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Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

8 weeks.

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

Dear Holly,

Mommy and I have been friends with John and Amelia Kennedy for as long as we’ve been married; nearly 8 years now. I will never forget how back in 2011, when our family moved back to Alabama for nearly a year, they visited us from Nashville. That meant the world to us.

A few months ago they had their first child, a son named Hudson. Our family visited him when he was first born. This past weekend they came to see you, as well as our “new” house. (And they were very kind to bring us vegan meals, as well!)

It was fun (and funny) to see you and Hudson interact with each other. While you have seen two other girl babies, your cousin Darla and your friend Hanna, I don’t suppose you’ve met a boy baby before.

It was inevitable that we as the parents would joke that you and Hudson will go to prom together in about 16 years: Holly Joy and Hudson James.

Nonna and Papa were also at our house for the weekend. It was their 39th wedding anniversary. I took Papa and your brother Jack to the Monster Jam event in downtown Nashville.

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

Papa was surprised how you were able to sleep through all of Jack’s noisy playing. At one point, Papa was using a Lego snake to try to bite Jack when we walked by. It was hilarious because Jack seemed genuinely afraid of the snake, even though he knew it wasn’t real. Through it all, you remained asleep while Nonna held you on the couch.

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

Once you woke up, Nonna entertained you by pretending to feed one of Jack’s stuffed animals your bottle. You were quite into.

Even though you won’t remember it, take it from me, you had a really fun weekend with family and friends.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Our Father’s Day Weekend Visitors

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Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show (Repticon)

5 years, 7 months.

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

Dear Jack,

A year and a half ago your Pre-K teacher at the time, Ms. Aimee, got you interested in live reptiles, as she had them as pets in her classroom. She also informed you of Repticon, the Reptile and Exotic Animal Show that comes to Nashville every year.

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

So not only did we take you last year when you got Snakey, your giant red snake, but we also took this year as well. Actually, it was this past weekend.

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

It was a family affair; even Baby Holly came along… even though she slept through the entire event.

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

While you definitely loved seeing all the live animals, your main incentive to go is knowing that Mommy and I are going to buy you a stuffed animal souvenir. As a family, we went there knowing that was the main agenda.

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

Though you had been planning on buying a spider and naming her Charlotte, you ended up getting swept away by a giant poison dart frog who you named, of course, Froggy.

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

Next, as any stereotypical vegan/vegetarian family would do, we had lunch at Whole Foods. Needless to say, Froggy accompanied you.

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

Fortunately, there happened to be a special on the sorbet (vegan) and gelato (vegetarian)…

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

The afternoon, you and I went to the movies for “boy time” as Mommy puts it. We decided to dress up in our matching tuxedo t-shirts.

Obviously, you took Froggy with us to the movies. After the show, as we were walking out of the room where our movie was show, a lady approached me:

“Excuse me, my granddaughters are dying to know where your son got that frog. Would you mind telling me where you found that?”

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

Imagine that. You aren’t the only kid who that it would be cool to get a giant poison dart frog.

That night, you found a clear Tupperware container big enough to hold Froggy in, as you had seen the frogs at Repticon, and then attempted to place the whole thing in the bed with you.

But by the time I came to check on you later that night, you decided she was cozier to sleep with outside of her container.

I guess real poison dart frogs prefer a clear container, but the stuffed animal version prefers a soft bed and a young child.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Your Giant Poison Dart Frog from the Nashville Reptile Show

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Dear Holly: The Picture Mommy Secretly Took of Us Sleeping

7 weeks.

Dear Holly: The Picture Mommy Secretly Took of Us Sleeping

Dear Holly,

I did a particular household chore over the weekend that I never look forward to doing: the tedious and unforgiving task of uploading the hundreds of photos from both Mommy’s phone as well as mine; then making separate folders for them to upload to our external hard drive.

(It’s not the simple cut and dry process it should be, nor is the transfer as instant as I would like.)

In doing this, I finally saw a picture that Mommy secretly took of us; back from when you were just a few days old.

I had been sitting on the floor, holding you in attempt to help you get to sleep. Then as my back became sore from hunching over, I laid back on the carpet, while keeping you in a nest of blankets, with my legs crossed “Indian style”.

Dear Holly: The Picture Mommy Secretly Took of Us Sleeping

Apparently my method was quite efficient, because we both fell deep asleep. That’s how Mommy easily sneaked over and snapped a picture of us with her phone.

It happened in the midst of first days of having bringing a newborn home from the hospital that as a parent, I don’t really remember too many details surrounding the event. Everything was just a haze at the time.

After I saw the picture this weekend, I informed Mommy that my favorite radio station, WAY-FM, is holding a contest in which moms are sending in photos of their husbands with their kids, for a Father’s Day.

So obviously, this photo has now been sent. I’m sure we won’t win, but it’s worth a shot. (The prize is a $1,000.)

If nothing else, it’s fun to be able to see this picture. Though I really don’t like uploading the pictures from our phones, at least I was able to unearth this gem.

It was totally worth the work for that reason alone, if nothing else.

Love,

Daddy

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Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

We survived! Yay for us! With Baby Holly turning 6 weeks old as of yesterday, my wife and I have apparently made it through what I hear is the toughest part of the postpartum days: the first 6 weeks.

That first month or so is when you as the parent must figure out the details on what works best for your baby regarding sleeping schedules, formulas, and diapers. It’s a culture shock as a parent, even after already having one child. I knew it would be challenging going into it.

However, I must have kept my expectations lower than I needed to because, honestly, it hasn’t been that bad!

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

Despite us managing our newborn’s infant acid reflux, for the post part, things have been fairly predictable. There have really been just 10 simple steps to caring for our newborn during the first 6 weeks:

1)      Feed her an ounce, burp her. Repeat until each ounce is gone.

2)      Change her diaper.

3)      Play with her by talking to her and helping her do exercises.

4)      Take a cute picture of her.

5)      While you teach yourself newborn photography, by the default of taking so many pictures, Instagram your work to show it off to friends and family.

6)      Change her diaper.

7)      Wrap her up in a blanket and rock her to sleep with the pacifier in her mouth,

then place her in the crib.

8)      Change her diaper, now that she finally fell asleep but wet herself again.

9)      Rock her back to sleep and place her in the crib again.

10)  Repeat two and a half hours later when she wakes up again.

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

Those are my 10 simple steps. This has been my life for the past 6 weeks.

Granted, these 10 steps have been my wife’s reality more than mine, since she’s on maternity leave, but I still work during the day. A lot of the time my main responsibility is to take care of our 5 and a half year-old son Jack while my wife Jill takes care of the baby.

This past weekend I celebrated the end of those first 6 weeks by shaving off my postpartum beard, as well as getting a hair trim. As you can see though, I was unable to overcome the temptation of shaving (and Instagramming) in stages.

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

And if my eyes look bloodshot and cross-eyed, and I look like I need some ginseng because of lack of sleep, it’s probably true.

As for Baby Holly, she doesn’t have that problem so much…

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

Fare thee well.

Postpartum: My 10 Steps of Caring for a Newborn during the First 6 Weeks

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Dear Jack: Strep Throat on Memorial Day Weekend 2016

5 years, 6 months.

Dear Jack: Strep Throat on Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Dear Jack,

The trend last week among kids in pre-school in the Nashville area was to catch Strep Throat for the first time. Your best friend Libby caught it, then you did the next day. Fortunately, your high fever of 104 signaled Mommy to take you to the doctor before the sore throat symptom ever kicked in.

Afterwards, I picked up your prescription from Publix, which was actually completely free; must be some kind of deal that Publix has worked out with the state of Tennessee.

Had the Strep Throat really gotten a good hold on you, we wouldn’t have been able to travel to Nonna and Papa’s house in Alabama for Memorial Day weekend. You really didn’t know any signs of being sick the whole time.

Dear Jack: Strep Throat on Memorial Day Weekend 2016v

Mommy made sure though, that your water bottles were especially labelled. Even then, I still accidentally ended up drinking of it. Hopefully, my vegan immune system will be strong enough to fight off the germs before they ever do any damage.

Nonna had recently bought a Cozy Coupe car, second hand. You loved driving it around the house, making an obstacle course of furniture and human beings.

Dear Jack: Strep Throat on Memorial Day Weekend 2016

While I took a 90 minute nap on Saturday, you played outside with Nonna and Poppa. Based on the pictures Mommy took, it looks like there was a water house, barrel, and sidewalk chalk involved, which temporarily stayed your face a charcoal color.

Dear Jack: Strep Throat on Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Afterwards, you cooled off by coming inside and baked “crispy poop”, which was obviously your own idea. You mixed up cocoa powder and other various ingredients in a bowl and then Nonna baked it in the oven for you.

Dear Jack: Strep Throat on Memorial Day Weekend 2016

To my surprise, you actually ate some of it… and liked it!

You also really enjoyed playing hide-and-seek with your cousin Calla. We celebrated her 5th birthday a few weeks early.

Despite having Strep Throat, you had a great time anyway. Good thing we got the medicine so early!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Strep Throat on Memorial Day Weekend 2016