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