parenting

Leave a comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

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

Leave a comment Posted on fatherhood, funny, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Your Special Friend, Jenna/Sk8ter Boi/Glue Vs. Ice: The Movie

5 years, 9 months.

Dear Jack: Your Special Friend, Jenna/Sk8ter Boi/Glue Vs. Ice: The Movie

Dear Jack,

You love being grown up. Kindergarten is cool. You were so ready for it.

Every morning, I drop you off at Holly’s daycare; from there, you ride the bus to your school. After just a few days of our new routine, you started telling Mommy and me about a new friend named Jenna.

Apparently, from Day #1 she has taken the initiative to be a special friend to you. It sounds like it all started when the two of you starting walking onto the bus together and sharing a seat.

We’ve yet to meet Jenna; as she apparently shows up after I drop you off each day. But we do know that she’s older; she’s in 1st grade.

Sure, you like hanging out with the boys and girls in your actual Kindergarten class, but undoubtedly, there’s something special about that 1st grader, Jenna.

As for now though, she remains a mystery to your parents.

Meanwhile, I love watching you develop your style and interests. As I took a picture of you last week, I thought to myself, “He looks like a little skateboarder.”

Then over the weekend, Mommy was telling me how you’ve been talking about wanting a skateboard.

In our cul-de-sac, it appears that boys ride skateboards while girls ride bikes.

Here you are, going on 6 years-old, and you don’t know how to ride a bike. But thing is, you don’t seem to care. Instead, you want to ride a skateboard.

As your parents, we’re here to support your interests and talents.

Therefore, our kitchen table is currently covered with different colored pieces of construction paper, in which you’ve drawn the names of each person in our family… in glue.

Wednesday evening after you finished dinner, you looked up from the paper plate with an ice cube on it, onto which you were squirting glue.

You suggested, “Hey Daddy, they should make a movie called Glue Vs. Ice.”

I’m confident you were inspired after this past weekend when you and I watched the straight-to-Netflix movie, Airplane Vs. Volcano.

When I asked you who you thought would win the fight, you confidently replied, “I think it would be the glue that wins, because it would just stick to the ice; but the ice couldn’t stick to the glue- it would just explode.”

Sounds like a great movie to me!

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Holly: I Think of You as a Pink Kitty

16 weeks.

Dear Holly: I Think of You as a Pink Kitty

Dear Holly,

You were born to parents who have an olive complexion, yet you undeniably are the color pink, in comparison to us. I like that. It makes sense to me that a baby girl as feminine as you are would be colored accordingly.

And also from the beginning, you’ve had mannerisms that remind me of a kitten.

For example, you’re not much of a crier. When you do cry though, it just sounds more like a little kitten meowing for someone to hold it.

Whenever you play, you are just like a little kitten toying with a ball of yarn, when you see anything you can reach in front of you.

In a complete coincidence, the backpack Mommy pick out for you for daycare features right there on the front of it… you guessed it- a pink kitty!

I should also point out that during these past couple of weeks, you have been transitioning into using your “stand up play center”. Really, you’re still a little too young to be in it.

However, Mommy and I have noticed that despite you not quite having the cognitive skills mastered just yet, your muscles are strong enough to support you.

You are so eager to prove yourself to us. And the talking you do…

There is so much on your mind! Whatever you are trying to tell Mommy and me through all your “goo-goo” language, it sure sounds exciting as well as urgent.

You are simply happy to be alive, that’s for sure.

So despite the chaotic schedule our family has in the midst of Mommy and me both having full-time jobs (and me having a 2nd job of blogging and vlogging) and you and your brother being away all day at school, it is such a blessing to come home and see our precious pink little baby girl and her alien-loving big brother.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: I Think of You as a Pink KittyDear Holly: I Think of You as a Pink Kitty

1 Comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Your 1st Week of Nonna and Papa’s Summer Camp

5 years, 8 months.

Dear Jack,

Last week was a historic event for you, as you spent the entire time at Nonna and Papa’s house, two and half hours away in Alabama.

I say that’s a big deal for a boy who’s about to start Kindergarten. I don’t remember spending the night with a grandparent until I was in 2nd grade, and that was just 5 miles down the road.

But after our 1st ever father and son road trip (in the 2016 Lexus ES), I dropped you off with Nana and Papa.

Fortunately, Nana did a wonderful job of documenting the entire week thanks to Facebook Messenger.

Here’s what you did all week…

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

 

How cool is that? I am so proud of you for being brave enough to spend the week with your grandparents.

Congratulations on your 1st week of summer camp!

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Holly: You are Now 3 Months Old

3 months (13 weeks).

Dear Holly: You are Now 3 Months Old

Dear Holly,

This past Sunday you not only turned 13 weeks old, but you also turned 3 months old! Granted, I wasn’t there with you, since you and Mommy have been spending the week in California while Mommy is finishing up maternity leave.

I’m happy that everyone in Sacramento got to meet you and spend time with you this week, but I’ve definitely been ready to get you back home.

Mommy texted me a couple of days ago to announce the great news that you rolled over on your tummy for the first time! My first thought was how I wish I could have been there to see it, but then I remembered:

Even if you and Mommy would have been here in Tennessee like normal, I still wouldn’t have been able to witness it because I would have been at work.

Oh well, I know that once you get home , I’ll be able to see you roll over plenty!

Mommy also texted me that you are now 25 inches long. You are growing up fast.

The thing I’m most curious about right now is whether or not you’re going to have red hair, as it currently appears to be the case…

I know your brother Jack is really looking forward to seeing you again as well. When he and I went to the movies last weekend, he took one of your outgrown dresses and put it on one of his stuffed animals, calling the panda bear “Baby.”

Dear Jack: Our 1st Father and Son Road Trip- Ghostbusters and The BFG (in the 2016 Lexus ES Hybrid)

During both movies, he held Baby tightly and she was wrapped up in a blanket, as Jack treated her like an actual baby.

Whether or not he realizes it, I do: Sometimes he subconsciously pretends his stuffed animals are you.

Jack and I will be so glad to have you and Mommy back home.

Love,

Daddy