim, “Beware!”

From there, he would present you with a dramatic pause, as if to solicit a response of possible intimidation.

Each time, you instead presented him with a look that implied, “Okay, go on… What else ya got?”

Anytime he would stop pretending to be Batman for any reason, like getting himself some water or a snack real quick, you would make it known that he needed to return to his job post.

Dear Holly: Riding on Your Brother Batman’s Shoulders

You would turn your head from side to side, looking for him, then letting out a squeal to communicate to him, “Hey, come back… You have work to do!”

I think your brother is surprised that even though he is just randomly joking around, he is actually playing an important role in the family: His ability to entertain you is an asset; more so than he might realize.

And last weekend when Nonna and Papa were here, Jack recruited me to help him carry you on his shoulders. With my assistance, he carried you the distance from the living room to the dining room, and back, several times.

This shouldn’t have been something you liked. It didn’t make much sense that you went along with it and liked it. I can clearly see how your sibling relationship is developing with Jack.

His obscure ideas again prove that even when Jack doesn’t take himself seriously, you often do.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Riding on Your Brother Batman’s Shoulders