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Our Baby is a Puppy Smuggler

Saturday was off to a great start with Avery letting us sleep in and waking up happy as can be. We can’t get enough of her smiles, I mean just look at her…..

Avery in diaper_Big Smile 

After laying in bed trying to get Avery to flash us as many smiles as possible, we migrated to the kitchen for breakfast. I normally make some form of protein pancakes on Saturday and this day was no different. In the batch was unflavored protein powder, coconut flour, cooked teff, peanut flour, stevia, and egg whites. I’ll be happy to share a recipe just as soon as I actually measure ingredients!

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Avery played in her jumper and flashed us more smiles for a while, but then she started to get fussy. So, Kelley took her to the nursery to feed and get her to take a nap while I finished making the pancakes.

Happy Jumper Time!
Happy Jumper Time!

With Avery down, Kelley and I took to doing things around the house. 10 times out of 10, this means Kelley pulls weeds (weather permitting) or cleans something while I pretty much find something to do in the kitchen. I seriously could keep myself busy in this part of the house all day!

3 hours later with Avery up and done eating, we got in the car to go to the bank and then Costco. Oh, and Starbucks just happened to be on the way……twice. Free refills with a member card MUST be taken advantage of!

At Costco with Avery in the Baby Bjorn (seriously can’t wait for the Onya!) and my jacket zipped over her, she took deep interest in the crowds of people walking by. Then, against our approval, some old and wrinkly lady with 7 layers of makeup approached and poked at Avery with her evil witch smile. Avery just stared and thankfully the lady went on her way; probably back to Oz.

Not Costco, but this was the look.
Not Costco, but this was the look.

We checked out the Nutri Bullet since I was looking for something to make baby food, but after comparing prices against the Magic Bullet, we decided we don’t need one. We do have a food processor and Vita-mix after all, so that would just be a waste of money and take up more space. Now I need to look for some good baby food recipes for the Vita-mix. Know of any?

Back home, we praised Avery for being such a great baby the whole day and hardly fussing while out. Since the weather decided to suck again (cold and windy = suck) Kelley and I agreed to skip our daily walk and do a workout video instead. We have a dvd collection of a cheaper version of P90X called Supreme 90 Day that uses weights and I think is better anyway. We did the Cardio Challenge video which is 30 minutes of 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off of different exercises. Good stuff.

Avery sat in her swing and watched us or the TV as we worked through the video. She would fuss, but I would substitute burpees for several of the exercises and that kept her quiet….for 30 seconds. That and I would just swing her around during the 30 seconds rest. Either way, it was fun and I’m glad Kelley and I got through it with Avery!

Right after, Kelley jumped in the shower while I held Avery and cooked dinner. We pretty much followed the nightly routine from there and Avery was asleep in her crib like normal. She hardly even cried after the bath; it felt too good to be true.

While she slept, we watched two episodes of Breaking Bad since the last of the series became available on Netflix. Only 6 more episodes until we’re done! It’s always bittersweet when you finish a good series.

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Then, midnight struck and we heard crying. We sat staring at our baby on the monitor just squirming and kicking while letting out short bursts of squeaks and cries. Once we decided she wasn’t going to just go back to sleep, Kelley went in to try and nurse her back to sleep while I just laid on the nursery floor to keep company.

She fell back asleep pretty fast and was back in her crib minutes later.  That was something new, but the problem was quickly solved. Time for us to go to bed now……wrong! Not 5 minutes later and squirmy puppy dog noises were emitting from the monitor again.

Staring at the monitor once more, Avery would have periods of silence and we thought she was out again, but nope, she’d start back up. We agreed it would be best to let her try falling asleep on her own unless the cries turned into loud screams, so we went to bed.

Listening to the puppy dog noises, we obviously couldn’t sleep, so we sat up talking about puppies for Avery when she gets older and other random things. I mentioned how she sounded like a puppy, and Kelley said she’s probably smuggling them under her crib. With both of us laughing, I said she’s probably only making those cries to cover up the puppy’s noises.

It sure is fun to make something up while trying to make it through your poor baby crying. And, finally, Avery went to sleep and so did we.

I don’t know what brought on this change in Avery since she’s been sleeping through the night for that past few days, but we blame Daylight Savings Time. Probably Avery being a typical baby is more accurate, but I like placing blame on other things. Plus, losing an hour makes me a grouch too!

Do you make your own baby food? Any recipes or links you can share….please?

Have you struggled to let your baby to fall asleep on their own? Ever pretend they are doing something as ridiculous as puppy smuggling?

So Far So Good….

Crap.  I am wearing Avery in the Baby Bjorn and just as I wrote this title, her eyes popped open.

No crying though…yet. Lots of squirming.

Anyway, while I have the time, I’d like to say “Yay!” for having a good morning and getting Avery to take a nap in her crib for over two hours. Enough time for dad to get full body weight lifting routine in.

I was bold enough to enter and take this!
I was bold enough to enter and take this!

Anyone ever do barbell hack squats? It’s like a dead lift, but the bar is behind you and pick it up and down. I hit my calves and butt almost every time, but can really feel it in the quads. Plus, I think it’s a version of the squat that I can do when wearing Avery if the need arises. It’s no back squat, but something is better than nothing.

Like this. Source: www.exrx.net

Oh, we just went for a nice walk in the 20mph wind and that was cool. And by cool, I mean not. Another cool thing is that I apparently didn’t shut the door good enough and it was wide open when we got back. So, that fat black cat, Lou, we had………not sure where he is. I’ll keep you posted, if Kelley doesn’t kill me. Oops…..

Maybe I can just make another breakfast like I did this morning and she’ll forgive me…..

Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Protein Teff Porridge
Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Protein Teff Porridge

Edited Update: The cat never got out. He knows where the food is.

Lou in Living Room

Time to tend to some house chores and deal with this wiggly daughter strapped to me. I don’t think she’s very happy, but still not crying.

Okay, now she is…..

Today We Made No Income and Went Shopping

Since yesterday was my last working day and Kelley took one last day before returning to work to be with Avery and me, we both earned nothing. Ironically, we decided to make our rounds for grocery shopping today. But first, we “had” to go to Starbucks. Priorities, right?

I proudly wore Avery in Central Market and Costco and she was pretty good for the most part. A little fussing, a little sleeping, and a lot of just wide-eyed staring at everything. Coupled with flailing arms and legs along with her constantly turning head. Yeah, those limbs and that head are going full throttle most of the day. I suppose that’s a good thing though!

Despite our new tight budget, we splurged on a nice bottle of Kirkland brand red wine (the really big bottle) to enjoy with some friends who are coming to visit. And, I’ve been thinking about the fresh Brussels sprouts Costco had on my last visit and made sure to grab two bags of those suckers this time. Next to mushrooms, steamed Brussels are my favorite produce.

Like popcorn, only green....
Like popcorn, only green….

After the store trips and another stop for a refill at Starbucks (hey, it’s free with the card!), we hurried home to feed Avery and put her down for a well overdue nap. After she ate, she started getting pretty cranky and we knew a nap was imminent! I swaddled her and sang random made up songs in a deep voice until she fell asleep, then I sat in our recliner for a little while to make sure she was settled. Kelley put a heating pad and one of her milk-stained shirts in the crib and I attempted to lay her down.

We watch this monitor like it's playing "Breaking Bad"
We watch this monitor like it’s playing “Breaking Bad”

This is a huge thing for us as it seems the second she is put down, the eyes shoot open and pretty much have fire in her whites. Basically, we’ve been unsuccessful. But not this time; she slept 3 hours and we (yes, we) had to wake her up! Then it was feeding time and a cold walk after.

The day went by fast as usual, and tomorrow I’ll officially start my life as a stay-at-home dad. It will be weird with Kelley going to work and me staying home, but I know it will make a better quality of life for us all. I already started to miss her today, when she was still here! We make a great team together, and I never feel whole when she’s away, so I bet I’m as nervous as she is.

Hopefully I’ll have a great update on my first day “on the job” with Avery. I’m counting on a repeat nap in the crib to allow me to get a workout in and do things around the house.

Any other stay-at-home parents have tips for fitting it all in while answering their baby’s constant needs? Maybe I can just start doing lunges while wearing Avery, but I’m pretty sure pushups would be ill-advised…..