Category Archives: Life

Roller Coaster Recap: August

Hey guys, welcome to Monday! Or should it be Muuunnnnddaaaaaayyy? Whatever your feelings towards the beginning of the week, it’s the last day of August and boy has it been a wild ride!

Much like a roller coaster (hence the post title), we’ve had plenty of highs and lows in August. Inspired by Tina from Carrots N Cake (she has a handsome 15 month old boy and talks everything from food and fitness), who I’ve been following since the days of my healthy food blog, Just Add Cayenne, I thought I’d do a recap of August by sharing our highs and lows of the month.

I just need to make sure, like her, we end on a high note! Lets get to it, shall we?

High – Meeting with my mom and little brother for a wonderful brunch at Brewed.

Low – Avery getting the weightlifting belt wrapped around her trike and herself and becoming a little frustrated.

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High – Figuring out how to get unstuck on the trike and keep the belt “on”.

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High – Avery’s first time to fly as we went to Colorado our first family vacation!

First Flight Family Selfie

Low – The major change in routine coupled with lack of food and sleep made for a crazy first night. We support co-sleeping, but not under these conditions.

Avery Sleeping with Mommy_2

High – An anniversary surprise for my wife at the Vail Farmers’ Market that almost went Awry, but turned out perfectly!

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Low – Eating at Sweet Basil in Vail and all of us receiving very poor service. We had to resort to feeding Avery a watermelon and red onion salad that we made!

Avery eating watermelon onion salad

High – Nana and Papa obviously have good taste by keeping several jars of NuttZo in stock. Avery may or may not of finished one jar by herself while we were there. Thanks, Steve and Kathy!

High (literally and figuratively since we were in the mountains!) – Hiking with my wife on beautiful Colorado trails.

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Low – Climbing a tree on the trail and sliding on the trunk to get down. Lots of belly and leg scratches followed.

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HighKayaking  with Kelley in Frisco, Co.

 

High – I could make a whole post with the Highs from our trip, but I’ll wrap it up and say it was just great spending time with family and getting out in the fresh mountain air.

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Low – The flight back from our family vacation was right during Avery’s bedtime. That, plus another day of not eating much or napping meant for a long….long trip home.

High – Our official 8th wedding anniversary with my awesome bronze compass, handwritten card, and kettlebell gifts! Good-bye, 7 year itch!

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Low – Going Mom and to go away for work all week leaving Avery and Daddy feeling quite lonely. We had to take selfies to try and keep happy.

Avery & Daddy Sunset Selfie

High – Avery’s first time to ride in the cart when grocery shopping was a big hit. Since Mommy wasn’t there, she picked the BarkThins for her when she got back.

Low – Not telling Daddy she pooped when obviously…..

High – Climbing on the playground equipment and going down the slide all by herself. It’s bittersweet, but so fun to watch.

Low – I brought her to our friend’s/neighbor’s house to jump on the trampoline, but she was scared to move. Hopefully she’ll do better next time.

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High – Playing with our friend’s dog.

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High – Mommy came back home and all order was restored! Avery was obviously happy.

Avery in blanket

Hope you enjoyed going through some of the highs and lows of our August. Now it’s your turn, share a High, Low, and High point from your month if you’d like in the comments section below. Have a great week!

6 Throwback Thursday Posts from August 2014

Is Throwback Thursday bittersweet for any other parents out there? Bitter, because so many things happen so fast and your baby (even if they’re a teen, they’re still your baby, right?) is growing up. Sweet, because so many proud moments have happened and well, it’s also great that your kid is growing. Not to mention we’re getting older too! Bleh!

Looking back a year ago, we were still holding Avery and rocking her to sleep for naptime and at night, but now that’s a thing of the past. Going Mom has been successful a few times, but I have had no such luck. But that’s what memories are for, right? And since parenting seems to zap our memories sometimes, that’s where the internet (blogging/social media) lends a hand.

Let us now travel back a year to see what I was blogging about in August of 2014. Here are 6 of my favorite posts…

  1. My Wife Wins Again, Our Baby Throws Food, and More Banana Fun Facts #5 – She always wins, and other dads even agreed with this one thing when you have a house of girls. Avery has changed a lot, but she still throws her food every now and then.

    Goodbye, broccoli!!
    Goodbye, broccoli!!
  2. Uh Oh, Our Baby’s First Cold! – We waived her coughs off as no big deal, but then it happened….sickness! Luckily, it ended with this…DSC_1265
  3. Learning to Walk: Is It Wrong to Place Bets On Your Baby? – The funny thing is, I would’ve totally lost all bets since she didn’t start walking until around 3 months later!

    Walker in training.
    Walker in training.
  4. How My Daughter Is Saving My Life – Stress, it had built up for years before Avery, and although having kids is no walk in the park (unless, that is, you’re walking with them in the park), it’s a different kind of stress. I write about that here.

    Daughter vs Dishes....hmm, easy choice!!
    Daughter vs Dishes….hmm, easy choice!!
  5. Free Food And Booze Plus A Flat Tire: Our 7th Wedding Anniversary Recap – How could I not relive this experience as we celebrating moving beyond the itchy phase of marriage?RC and Kelley_Night Out_Splash Pad
  6. Having A Daughter: Learning to Conquer The Fear of Fatherhood – I proudly got this published on The Huffington Post, and hold the words near and dear to my dad heart.DSC_1903

August was a big month last year and it turned out to be a big month this year as well. Maybe I’ll share some of the posts again when August 2016 rolls around. No rush though! Year hear that, time? Easy does it now….

Hope everyone’s week is going well. Going Mom comes back home tomorrow!!! Yay!!!!

Four Words Per Picture

Another blog I follow will do a photo dump style post where she only says four words per picture. I sometimes tend to enjoy just looking at the pictures and not trying to read a long story. It’s a nice break on the brain for both the reader and the writer.

Since my wife happens to be away all week for work, I thought this might be a good post for her to see to help get her Avery “fix” while away. Of course I send her pictures daily and we Skype at night, but you can never have enough, right?  I know I’m missing her dearly, and can’t wait to pick her up from the airport at the end of the week!

Enjoy the pics, and if you like this format, please let me know, maybe I’ll do it again.

A kiss for daddy.

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“It’s fun”, they said.

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Just read the bag.
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Cute little crumb face.

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Leave me alone, dad!
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Clean up my mess?
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Getting right on that…..
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Soft Star Shoes fanatic
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Daddy-Daughter sunset selfie.
Avery & Daddy Sunset Selfie

To Kelley, my wonderful wife, we miss you dear, get back home to us ASAP!