Tag Archives: weekend recap

Party in the Neighborhood and Chores at Home

Does your neighborhood have a social (or any kind of) committee? Ours has a social committee, which Going Mom is a part of, and they planned an awesome summer kick-off party for all our neighbors to attend.

Being the husband of a committee member, I, along with a few other husbands, had the pleasure of helping out with the event. I loaded Avery’s Fisher-Price Basketball goal to bring  (it ended up being a “slam dunk”) and helped with the kid’s fishing station. We didn’t know so many kids lived in the neighborhood until our big party. It’s great knowing there are so many playmates right in the hood.

Hopefully they won’t become hood-lums as the get older and terrorize all of us parents. Just like I (neverdid when I was a kid. Sorry, Mom. Not that I’m concerned our little angel would cause any trouble when all she want to do is play with bubbles.

Bubble Play at Neighbhorhood Party

The bubble machine was THE highlight of the party for our little girl, and many others. Then there were the piñatas.  Going Mom was in charge of buying these, and she chose the coolest turtle piñata for little kids…

….and a giant flip flop for the older kids.

I’ve been part of a piñata massacre before, but never a turtle; it hurt to watch.

Pinata Party Meme - Stop the Violence

No pictures of the abuse, but if you’ve seen an mob of zombies hovering over a fallen human on the The Walking Dead, it’s basically the same thing. Only kids are the zombies and scattered candy is the fallen human.

Avery has yet to taste candy or anything that’s basically pure sugar, so she didn’t care much about what came out of the papier-mâché vessels. I know the day will come, but until then, we’ll enjoy her not begging to satisfy her sweet tooth unless it’s something we  ourselves.

The party was a major hit for the neighborhood and we’re all thankful for an awesome committee. I suggested another party with a Midsummer’s Night Dream theme. Sounds cool, but I guess I wouldn’t be the one doing all of the hard work, so I won’t push it.

The rest of the weekend was low key with us just taking care of chores around the house. Avery made sure to help when and where she could.

party, cleaning with mommy, parenting, toddlers
I’ve got Mommy’s back….literally.

My wife continued her paint everything beige project around the home and enlisted the help of some non-toxic finger paint from Alex Toys to keep our toddler’s wondering hands busy.

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And guess what? It worked!

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After finishing in the kitchen, I sat down and painted with her to make sure she kept busy. The paints are nothing great, but they are inexpensive and colors go on paper. That’s all toddlers care about! I still have yet to help with the actual painting.

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Sorry, wife. Hope you still love me!

That’s about it for our weekend of fun, cleaning, and projects. This time next week, we’ll be living it up in North Carolina at the Outer Banks. It will be Avery’s first trip to the ocean and we’re excited to play in the sand with our beautiful girl. The sleeping arrangements, on the other hand, are something we’re not quite looking forward to. We’ll be in bunk beds with me on the top and Going Mom on the bottom with Avery. Sounds simple, but from what I posted on Instagram the other day, well, I’ll let you know afterward.

Our Daughter’s Birthday Recap: She’s Freakin’ Two!

To clarify, this is a recap of her birthday party, a day before her actual birthday, but close enough. Low key and no frills was the objective, and I’d say we mostly succeeded with our mission. A few friends and family came over to wish our growing girl happy 2nd birthday and we avoided any kind of major drama.

Just like the format of my Roller Coaster Recap of August, I am going to recap her birthday in High-Low fashion. And, just as before, the plan is to end on a high note!

High – Just the fact that we’re celebrating the 2nd birthday of our beautiful, smart, healthy, and happy (most of the time) little girl is awesome! It’s cliche, but true, they really do grow so fast!

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High – Opening a gift from G-Ma in bag with polkadots. Gasp, and her shirt has polkadots!

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Low – Avery was overwhelmed by so many people giving her so much attention all at once. So I helped matters by sticking a camera in her face to capture the moment.

Can I just eat with my turtle in peace?!
Can I just eat with my turtle in peace?!

High – Going Mom kept decorations simple yet elegant, and the food was placed for easy access.

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Low – We had a nice assortment of Beanitos Black Bean Chips, crudites, hummus, and cupcakes homemade by a neighbor laid out for our guests. Unfortunately, we completely forgot about the giant bowl of fresh strawberries in the fridge and Costco-sized peanuts we were going to set out too.

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High – Avery loved her trampoline birthday gift and got to jumping right away! Hellloooo, nap time!

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Low – Nap time never happened.

Why sleep when I can jump? It's my party afterall!
Why sleep when I can jump? It’s my party afterall!

High – I made chocolate protein pancakes with a banana, NuttZo and chia seed frosting for her birthday cake.

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Low – My decoration skills fall somewhere between 0 and a negative number. That’s supposed to be a “2” on top.

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Low – Damn teething took no pity on the birthday girl, or so that’s what we’re going with.

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High – Singing “Happy Birthday” to our sweet girl. She kept clapping for herself after everyone had finished 30 seconds earlier. She really likes clapping.

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Low – Oops, too much attention on her again!

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High – Mommy makes everything better and even helps blow out the double bonfire on her cake.

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High – Avery had no issue with my cake construction and tore right into her healthy confection.

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High – She even saved a bite for me and flew it first class into my mouth on Air Fork One.

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HighAunt Lindsay taught her to say “I’m free!”

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High – Having fun with friends Zoey and Natalie.

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Low – Crazy demon parents (that’s us) put her back in the highchair to recreate a picture from her first birthday. Not a fan.

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High – Holding two fingers to show her age in a fun family photo. She’s much happier when being held.

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Other than the several meltdowns resulting from too much in-your-face attention and teething, the part went fairly smooth and it was nice to see everyone. We’ll be the first to admit that we’re not great entertainers, but it seemed as if everyone was pleased. Either way, we appreciate everyone who came by to wish our sweetheart a Happy 2nd Birthday.

Now the real fun begins, right?

 

Toddler Growth Progression: G-Ma for Scale

We spent the night at my mom’s (G-Ma’s) house this past weekend since we were long overdue for a visit with our crazy toddler. She comes and stays the night at our house almost once a week, but during a weekday so we don’t get a lot of time together.

Avery was a handful, as usual, but she was also sweet and kept us all entertained. The drive isn’t that far to the home where I grew up, but the trip always seems to have us scrambling to get thing done when we get back home.

Then again, here I am writing a blog post, so I guess I’m being a tad contradictory….or I’m up too late. I’ll let you guess which one.

I considered not posting, but after going back to see our previous visits to G-Ma’s house, I felt like sharing pictures to capture Avery’s growth thus far using G-Ma for scale.

2 days after birth

G-Ma and Avery; just 2 days old!
G-Ma and Avery; just 2 days old!

Here they are when Avery was around 5 weeks old.

Keeping cozy. 12/29/13
Keeping cozy. 12/29/13

Here’s February 20th, 2014

Happy to be with G-ma!
Happy to be with G-ma!

The next month, March 2014, Avery shows off her lip curling action.

Avery showing her Liley lip curl with G-ma
Avery showing her Liley lip curl with G-ma

And another chubby Avery with G-Ma in March 2014

Practicing her poker face. 03/12/14
Practicing her poker face. 03/12/14

Hanging with Avery while I run a Labor Day 10k

Cheering Daddy on at a Labor Day 10k! 05/26/14
Cheering Daddy on at a Labor Day 10k! 05/26/14

Going Mom and G-Ma together with Avery on the Fourth of July in 2014

Fourth of July 2014
Fourth of July 2014

Same day on the Fourth, but me with my beautiful mother and her grand kid (g-kid?)

Probably the last smile of the night.
Probably the last smile of the night.

Holding Avery at Papa’s 60th birthday party this past January

G-Ma and Avery_Steve's 60th

At a Fourth of July 5k this year

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This weekend, Avery gave G-Ma a thunderous bear hug where she roars and then hugs….obviously, and I happened to catch the act.

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It’s bittersweet, seeing how much your kids grow in such a short amount of time, but so wonderful too. I could divulge about our quick trip to G-Ma’s, but seriously, it’s late and I should sleep.

I will say that my wonderful wife laid down to sleep with our wild child and never made it out that night. There was some screaming, but overall, Avery did better than past visits, and gives us hope for the next time we head down there.

Hope you had a great weekend. Anything fun to share?