Day 283 - Ice Ice Baby

Ellie has certainly developed a penchant for sharing as the months have rolled along. At least she has with her mother and me. I can't really speak for how well she does sharing with others. For example, take anytime we sit down at the table for a snack or meal. It's only a short while before Ellie, with her arm held aloft, offers us morsels of whatever food is grasped between her grubby little fingers. I find that it's much better to just take the food and not think about where those fingers have been. Otherwise, Ellie will inevitably get frustrated and cry because you didn't appreciate her gift.

It's a gif of a gift!

Of course, food isn't the only thing Ellie is deadset on sharing. Another thing that we find ourselves sharing lately is our use of ice, although it is being used for a much different purpose for each of us.

For quite a while, Ellie has found herself enamored by our ice machine. Don't worry, it's not like we have it on the door or anything. Instead, we have one of the bottom door freezers meaning it's right at Ellie's height whenever we open it. Therefore, whenever that happens, Ellie will march right over and shove her hand straight into the ice bucket. 

For a while, I think she was simply intrigued by the cold, smooth nature of ice cubes. Then, after close examination over a period of time, she realized Daddy liked to put the cubes in his cup every time he had a drink. Once she realized that was the case, Ellie has since taken it upon herself to help Daddy fill his cup with ice; one cube at a time. While it's certainly nice to not have to bend over and fill my own cup these days, there are instances where it becomes a bit of a pain.

One way in which it can be a pain is due to Ellie's slight lack of dexterity at times. What I mean by that is that holding onto a moon-shaped block of ice can be rather difficult when one is still fully learning how to use their hands. It's only a matter of time until she misses the glass entirely and flings a piece of ice onto the kitchen floor. That's where the real fun begins as Ellie will begin attempting to pick up the piece of ice only for it to slide further across the kitchen floor. Before the entire process is all said and done, there's a trail of water pooling on the kitchen floor with Ellie still trying in vain to pick up the piece of ice.

I don't know the reference but nurseries deal with babies and the ice is melting...

There is one more use Ellie has found for ice though. With her teeth and gums eternally in a state of discomfort, Ellie has discovered that sucking on a piece of ice helps alleviate that pain. If you're looking for a mental picture of what Ellie sucking on a piece of ice looks like, just imagine a squirrel munching on an acorn. Only instead of acorn shavings, she instead has water/drool running down her face only to soak her clothes through to the skin.

Meanwhile, as all of this is happening, I'm happily sitting there taking it all in while enjoying a glass of water or juice filled with ice. Just the way the refrigerator gods intended. #DaddyWrite

Day 280 - Daddy/Ellie Date

At almost the exact moment we knew Ellie would be a girl, I was inducted into the international fraternity of girl dads. I'm pretty sure that's a real thing, right? I half expected the door to the ultrasound room to fly open dramatically as a bunch of guys I had never met burst into the room carrying balloons, stuffed animals, and pink confetti cannons while providing a musical score on kazoos. Vivid picture, eh? 

I may not like Jimmie Johnson but I do love this gif...

Now, clearly I'm exaggerating slightly. However, there is truth to the fact that once I knew Ellie would be a girl, I was initiated in a type of fraternity of girl dads. Meaning I was privy to all kinds of inside information from men who had survived raising daughters. Honestly, I love receiving advice from guys who are clearly wiser than I. 

One of the first pieces of advice I received from members of this so-called fraternity was the importance of taking your daughter on dates. The idea being that if you treat her special, she'll be more likely to find a man who does the same. Now, obviously, I would like for that to happen. While Ellie and I go on plenty of adventures outside of the house, it's generally for something I need. Ellie's more of just a helpless tag-along.

However, today was the exception to that rule as I carefully planned out the perfect daddy - daughter date for the two of us. Ellie's been struggling quite a bit lately between teething, night terrors, and trouble napping. To top it all off, her mommy and daddy are trying to force her to use a fork and spoon. Oh, the humanity! As a result of everything she's been going through, I wanted to do something sweet to reward her.

Oh, the awful pun...

My plan started off simple enough. I would just take Ellie to Zona Rosa to play on the indoor playground for a while. Not long after formulating that plan, I realized there was more I could do to bring Ellie joy. Namely, treating Ellie to two of her favorite things: animals and food. Those opportunities would be provided courtesy of KC Pet Project and Yogurtini respectively. As I pride myself on my inherent sneakiness, I kept the plans for the afternoon a secret from poor little Ellie. Not exactly a difficult accomplishment.

Upon our arrival at Zona, I extricated Ellie from her car seat and immediately headed towards the indoor playground. Once there, I removed Ellie's shoes and jacket and sat back and watched as she explored her surroundings. I always enjoy taking her to the playground as she discovers something new each and every time we go. Today, it was a bear holding a hollow stump which Ellie continuously climbed in and out of with a smile on her face.

Before long, Ellie tired of the playground and began to attempt her escape. She even got as far as wandering onto an abandoned escalator. Don't worry, I was right behind her and didn't let her go far. With that, I bundled Ellie up in her jacket and we set out on foot towards the Pet Project's storefront. With Ellie riding on my shoulders, it really didn't take long to get there. 

Once we walked through the doors, Ellie's eyes immediately came alive and began dancing across the room. We slowly made our way around the room with Ellie needing to stop and greet every single dog with a hearty "ha" even if they didn't really want to greet her. Her favorite part today wasn't the dogs for once though. Instead it was the abundance of kittens on hand today. Ellie even got the chance to touch their little paws as the kittens reached through the bars of their cage. 

After our stop at the Pet Project, Ellie and I then embarked upon the final stop on our daddy-daughter date: Yogurtini. Now, I realize taking my baby girl to get froyo might be construed as slightly self-serving (LOL, lame pun). Believe it or not, it wasn't though. With her teeth bothering her so much, I thought the cold would be very beneficial for her. Besides that, I made it special according to Ellie's favorite flavors. Strawberry and Cake Batter ice creams, fresh strawberries, blueberries, little cookie dough balls, and a little bit of Butterfinger for myself. 

After sharing our cup of frozen yogurt (and by sharing, I mean Ellie ate the majority of it), it was time to head out. First though, we needed to walk back to the car. At this point, I decided to let Ellie test her little legs just to see how she would fare. After crossing the first street, I sat my daughter down on the sidewalk, took her by the hand, and began the long walk back to our car. Honestly, I figured Ellie would lose interest within a couple of minutes. That was not the case though as she actually held my hand and walked by my side all the way back to the indoor playground.

The playground is where that little experiment ended as Ellie immediately wanted to play more as soon as she saw it. As it was Ellie's day, I let her have her way, taking off her coat and shoes and releasing her to go play. Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the playground experience was watching Ellie play nicely with another little boy her age. He even tried really hard to help Ellie climb up onto tall objects. That being said, he did grab her butt in doing so. Don't know if I should be upset about that or not. Probably not.

After seeing just how much fun it was to go on a little date with Ellie, I now know I need to be more conscientious about doing so in the future. If nothing else, it will hopefully enable us to build some fun memories together. 

At least that will be the case in the future. For now, I'm just happy if she remembers where she left something six minutes prior. #DaddyWrite

Day 277 - Canine Aided Cuticle Maintenance

I try hard not to pride myself on too much when it comes to my parenting style. Number one, it's just not healthy. You begin to think you're invincible and can do no wrong. Not to mention, you get a big head. I personally like my head just the size it is. It fits my body type well and I can fit it through the doorways in our house with little to no issues. However, the key word in that first sentence is try. There are those occasional times in parenting where I do come up with an idea I'm so proud of that I find myself wanting, nay needing, to share it with the world.

It all started last night as Bethany and I prepared to cut Ellie's fingernails. Also, by Bethany and I, I mean simply Bethany. After I drew blood the first several times I tried to cut Ellie's nails, I've retired from doing so moving forward. Instead, I try to make myself useful in another very important fashion. That is, distracting the baby.

Don't take the importance of me distracting the baby lightly. As I've written before, trying to trim Ellie's nails can be somewhat akin to cutting a cat's claws. Both will growl/hiss at you while you're doing so. Both are also willing to reach out and draw blood via scratches if necessary. There is one primary difference between Ellie and a cat though. Ellie always refrains from sulking off and hiding underneath a couch when the deed is done. 

Normally I seek out a book of some kind to distract Ellie with on these occasions. Last night, however, I found myself feeling mildly adventurous and wanting to try something new. What was that you may ask? YouTube videos!

Question, anyone else actually realize YouTube recently changed their logo?

Now, as most will know, YouTube is a world in which one may find anything and everything. So, with great care, I set about finding the perfect video for Ellie to enjoy during her manicure. After beginning with the Glow in the Dark episode of Dude Perfect, I realized that Ellie may not have been the appropriate target audience. Not because of inappropriate content or anything like that. No, the problem was that it just didn't hold her attention very well. 

With that, I began contemplating and then came up with the perfect video given everything I know about my daughter. What's that video you may ask? Puppy Bowl highlights. For those who are unaware, the Puppy Bowl is aired on Animal Planet each year during halftime of the Super Bowl. Featuring puppies frolicking around a small "football field", the event serves to provide a "so cute I could die" alternative to the boring Super Bowl halftime shows.

From the time I flipped on the first video, Ellie was mesmerized by the puppies flashing to life across the iPad's screen. Continually pawing at the screen with her free hand, she also provided entertainment by performing her impression of a barking dog all the while. It wasn't all puppy bliss for Ellie though. The thing about a baby touching a iPad screen is that they generally don't know the ramifications of their actions. Something that became more clear to Ellie as she unintentionally closed out of the Puppy Bowl footage on more than one occasion to her great chagrin. 

As a whole, I would consider the great Puppy Bowl experiment of 2017 to be a rousing success. Not only did it give us a new battle strategy to use whilst grooming Ellie's nails, but it also allowed us to see some really cute puppies. 

You never know, maybe the Holt household just found a new Super Bowl halftime tradition. It's got to be better than the likes of Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Beyonce, Madonna, The Black Eyed Peas, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. 

But not Left Shark. We all love Left Shark...#DaddyWrite

That poor shark has no idea what's happening...

Day 276 - Terror of the Nights

If someone was to ask me what the most difficult and harrowing experience of parenthood has been thus far, I won't have to think long about an answer. Top of the list as far as I'm concerned was transitioning Ellie to sleeping in her crib instead of sleeping in her swing. Seriously, it was the stuff of nightmares. For Ellie, her crib was not a place of rest. Instead, it was seemingly a place of abandonment and despair. A place where she was destined to reside alone for an indeterminate amount of time. Of course, that was partly true because of #ToughLove. While those difficulties we faced eventually subsided, we now find Ellie is suffering from a nightmare of a different kind.

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night...

As you likely know, Ellie is a very routined little girl. The rundown of her night is pretty much in place at this point. Dinner, playtime, bath, bed. Rinse and repeat, night after night. She's reached the point where we only have to put her down and then we really don't hear a peep out of her until between 5 and 6 am the next morning. At least that's been the case until recently.

You see, poor Ellie has fallen prey to a form of night terrors as of late. At least that's what Bethany and I are choosing to refer to it as. We don't really have the formal training required to diagnose something like that. Our reasons for calling it a night terror are very simple though. 

The first night we heard poor little Ellie screaming her heart out during the night, we did what we always do. That is, we set an internal timer for five minutes and would rescue her after that time passed. More often than not, she actually gives up (or finds a pacifier) after a few minutes meaning I don't have to drag my tired self out of bed. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case on this occasion. 

Me when I have to drag myself out of bed...

After five minutes, I got up and wandered into Ellie's room to provide assistance. I fully expected to find my daughter standing at the edge of the crib watching the door intently. Instead, I found her lying down in her crib, eyes closed, screaming at the top of her lungs. Not only that, but she was completely asleep as well. I first began talking to her with no noticeable effect. Then I gently placed my hand on her tiny chest and began rubbing it. Finally, I plucked a pacifier off the floor and plopped it into her mouth. After all of that, imagine my shock when she continued screaming.

As she was definitively asleep and had no clue what she was doing, I finally decided to leave the room, hoping she would calm shortly thereafter. Luckily for me, she did just that a couple of minutes later. I wish I could say this has only happened once, but it's quickly turning into a common occurrence. The weirdest part is that she never even awakes from her slumber.

Bethany and I were absolutely ecstatic when Ellie went two nights in a row without said screaming fit. However, I should have known it was too good to last as it started up again last night. The one thing that eases our minds is that Ellie never seems the worse for wear after one of these events. 

Unfortunately for us, we can't say the same. Not only is it hard to hear your child scream her little heart out over nothing but it makes it pretty hard to fall back asleep yourself. I guess, at least, we're not suffering through the same nightmares that seem to plague Ellie. Assuming that it's nightmares, that is. #DaddyWrite