Tag Archives: pool

Bobcat Butt Hugs: #MySundayPhoto

This past week, we ventured through new territory on her WOOM 1 Balance Bike to explore the construction trucks in our neighborhood. Avery will call out a bobcat from a mile away, and when there’s multiple, her excitement can hardly be contained.

bobcat butt hugs, #mysundayphoto, kids, cute, bikes, adventure

When we happened upon these two skid-steer loaders (we just call them all Bobcats for Avery) parked back to back, she proclaimed they were giving each other butt hugs. Hence, bobcat butt hugs. Can’t really say she’s wrong, but I guess it would make for an awkward explanation if she were to say outloud around a group of people. I have a feeling it’s coming….

I’m loving the adventures we’re going on, and we are so proud of our little girl covering new ground and going farther than ever. Before we know it, she’ll be racing several miles on her bike while leaving mommy and daddy in the dust. The cliché of kids growing too fast also means going too fast in this case.

Another big thanks and shout out to Darren and his fun #MySundayPhoto linkup. Check out his blog full of beautiful pics and maybe share your own #MySundayPhoto!

Photalife

Cold Water, Warm Smiles: #MySundayPhoto

Look, I’m back for the second #MySundayPhoto post in a row! Exciting, right?

Well, I’m excited.

Avery and I have been going to our neighborhood pool every day of the week lately. The water is still pretty cold, so we are always the only ones there, but we don’t care one bit. Cold exposure, i.e. cold thermogenesis actually hosts quite a bit of health benefits, so why not share the wealth health with my daughter?

#MySundayPhoto, swimming, cold thermogenesis, pool, kids, parenting

After 20 to 30 minutes, she’s shivering but still says she wants to stay in the pool. That’s when I say just a few more minutes and then out we go. She doesn’t fight it, and is happy once wrapped in the towel. I’m loving this time with her and we’re so proud of her swimming by herself, with floaties, of course.

Big thanks to Darren and his fun #MySundayPhoto linkup. Be sure to check out his blog full of beautiful pics and maybe share your own #MySundayPhoto!

Photalife

Crib to Bed to Floor & A Cold Pool

We made the transition from crib to bed a week ago with mixed feelings about how our two and half year old girl would take to the change. It wasn’t a huge change since we have a convertible crib, so it just took a little rearranging/removal of the existing crib parts.

crib to bed, cute, kids, toddler

Still the same organic mattress she’s had since birth, but we’ll be upgrading to a brand new full-size Naturepedic mattress in a few weeks. Stay tuned for a review of their top notch mattresses for kids. Safe sleeping material is more important than I ever knew before I read up on how vital it really is.

I made the switch right before naptime with high expectations that Avery would put on a good show through the baby monitor. Much to my surprise, she was excited to get in her big kid bed to read a story before nap time, and never even got off of her mattress after I left. I could see her thinking about it through the monitor, but in less time than she usually takes to finally fall asleep, she was out quick.

crib to bed, sleeping, kids, toddler, cute

Such a precious girl. When she’s out, she’s out! Hence the reason I was able to get such a close shot as she slept. Of course, I couldn’t stop there, this moment called for a daddy-daughter selfie, even if she didn’t know it was happening.

crib to bed, selfie, funny, cute, kids, toddler

The first night went quite well too. She took longer to actually fall asleep, but still kept on her bed the entire time. The next day she started to test the waters more and more and got on and off the bed before finally giving in. Every night since, she’ll wander around her room, put stuffed animals we said were too big back on her bed, and sing aloud restlessly before she sleeps.

Despite wandering all over her room, which I suspect is normal at this stage, she has taken to the freedom of her big kid bed really well. Going Mom, on the other hand is a little more reluctant for the change. Gone are the days of rocking our little baby to sleep as she sings to her, Avery now demands we read to her in her bed and refuses getting rocked. They grow so fast is a cliche saying we find ourselves repeating several times a day. As always, it’s bittersweet.

Apparently, sleeping on her mattress is bittersweet as well. A couple nights in a row, I peeked at the monitor in the middle of the night/early morning to find Avery nowhere in sight. Naturally, I go to check on our missing tot to find her on the floor. No blankets, just face down with legs curled or stretched out. The first night I quickly moved her back to her bed, but the second night, I had to capture the moment first.


Instagram was an obvious outlet to share with the world.

Hopefully she doesn’t start trying to make a break for it by opening her door. We have a door knob cover for her door, but those only last so long until those little hands figure them out. We can’t wait to get her sleeping on the bigger Naturepedic mattress, hopefully that will give her more wiggle room on the mattress and keep her from wandering all over. Hopefully….

It’s been abnormally cooler than usual for mid-May in Texas, but we made several attempts to swim in our recently opened neighborhood pool. The first time we ventured to the pool, the sun was out, but still not that warm. She insisted on wearing her floaties, but only made it so far.

swimming, kids, cute

The timid look on her face says it all. I’m not going a foot further!

I plunged into the cold water in an attempt to get her to join, but no luck. We were in and out of the pool in 5 minutes.

The next trip was sunny, until we started walking down for a swim. As we walked, dark storm clouds rolled in right over us. WTF!? But being the stubborn guy that I am, we went for it anyway. Avery gave another shocked look upon first getting her feet in the still very cold water…

feet in cold pool, swimming, kids, water

But this time I held her to get all the way in and although she was super tense the entire time, we enjoyed a little splashing around together in the kid pool. Then we went over to the adult pool for a daddy-daughter swim with plenty of throwing her in the air. She had fun…..for a few minutes, but the increasing wind and dropping temps had her shivering, so we ended the swim and made our way back home hoping for warmer days ahead. Not sure if it was a sign, but we saw this poor dead snake on the walk back.

dead snake

And if it was a sign, who knows what to make of it. I sure don’t. As a reptile lover, I don’t think it’s a good one though. Poor guy…

The forecast is showing warmer temps are coming, as if there’s any doubt in Texas, so I’m sure our third attempt will yield a successful swim. Although, I don’t mind a nice cold plunge myself.

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Have you made the transition from crib to bed for your kiddo? How’s it going?

How do you feel about cold swims?