As long as it’s just among friends and family, it’s fine, right? Not like I’m setting up an online betting site where people around the world can place wagers on when Avery will start to walk. Plus, how would they know if I rigged it or not?
I could rig it and say the above picture counts as “walking”. Or if she’s in her walker, that must count, no?
Ummm, no, dad, this doesn’t count.
Not that I’d actually try to make money by creating a gambling business centered around my daughter, but I’ve been making bets with myself on when she’ll actually take her first unassisted steps. I was thinking she’d do it before 9 months, but that’s only 5 days away, so now I’ll revise to before she’s 10 months.
What do you think?
Here’s several pictures of Avery showing signs of progress, please let me know your thoughts and we’ll see how close you are when it actually happens!
Walker in training.If only those feet would go flat!!This is my “Spider-man” impression….On the tip toesFlat feet!!Sup, dude?You need something?
I’m feeling pretty confident her crawling days are numbered. Should I be scared or excited?
Nothing much, really, we just enjoyed a couple good beers and talked about dad life.
What? Were you expecting some crazy shenanigans with lots of booze and guys running wild chasing miniature horses or something?
I hope not, that’d be weird. And very random….why did I even say that?
Anyway, let us move past that comment and come back to reality. I had the opportunity to meet up with another local stay-at-home dad and fellow blogger on Thursday night to discuss setting up a dad’s group. Just like the last time I was allowed out of the house alone to meet my brother (Uncle Preston), we met in Fort Worth at The Flying Saucer.
Thanks to my wife, yet again, for staying home with Avery on a work night! Avery was obviously not impressed with Kelley’s attempt at taking a selfie. Or maybe it was her cold….
David Kepley is co-creator of Just a Dad 247 who blogs with his long time friend, Pat Jacobs; also a stay-at-home dad. They’ve been in the blogging game for a while and have some great stuff for dads and really anyone. Go check them out, but then come back since I’m not finished here! 🙂
Kepley and I met through the Facebook Dad Bloggers group we are both members of and I have mentioned before. We were both seeking a dads group in our surrounding area and were unable to find anything, so we decided we’d try to start one ourselves.
Lucky for us, we have connected with Lance Somerfeld and Matt Schneider who formed the City Dads Group which is a national organization devoted to supporting fathers everywhere. They’ve helped dads create groups in major cities across the U.S., and we’re hoping to add Dallas to their list.
Our discussion on how we’ll get things up and running went well, and we are hoping to have our first meeting next month in September. Obviously, I’ll share the details here as we get more info and have a solid date/plan. Either way, I’m excited to be a part of something so important and hope I’ll be able to bring Avery to many future meet-ups with other dads and their kids.
Asides from the dad group talk, we shared our thoughts and stories around a multitude of topics; I even gave insight to how I view food and make it a huge priority to maintain a healthy family. Fortunately, while he may not be as crazy strict as I am on what to eat, he agreed with my views for the most part and didn’t just get up and walk out.
Another bonus is that Kepley knows how to pick and choose a good beer. Like me, he won’t settle for the crappy, run-of-the-mill Bud Light, Coors Light, etc., he expects good stuff if he’s going to drink, just as we all should! Plus, we both know how to pose for a picture….
I think we’ll get along just fine and am looking forward to working with him and other local dads to create our own Dallas City Dads group.
Are you part of a parent (mom or dad) group where you live? Any tips or stories?
Why must I be so stubborn all the time? Even if I know I’m (probably) wrong, I still end up trying to stand my ground. This part of me seems ingrained deep within, and I’m sorry to those who have to witness my hardheadedness.
Recently, okay, almost everyday, but still, work with me here, Going Mom and I had slight disagreement about something. It’s one of those small things most couples will argue about at least once; the toilet seat.
As the one who stays home all day, takes in a lot of caffeine, and subsequently pees a lot, I always keep the seat up. It makes it easier for me to go in, do my business, and get out back to Avery. Months ago, I even wrote a post defending my “right” to leave the seat up.
In that post, I clearly thought I won this argument fair and square. Turns out, the dispute was still unsettled. During Avery’s bath time, Kelly asked me in a nice tone to please start putting the seat down since Avery is now mobile and can easily make her way to the toilet. I stubbornly said “Just don’t let her.” as if it is always that easy, and thus our small argument began.
We kind of ended the tiff without further discussion, and I resorted to asking other dads on the Dad Blogger Facebook group I am a part of. The responses quickly came one after another with the majority of other dads taking not mine, but my wife’s side. After several of them mentioned crawling/walking kids getting into and possibly drowning plus just having really “pissed” (ha ha, get it?) off spouses, I realized my battle was lost; just like before Going Mom wins again.
So, to my wife who I still haven’t told that I now keep the seats down, I am sorry. Hopefully you’re reading this post today and can find forgiveness; you always do! 🙂
Now that I’ll be putting the seats down after each use, I’m looking into getting toilet seats with the soft/slow close hinges. I live in constant fear about making a loud noise when Avery is sleeping, and slamming the toilet seat is the last thing I want to do, so it only makes sense. Thanks to all of the dad bloggers who pointed this out!
Another “issue” we’ve been having lately is Avery throwing her food on the floor during dinnertime. This is the only time we give her solids since she’s still on breast milk, but she used to actually eat a little before just tossing the food. Before, she’d accidentally drop food on the floor and we’d laugh thinking it’s cute, but now she’s fully aware of what she’s doing.
Goodbye, broccoli!!
Going Mom still laughs and does a bad job at hiding it, but it hurts me to see good food go to waste. I realize this is part of raising a baby, and I accept it, but no reason to laugh at her which I think makes her think it’s okay.
What, it’s not okay?
I’m pretty sure discipline at this age is frowned upon, so I just try and tell her that’s not okay to do, and then I’ll take a bite of my own broccoli in hopes that will help. So far, it doesn’t….
Another healthy snack for the dog.
Go ahead, laugh at me, you more experienced parents, I know it only gets worse. Oh well, it’s hard to ever stay upset with her for more than a minute; hopefully that never changes!
Maybe we’ll start introducing fruit to see if she likes the sweeter things. We wanted to start with veggies so she wouldn’t get used to sweeter things first, but I know bananas are always a tasty treat! Speaking of, I have some more banana fun facts in continuation from last Friday’s post.
The fastest marathon ever run by a competitor dressed as a fruit was 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 20 seconds—recorded at the Barcelona Marathon on March 6, 2011. The runner was Patrick Wightman from the United Kingdom, who dressed as a banana.
A few varieties of wild bananas include bubblegum pink bananas with fuzzy skins, green-and-white striped bananas with pulp the color of orange sherbet, and bananas that taste like strawberries when they’re cooked.
Banana peels are actually edible if cooked.
A man in India once ate 81 bananas in a half hour.
More songs have been written about bananas than about any other fruit.
The scientific name for banana is musa sapientum, which means “fruit of the wise men.”
I’m off to enjoy the rest of Friday now, hope you do the same! Kelley is having a girl’s night out tonight, so it’ll be just Avery and me for bed time. It shouldn’t be too bad…..as long as she actually eats her veggies!!
Do you have any tips/tricks on how to not let your child throw food? Or should I just give in and accept it?
An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.
