Fun with Daddy

CPV lets me sleep in (at least) one morning on the weekend. During that extra hour of sleep, the girls are exposed to all kinds of goofiness.

Like daddy wearing the Bumbo seat on his head and a saying - in his best robot voice, "I am a robot from Planet Bumbo.  Would you like some Bumbo juice?  Are you a Bumbonian?"

Of course, none of that silliness gets captured in pictures because the resident photographer (me) is happily snoozing upstairs.  And it is a rarity that Chad takes a picture or remembers to take a picture or takes more than one picture at a time.  So when I found this ONE photo from the weekend's daddy daycare hour, I just had to share it:

Good to know CJV was included in the fun.

What caption would YOU give this photo?

Big Sister Praise

Seems these days we're all about divide and conquer, especially at bedtime.  CPV handles the end-of-the-day routine like a champion ... and he does it all ... bathing, pajama mismatching, teeth brushing, hair combing, story reading, and "talk about our day" chatting.   I get to focus on CJV, and I love that Natalie gets that time with him before she falls asleep.   

As I rocked Charlotte across the hall, the two of them settled in for story-time.  Instead of her usual request - Little Critter - tonight Natalie asked for a book called I'm a Big Sister.

Her title selection inspired the sweetest moment between daddy and daughter.

Before he even opened the book, Chad pulled Natalie under his arm, looked down at her little face, and said, "You know what, Natalie.  You're such a good big sister.  You teach baby sister all kinds of new things.  And you play so nicely with her.  Mommy and Daddy really appreciate you being such a good big sister to Charlotte."

Natalie wiggled a little closer and utter, "Ummm-hmmm" around her binky. It was obvious that she felt proud, and I couldn't help but shed a little tear.

This Daddy is the Best!

I think the baby stage is really tough for most dads.  I know CPV felt a little disinterested and (a lot) helpless when we first brought home our "warm lump."  And really, rightfully so.  I mean, there really isn't much a daddy can do with a newborn.  Sure he dealt with my crazy mood swings and sleep deprived snarkiness ... brought me cups of yogurt and glasses of water while I nursed ... and helped with the housework.  He even served as my co-pilot at bath time ... when a slippery baby requires all hands on deck.  But really, the majority of a our newborn's needs are met by the mommy.

And then that baby becomes a toddler.  Suddenly, daddy becomes the best playmate around.  CPV genuinely enjoys playing goofy and building forts and reading stories and stacking blocks.  More importantly, NHV gets something from that time with her daddy.  She plays differently with him ... it's physical and rowdy and silly and challenging ... and at first that made me a little jealous.  But now I realize that it's so good for her ... and, hey, it's good for me, too!  Not only does it give me a (much needed) break in the evenings and weekend mornings, but it has also shown me new ways to interact with our daughter.

While most of their play is rambunctious, he also takes the time to read lots and lots of books with her ... and our current-warm-lump.

And here they are cooking up some fun in the play kitchen, the one CPV designed and built himself ...

I can only hope that Chad knows even a fraction
of how much I love and appreciate him!
  

He is absolutely the best daddy I could ever imagine for our girls!

You can see more great photos and Word-less-ful Wednesday
posts here and here.

The Ways Daddy Plays

When NHV was born, Chad was not exactly thrilled with our little warm lump.  Don't get me wrong, he loved and adored her plenty, but he was definitely counting down the days until she could actually interactive with him.  Don't all men love to play?

These past few weeks since CJV was born and my time has been completely consumed by carrying for our second "warm lump" ... daddy has come to the rescue - big time, especially when it comes to entertaining our toddler.  Clearly a two year old provides all the interaction he could ask for ... and more!  And I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the ways he plays.  His inventive, outside-the-box ideas give a whole new spin to how Natalie spends her time.  He teaches her about big concepts and has infinite patient with her.  Watching the two of them play - while I sitting around nursing and cuddling the newbie - really got me thinking about the evolution of daddy play ...

It all started with a little game called "What's on Daddy's Head?"  As Natalie mastered the fine art of crawling and started to pull up on furniture, Chad came up with an incentive to practice.  He'd sit on the floor, grab the nearest toy, and put it on his head.  Then he'd ask, "What's that on daddy's head?  That doesn't belong there; that's just silly."  Natalie would take off crawling toward him, pull up and grab the toy with great enthusiasm.  It was so much fun to watch.

Of course, his play repertorie has grown to include such favorites as ...

• Making breakfast food items out of Play-Doh
• Hide-and-seeking (with some pretty silly hiding spots)
• Running laps around the bottom level of our house while singing "She'll be Coming Around the Mountain"
• Building playgrounds and schools and airports out of foam and wooden blocks
• Making blanket forts and having pretend camp-outs
• Burying Natalie with every stuffed animal in the house
• Hanging her upside down (by her ankles) and using her as a "crane" to pick up toys off the ground

And then there are the more sophisticated - way over a two year old's head - science experiments that only an engineer could dream up ... like the most recent balloon bouyancy experiment.  Chad attached a yogurt cup to the string of my birthday balloon.  Together, Natalie and daddy tested how much weight could be loaded in the "basket"  ... what would make it sink, what would cause it to float all the way to the ceiling, ... and finally Chad's rate of liquid evaporation vs. deflation rate ... yeah, that one is even over my head!

Oh, and here's my super talented husband retrieving the stranded balloon from the two-story stairwell by ... get this ... tossing a tiny bouncy ball into the yogurt cup attached to the string ... and yes, he was successful!

Daddy's Back in Town

Chad has been on his annual Man Journey ... since last Friday ... which means I've been a single mom ... at the tail-end of my first trimester ... and I am completely exhausted and so very appreciative to have our wonderful daddy back!

First of all, I didn't blog about Chad's trip while he was gone (my journey through single mommyhood for almost a week) because I didn't want some psycho to find me on the web and track me down and try to cause me harm in my sleep ... without my big, brave husband home to protect me. At the very least, I didn't want that possibility bouncing around in my over-active imagination as I did my best to fall asleep each night.

Secondly, I have to say I am quite proud of how well Natalie and I provided for ourselves and took care of each other. But I really hope I don't ever have to do it full-time.

Okay, now for the highlights ...

Lack of Photos: To give you some idea of just how much work/effort/stress it was to be solely responsible, 24/7 for my sweet girl, I took a grand total of three photos the entire time Chad was away. Over the course of seven days, I took just three photos. How is that even possible?

Coordinates: Chad did not have cell phone service in the heart of the Olympics, but he did take along this satellite beacon thing-a-ma-jing that tracked his location. Once or twice each day I got an email with latitude and longitude coordinates. I could even "see" where he was using Google Maps. Pretty cool!

Potty Training, Take 1: I cleared our schedule on Sunday to give this whole "potty training" thing a try. I had a good reason for attempting this while Chad was out-of-town. To read more about that, click here.

Busy, Busy: The rest of the week was a whirlwind of Busy, Busy ... which also explains why my potty training attempt wasn't even remotely successful. We had too much to do to give training the full attention that it needs/deserves. I recognize my mistakes. Let's move on ...

Park Play: The weather was beyond gorgeous! Each evening Natalie and I played at a different park - I even found a "new" one near the Target that has become a favorite. We usually didn't get home until after 8:00. By the time I gave her a bath and put her to bed, she would all but pass out.

Our days went a little something like this ...

Monday - My friend Janelle and her two adorable boys, Colton and Brody, came over to play. It's always great to visit with Janelle because she's so down-to-earth and encouraging. She always shares good advice and insight and ideas. Her boys are super sweet and seem to really love playing with Natalie's toys, especially the little kitchen and whatever we have upstairs.

Tuesday - Another wonderful mom friend, Liz, and her son Oliver, hosted a really fun playdate here in our neighborhood. We met at the park for a walk to feed the ducks on a nearby lake. Those ducks were overwhelmed by the volume of our stale baked goods. As we were leaving, there was bread just floating on the surface. Afterwards, the kiddos played at the park while the mommies visited and talked about plans for the upcoming holiday.

It seems my mommy friends took good care of me while Chad was away. Deann, my good friend and fellow prego, invited us over for yummy tortellini alfredo and a delicious fresh fruit salad. With end of the school year craziness followed by Grammy and Grampy's visit, we hadn't seen Sahara in about two weeks. Seeing Natalie and Sahara reunited was priceless. After dinner the girls played in the backyard while Deann and I chatted and enjoyed a beautiful NW evening.

Wednesday - Natalie's "bestie" Sahara, aka Cee-Cee, came over to play ... while Deann pampered herself with a manicure and pedicure. I was so jealous but also happy to spend the day with the girls. We spent most of the morning in the backyard with our buddy Andrew and his mom Laura. Then we ventured to the park to meet up with Liza and her boys. The girls sat in the shade and ate snacks most of the time because the sun was so bright and hot - no complaints about that :) After a quick lunch, I tossed the sunscreen-slick girls in the tub and enjoyed watching them splash and play together.

Thursday - We hosted a delightful Red, White, and Blue Playdate.

Wow! What a week!

Despite all the fun, did I mention that we are so very happy to have our daddy back? When I got the call to say that he'd be home in about three hours, I could hardly contain my excitement! I am so glad to have help with Natalie. Natalie is so glad to have her daddy to play with ... he's way more fun than me! And I just can't get over how much I missed him.

Dad at Work: New Lyrics

Since NHV came into our world, hubby and I have been inspired to rewrite a few songs to better suit our parenting needs. By pure coincidence, it was exactly one year ago today that I posted about this same topic and the songs are hilarious. Click here if you'd like to read that post.

Well, tonight my funny husband did it again, and this time I was cracking up because the song is a total flashback and the lyrics are poop-related.

The Original:

I'VE GOT TO KEEP ON MOVING by Men At Work

Ain't nothing gonna break my stride
Nobody's gonna slow me down
Oh no, I've got to keep on moving
Ain't nothing gonna break my stride
I'm running and I won't touch ground
Oh no, I've got to keep on moving

Our Silly Version:
I'VE GOT TO CHANGE YOUR DIAPER by Dad At Work
Ain't nothing gonna break this stench

You're stinkin' up the whole damn house
Oh no, I've got to change your diaper
Ain't nothing gonna break this stench

Can't hold my breath any longer
Oh no, I've got to change your diaper

Alternate Version (aka the one I like better)

Oh girl, you really smell foul

You're stinkin' up the whole damn house

Oh no, I've got to change your diaper

Oh girl, you really smell foul

Can't hold my breath any longer

Oh no, I've got to change your diaper

Storytime with Daddy

I'm going wordless on this one ...

... which is really hard for me to do, by the way!

Escaping the Heat

Temperatures reached a record high here on Sunday. And it was seriously HOT. Too hot, in fact, for my sweet NHV to nap in her room - even with the ceiling fan and a standing fan kicking it on high. It was like 88 degrees on the second floor ... crazy! The front two bedrooms take a beating in the late afternoon sun - despite blinds and curtains closed and ceiling fans on high ... it was still just too unbearably hot. If you're asking yourself, "Why didn't they just turn on the air conditioning?" You obviously don't live in the NW. We don't have AC; most homes in the area don't have central air ... can you imagine? As a girl from the Midwest, it seems a bit nutty to me! So it's not typical to have AC and it is rather expensive to have central air installed after your house is built - an expense that we would only really benefit from a few days out of the year - an expense that really doesn't make sense in the long run .... therefore no air conditioning and a temperature of 88 degrees inside our house, and in the short run, it's HOT.

What do you do when your baby can't take a nap in your OVEN of a house? Head for the hammock. Positioned in the shade. Where the slightest of breezes was blowing. You can tell from Natalie's rosy cheeks, it was still warm but it was bearable and she slept for about an hour, a much needed snooze!

Summer Snoozin'

Isn't this a precious photo? I love the way she's curled up next to her daddy ... with her little booty sticking out ... her hand on his belly ... soothie abandoned on his chest ... and her lovey nearby.