Category Archives: Life

Uh Oh, Our Baby’s First Cold!

Avery: *cough* *cough*

Me: Oh, she’s just doing that for attention and it’s something new she learned.

Going Mom: Yeah, crazy baby.

This exchange of words (and coughs) has happened before and nothing was wrong, but just a few days ago, that coughing only got worse. Followed by the coughs, was a constantly runny nose, small fever, and one very unhappy baby.

DSC_1233

Oops, guess it wasn’t just for attention or to make random noise; she was for real this time! Sorry, Avery, us new parents still have so much to learn. Please forgive us.

As I write this, Avery’s symptoms seem to be improving, but keeping her happy all that easy yet. In retrospect, it’s never really that easy. But no complaints here, she’s pretty happy over all, she just has her moments as we all do. It probably doesn’t help when I’m sucking snot out of her runny nostrils several times a day with this handy device….

We’ve had the Nosefrida since Avery was born, but have only started using it now for her cold. Going Mom can’t stand to even watch me use it, so I guess I’m the sucker in the family. See what I did there? No?

By the way, that picture of a happy kid with the tube shoved in their nostril…..FALSE ADVERTISING! Avery screams like I’m pulling off her toes every time I use it and now she’ll start just at the sight of the thing. Using it while trying to hold her arms and head still has been challenging to say the least, but for some odd reason, I derive satisfaction from sucking out a lot of her snot. The more snot, the more bonus points for dad!

Anywho, this is another first for Avery (yay?) and hopefully it’s going away and won’t come back for a while. How many other new parents keep track of their baby’s “firsts”? Surely we aren’t alone here. It’s not like we’re tracking when we had her outside and a wind gust came in from the Northwest for her to feel for the first time.

Poor girl, you can tell she doesn’t understand why she feels so stuffy and out of it, but I’d say she’s doing good at keeping her spirits somewhat high. See that ever so slight smile emerging?

DSC_1228

We are against putting over-the-counter drugs like Tylenol in Avery’s body as there are too many dangers associated with these drugs and we don’t use them for ourselves. Plus, all of the children’s brands are filled with artificial colors and sweeteners which makes them even worse! I’ll stop there, but they are a big NO in this house.

Her sleep was less than stellar the first couple of nights with the cold, but she has slept through the past few nights pretty well. I’m sure her body is just so worn out and really needs the rest to help fight off the crap. I’m not an expert, but I’d say she’s on her way to recovery-ville! Mainly because even when she looks like this…

DSC_1258

….at the sound of the camera’s shutter, she transforms into this.

DSC_1265

Yeah, I’d say someone’s getting over their first cold. Wouldn’t you?

What are your thoughts on using modern medicine for your children? For yourself?

We look to homeopathic options whenever possible as well as essential oils which are overlooked but very effective.

Is it wrong to Take Toys from the Birthday Girl?

Hey, remember when it was July? What happened?!

I remember as a kid I’d try to squeeze in the last days of freedom before the looming school year began, but now everything just runs together. #lifeasaparent

On the topic of kids, we brought Avery to her first party this past Saturday for our neighbor’s little girl who turned 1. They have an older girl who just turned 4 and were celebrating that day too. For the older kids (and adults), an awesome bounce house was setup and getting a lot of use.

I can’t wait to get in a bounce house with Avery, but we decided to give the swing set a try. This was Avery’s first time in a swing, and as you can see in this video, I’d say she enjoyed!

The one year old party scene was not as “bounce-housey” with only Avery and another baby from the neighborhood who will be 1 next weekend, but they were all adorable and fun to watch nonetheless. I can see these three getting into trouble years from now.

Avery, Natalie, and Emma_Aug 2014

Avery’s attempt to keep cool in front of the older babies was thwarted when the sight of a camera got her excited. The birthday girl is in the middle, and the soon-to-be birthday girl is on the right.

We are grateful to have such good neighbors around us, and everyone had a great time at the party. Since the birthday girl is walking on her own now, there were a couple “walker” toys that have become obsolete in their house. Avery, on the other hand, took to liking one the sit-to-stand one, so our gracious neighbors sent us home with that and another walker!

Not too bad. Go to a party for someone, and leave with their stuff; that’s a win in my book! The rest of the weekend was spent with Avery effortlessly pulling herself up on everything and enjoying the new toys. I’ve thanked the already, but I want to thank our neighbors again for being so kind and letting us use these while Avery learns to walk.

I could go on, but I’ll let the pictures of Avery playing on her “new” walkers do the talking.

DSC_1160 DSC_1172 DSC_1178 DSC_1138 DSC_1150

And here’s a video of her smiling proudly as she stands “on her own”.

How was your weekend?

Have you ever attended someones birthday party and left with awesome gifts for yourself….or kid?

Have a great week!

 

One Thing I Miss About My Old Job after 6 Months of Being a Stay-At-Home Dad

It doesn’t seem like half a year has already passed since I’ve become a stay-at-home dad, but here I am, stay-at-home daddying (it’s a word) with our precious 8 1/2 month old daughter. I have to keep repeating “precious” to myself as she’s in teething mode and wants to make sure everyone knows.

No I'm not!
I don’t want these things in my gums!!

Her screams get progressively louder as if in competition with herself and she refuses to be outdone. How long do they say this takes? Around two years? Damn.

But, I remember saying goodbye to my office job and hello to my new office a.k.a. home and how much better I felt. Needless to say, I’ll gladly to listen to screams over getting on another conference call to discuss the “how’s” and “who’s” of whatever was going on at the time.

Walking out the doors for the last time.
Walking out the doors for the last time.

I’ll stop there since I could easily get myself “worked” (ha ha ha) up and blab on about my despise of having a desk job. We aren’t made to sit so long and be so sedentary as we……oh, crap….see, I’m still doing it!

Anyway, life as a stay-at-home dad started off slow with a baby who could only eat, poop, pee, cry, and sometimes smile. Luckily, babies experience rapid growth and Avery is surprising us with new skills/abilities almost every week!

Now at almost 9 months old, she’s a very mobile crawler showing signs that walking isn’t too far away.

DSC_0514

I know everyone says that’s when I start to go crazy because I’ll always have to watch her, but I’m still excited. Before I know it, we’ll be able to wrestle, play outside, and go on (short) hikes.

Going Mom has to remind not to get ahead of myself and try things too soon. What? Is it that bad when I get on the ground and push our baby in an attempt to wrestle now?

Seriously, dad?
Seriously, dad?

Oh….okay then, I’ll ease up.

I know I have a more meaningful role now than I did when employed, and am ever so grateful we are able to make this work for our small family.

I’m extremely grateful for my lovely wife who goes in to work each day and handles various situations way better than I ever did/could. Then, when the workday is done, she comes home and helps deal with whatever is going on with Avery. Thank, Kelley, you are appreciated more than words can describe!

Visiting a local brewery for my 30th. Avery slept most of the time.
Visiting a local brewery for my 30th. Avery slept most of the time.

Speaking of, although I’m happier and more proud as a stay-at-home dad than my old job, I do miss one thing; my wife. Yep, we worked for the same company, in the same building, and even in the same office.

I was the only person in the building with a desk converted to standing and I could look over and see her desk not far away. We would talk to each other through the company’s internal messaging service and visit each other’s desks frequently.

Very rarely would we miss a day of going on a walk together around the nearby trails before having our lunch. There were times when we would give each other notes or share a laugh at an inside joke no one else understood.

My wife is my best friend, and now I don’t get to see her as much as when we worked together. I miss her, I miss our walks, and I miss being able to walk over to her for no better reason than to just say “hi.”

The good thing is that our relationship has grown even stronger since I’ve become a stay-at-home dad. Gone are the days of me stressing over work and letting it drag me down at home; now the time I do see her means more and we both recognize it. Sure we still have are disagreements like any couple, but they’re (usually) over fast and we get on with life.

So, in the end, it’s a worthy trade-off we are both happy with and it seems to be working for our family of three. I still go on a daily walk, but with Avery, and again with both of my girls if time is permitting.

Yes, I’m still adjusting to the stay-at-home life, but after 6 months, I feel good about our decision and am ready to continue down this path of daily obstacles and adventure.

Do you or would you ever consider working in the same office as your spouse?

Have you been both an employee and a stay-at-home parent? Which one are you now and what do you prefer?