Day 355 - Pavlov's Baby

Raise your hand if you've ever taken a psychology course of any kind. Doesn't really matter to me if it was in high school or college. **counting hands**

Sorry to make you all do that. I just had to make certain my reader base was going to understand the advanced psychological studies I'm fixing to lay down. After all, I did successfully complete four weeks of a 13-week psychology course during my Freshman year of college. If that seems a little short, it's because my teacher got a wicked bad case of shingles and cancelled every class for the remainder of the trimester.

Anyway, the one psychological principle that still remains with me today happens to be the study of Pavlov's dog. For those that may be unenlightened, there was once this guy named Pavlov who had a dog. Pavlov decided to teach the dog to anticipate a treat every time he heard a bell ring. Then one day, Pavlov didn't give the dog a treat when he rang the bell. Instead he just watched excess saliva ooze out of the poor dog's mouth. And now you know the study of Pavlov's dog.

No other dog's going to want to eat that after Fido's drooled all over it.

I've honestly been conducting an experiment of my own on Ellie throughout her life inspired by my study of Pavlov's dog. Although this experiment wasn't designed to make her drool excessively as she already does that well enough on her own. Instead this experiment was simply designed to make her associate the sound of music with safety.

This experiment began many, many moons ago as an accompaniment to Ellie's bathtime. After quite the long process of sifting through music, we discovered Ellie responded most favorably to two albums: Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix and its companion album, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 2. I know you're probably wondering just how good (and child-friendly) the soundtrack to a super hero movie (and its sequel) can be. Follow along for a bit longer.

First of all, these albums are comprised not of painful instrumental scores but instead of some of the best of 70's and early 80's rock anthems. 'Hooked on a Feeling', 'Spirit in the Sky', 'Mr. Blue Sky', 'Surrender', 'Escape', 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'Fox on the Run', and many, many others.  In other words, not your normal children's fare.

Plant child dancing to music, not the same as human child.

I have been long aware of Ellie's enjoyment of these albums. However, I didn't necessarily know how much so until this past weekend when Bethany and I partook in our annual pilgrimage to Illinois to see Ellie's Uncle Ryan. Now, when I say pilgrimage, I mean pilgrimage as the trip takes at least six hours. Needless to say, entertaining Ellie was a concern of ours on this trip so we packed a bag of toys and books accordingly. On a complete whim as we headed out the door, I also made a quick u-turn to grab my iPod before leaving.

Fast forward a couple of hours as Ellie is beginning to get fussy. Bethany has pretty much exhausted all resources at hand for the time being. Therefore, it's time to break out the big guns, a.k.a. the Awesome Mix. As the first "Ooga-Chaka" of 'Hooked on a Feeling' blast through the speakers, Ellie's fussy nature immediate subsides, replaced by head-bobbing and dancing. Between the remainder of our trip there and back, we listened to the 26-song Awesome Mixes at least three times each.

Now, I should add that the Awesome Mix doesn't just work in the car. We've tested this theory at home during some of Ellie's worst moments and have seen similar results. I guess I owe James Gunn, the director of 'Guardians' a hearty thank you for his work in assuring our daughter's happiness. 

However, that being said, I should also probably yell at him for both Bethany and me having songs from the Awesome Mix constantly playing on repeat in our heads all the live long day. "Mommy's alright, daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird. Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away, ay, ay, ay." 

#DaddyWrite

Day 353 - Just Another Daddy-Daughter Date

I already know your response to that title. You're likely thinking something along the lines of "Wow, Ellie certainly is a well-traveled little girl." Either that or "That poor little girl is continually dragged all over creation?". To that I say, everyone's entitled to their own opinion. Let's hop to it!

In all seriousness, I feel like it's been a while since Ellie and I last had a real daddy-daughter date. We go to the park and swimming lessons, as well as multiple grocery runs, but we really hadn't done anything too out of the ordinary lately. Therefore, I felt the time had come to do so. Enter Funville.

Funville, if I may steal directly from Crown Center's website, is a place where "children experience grown-up occupations in a kid friendly setting". In other words, it's a room filled with kid-sized playhouses reflecting a variety of occupations. 

With Funville opening for the day at 10:00 am sharp, Ellie and I actually left home at 9:40ish to ensure we beat the rush. Little did I know you don't really beat the rush at Funville as we encountered plenty of other young dreamers seeking out their career goals. No worries though as Ellie didn't really care. We actually spent nearly an hour circling the relatively tiny room over and over again as Ellie pondered every possible option for her future. The breakdown is below with Ellie's personal favorites bolded.

• Car mechanic (complete with the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo broken down and up on blocks)
• Pizzeria owner
• Newscaster (I'm Ron Burgundy?)
• Artist
• Constructor worker (complete with kid-sized jackhammer)
• Evil scientist (Actually, I'm not sure this was an evil scientist but the fact that this room came complete with a "nuclear test chamber" to lock your friend in gave me pause)
• President of the United States
• Barber shop owner (and not a quartet in sight)
• Professional bull rider
•  Magician (complete with a bunny that you could pull out of your hat)
• Veterinarian (for the record, this building specifically stated 'veterinarian' on the outside but had a human "cadaver" on the inside accompanied by shock panels. What kind of vet is this?)
• Circus tent
• Farmer (accompanied by trusty John Deere tractor)
• Astronaut (complete with rocket ship, blast-off sound effects, and twinkly lights to signify outer space)
• Firefighter (This station did give me flashbacks to the still-raw trauma of the 'This is Us' Super Bowl episode)
•  Professional football player
• Teacher
• NASCAR Champion (Like any good fan, I encouraged Ellie to spend as much time here as she wanted)
• Lifeguard and/or surf champion (For some reason, Ellie didn't show much love for surfing)

While the fun at Funville never diminished for Ellie, I found that after an hour at Funville, I was ready for a new adventure. However, with two hours of validated parking left, there was no need for us to head for home. I decided there were plenty of things left for us to do. For the record, Ellie agreed with me. However, her ideal adventure centered around riding/climbing three stories worth of escalators. Sadly for her, that didn't last very long at all before her daddy took her off in a different direction.

You see, I've begun to develop a keen sense of what Ellie will and will not enjoy. Near the top of the list is moving water. Lucky for me, the adjoining hotel to Crown Center features an indoor waterfall so after taking a snack break, I took Ellie to see said waterfall. Her reaction was honestly pure gold. The second she saw the water, she broke away from my grip and sprinted towards the wall as fast as her little legs could go. There she stood on tip-toes, repeating "water" over and over again, occasionally glancing up at me with a huge smile before staring back at the cascading waters.

Most people probably would have called it a day after this but I wasn't quite done. You see, since we had already made it that far, I decided to take advantage of the elevated tunnels and trek to Union Station so that Ellie and I could take in the model train display. Now, I had honestly expected to have to carry Ellie through 'The Link' on my shoulders all the way to Union Station. I couldn't have been more wrong as Ellie traversed nearly the entire tunnel on her own two feet. Not only that, but upon reaching the wide open spaces of Union Station, she had plenty of energy left to run and frolic through the concourses. 

Once we reached the model train display, I was dismayed to see an initial lack of interest on the part of Ellie. I just kept thinking, "Man, we just came all of this way for nothing." Well, that feeling dissipated the second Ellie saw the first model train roll by in front of her eyes. From that point on, she was absolutely enamored. Each time a train rolled by, she excitedly pointed at it with a deafening "Ha" before attempting to run alongside the train until it disappeared from sight.

Even though we were both having a great time, I could see the hours ticking by on my watch. Not only was the time on my validated ticket running low, but I knew my daughter would soon be suffering the combined effects of tiredness and hunger. Therefore, I made the decision to pull Ellie away and head back through the tunnel for the long walk back to our car. Once again though, I was shocked to see Ellie had no desire to ride on my shoulders, instead choosing to trot alongside me (to the legitimate delight of every person we encountered in said tunnel). 

Once we finally returned to our car, I strapped my daughter into her car seat, overjoyed at the massive smile erupting across her face. You see, even though I spend nearly every single day with her, I need that reassurance now and then that she really does love me and enjoy hanging out. 

Of course, that reassuring smile soon disappeared as Ellie drifted off to dream land before we even had traveled one block. I'll take what I can get though. #DaddyWrite

Day 349 - Going For The Gold, Baby Style

Confession time. I am absolutely engrossed in the Olympics right now. Feel free to chant "U.S.A." with me for approximately the next two minutes so that you can really get the patriotism flowing. I'm setting the timer on my watch right now. Don't worry, I'll still be here when you're done.

See Ricky Bobby Celebrate America? Celebrate America with Ricky Bobby.

Oh good, you're back. Anyway, as I said, I've been totally keyed in on the Olympics. It's funny because I really have no recollection of ever paying much attention to them before the 2010 Games held in Vancouver. Since then, the Games have always kind of been something to look forward to and get excited about in the Holt household. Side note, I don't know if this is controversial or not, but I totally prefer the Winter Games to Summer. Anyone else feel that way?

Anyway, with all of the Olympics talk in our home right now, it's possible little Ellie has begun to feel left out. She doesn't really have the strong attention span to just sit and watch for hours on end like her lazy, good for nothing father. She's also not really big enough yet to participate in any of the typical Olympic disciplines. Therefore, she has had to be creative and institute her own personal Games. Today, especially, was big for her as Ellie chose to compete in three different sets of events. And with that, I proudly declare the 2018 Baby Olympics to be open!

We started with our first event this morning at 10:00 am, held at the Park Hill Aquatic Center: Water Babies. Now, I should probably add that no medals are being contested in this event. Instead, we're simply looking for some semblance of moderate proficiency in staying afloat. Guess what, Ellie did just that. 

Now, not only did she stay afloat but she's improved spectacularly over the past couple of weeks. Whereas she was nervous and timid initially, Ellie has since channeled her inner dolphin and was happily cruising through the water, moving both her arms and legs to perfection. Don't worry, I'm still holding onto her at all times. The girl even was willing to turn her head sideways and submerge her ears in the water!

Did you know there's no set age limit to compete in swimming in the Olympics?

With Ellie recording an amazing 9.5 in the Water Babies competition, it was onto the second event: Competitive Dusting. I should lead with the fact that I absolutely DID NOT put a rag in my daughter's hands and tell her to go dust. Basically what happened is following our lunch, I grabbed a washrag to clean off Ellie's face and the table in front of her. Then I grabbed the broom and dustpan and went to work cleaning the floor. While I was doing that, Ellie helped herself to the washcloth and began assisting me in my cleaning by wiping stray bits of food off her high chair. 

Honestly, I figured Ellie's help would stop there but I was mistaken. Instead, I sat back and watched my daughter tear across the living room and kitchen cleaning anything and everything in sight with her trusty washcloth. Kitchen chairs, the couch, her rocking horse, the carpet, our oven, the dishwasher, the radio, the front windows. The list can go on and on. I'm serious. Ellie even cleaned my feet with said washrag to polish off her run with a mean 9.2 score.

Following Ellie's wild cleaning spree, I decided that just as Mikaela Shiffrin had to pull out of the Super-G competition to avoid exhaustion, it was time for Ellie to take a brief respite from the Games with an afternoon nap. So take a nap she did. Of course, it was on top of my chest while Daddy happily took a break from the Baby Olympics with some real Olympics but who's being picky.

Once Ellie awoke from her rest, it was time for us to travel to Platte Purchase Park for the final event: Jungle Gym Obstacle Course. Unlike most obstacle courses where the route is carefully laid out for you, in this version, the route is at the discretion of the athlete, or you know, Ellie. Over the next forty minutes, Ellie would tear across her own personal obstacle course. She wrangled the rope bridge, scaled some mean stairs, and successfully flew down the slides, averaging a score of 9.7 for the afternoon. In all honesty, this was the first time for Ellie to continually get herself to the top of a slide and down successfully so it was a blast to watch her play.

As you can see, the Olympic Baby Games were a rousing success. While Ellie didn't gain any medals for her day, that's not due to a lack of success. It's more due to the fact that Daddy simply didn't have any medals to award her. However, that's probably a reflection on my lack of preparation more than anything. #DaddyWrite

Day 348 - A Belated Birthday Post for Valentine's Day

Quick poll for the audience? Does anyone out there remember when they first started dating their significant other?

For me, it's already been a decade since Bethany and I started dated but I still remember it fondly. I was ecstatic each week when our date nights on Wednesday would roll around. Hopefully I'm remembering the day correctly because I'm sure Bethany will if I don't. It didn't really matter what we were doing as long as we got to hang out. In fact, I'm 92% certain that the majority of our dates were grabbing dinner at the student union and talking over a movie playing in the background of my dorm room. 

Of course, the dynamic changed once we were married too. Don't worry. I won't go into too much detail because I know no one wants that. It was the simple things that were nice. Eating dinner together every day as we rehashed the events of the day. Playing board games or going to our apartment's pool in the evening. Binge-watching reruns of 'Reba' on Lifetime for reasons that still perplex me. 

The side-splitting humor 'Reba' is famous for...

All of that being said, one of the things I would most (and still do) look forward to was actually being able to spend birthdays together and celebrate. So, that makes it extremely convenient that yesterday marked Bethany's 30th birthday! Woo woo! Now, don't think less of me for saying this, but we don't really do anything massive or over the top for birthdays in our house. 

Taking that into account, Bethany had one simple request for her birthday which was to go to the White Horse Pub. In case you're wondering, White Horse Pub is a British-themed pub that is in a strip mall across the street from our subdivision that has become a favorite of ours. We honestly have been pretty excited as we don't eat out a ton and had been planning it for a couple of weeks. There was one slight problem that we never even thought about though.

It all began simply enough. The plan was for Bethany to let me know when she was getting close to home and I would get Ellie out the door and into the RAV4. That way all Bethany would need to do is switch cars and we'd be good to go. I know you're thinking that Ellie somehow caused an issue here. Nope, she was perfect and that part went off without a hitch. 

We even managed to make it across North Oak Trafficway to the White Horse Pub without any kind of misfortune befalling us. The issue reared its ugly head as soon as we pulled into an empty parking lot. Normally an empty parking lot isn't all bad as it means you don't have to wait for a table. This was though because in all of our excitement and planning, we forgot that the White Horse Pub is closed on Tuesdays. **gasp in horror**

I'm sure you can envision our palpable disappointment after discovering that tidbit of information. Even more so when you realize I hadn't prepared a backup plan. I definitely would have prepared some kind of special birthday meal but it can be difficult with Ellie around. Especially true when you consider Ellie's new nap routine of sleeping on my chest and therefore trapping me in one place each afternoon for at least an hour and a half. After a little bit of back and forth, we finally decided on Pizza Ranch as we were already hungry and knew that wouldn't take long.

Proof of the baby sleeping...

If you've never been to Pizza Ranch, basically envision a wild west-themed pizza buffet that also randomly has fried chicken. We headed in and staked claim to our table before Bethany took the first shift getting food while I sat with Ellie. When she returned, I went to do the same before walking back to our table to find Ellie had already abandoned her high chair and taken up residence on Bethany's lap. While we generally try to avoid stuff like that, we just allowed it to happen as both Ellie and Bethany were missing each other after a long day. 

In case you're expecting a fascinating story of more things gone wrong, this isn't it. The only thing that could possibly be construed as going wrong is Ellie getting chocolate pudding on her shirt. That's not really that big of an issue though because...well, because she's a baby.

And now, I've reached my point. Since it's Valentine's Day and I'm expected to get all sappy and stuff, there's no one who'd I rather go through everyday misadventures with than my wife. Not only is she a great wife, but she's a fantastic mother to Ellie even when it's hard (It can definitely be hard). Not to mention the way she encourages me in all of my various endeavors and foolish escapades, as well as in my faith. 

Even when we're unable to properly celebrate birthdays because we don't know our favorite restaurant's hours of business, life together is always fun. Luckily for me, we probably still have a good 40 to 50 years of everyday misadventures left to look forward to. You know, as long as I don't drive her too nuts in the meantime with stupid jokes, childish tendencies, and putting nearly empty containers of milk back in the fridge. #DaddyWrite

My girls.

Day 346 - My Daughter or Keanu Reeves?

This should be fairly obvious but I like words. Shocker of the year, right? The guy who's guilty of writing for fun enjoys words. 

I know that I'm often guilty of using a $5 word where a $.50 word probably would have done just as well. That doesn't really matter to me all that much though. It's not like I'm sitting around saying "Hey everyone. Check out this big word I just used so you can all see how smart I am!" I just think it's fun to have a sizeable vocabulary and use fun/different words. 

Ok, I see now how that last paragraph could be construed as slightly braggadocios. I also see the irony in me using 'braggadocios' in a sentence when I didn't really need to. Side note, how often do you think I choose to begin a blog discussing something ironic that really isn't all that ironic?

All of this serves to finally get me to my point. While words can be really fun, they're normally more fun when being used properly. Need additional confirmation? Just ask Ellie.

Like most kids her age, Ellie has been subject to epic babbling for quite some time. Now, if you were to ask me what exactly she's saying, I would wager that I've had about a 50% chance of getting it right. Let me tell you, when dealing with a toddler who borders on overly-emotional at times, those odds aren't nearly high enough. At least that was the case until the past two weeks. In that time, Ellie's vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds. Need examples? I'll be happy to provide.

Let's start off with my personal favorites, although it should be said these are likely Ellie's most useless vocabulary terms. "Cool," "Wow," and "Whoa." Each of these is overly-emphasized to the point that my daughter sounds like a teen slacker in a '90's teen movie. Or Keanu Reeves in any movie. While she doesn't commonly use them outside of repeating after her mother or I, there are those moments when it does happen naturally. Those moments may include looking at a new book, finding a remarkably fun piece of recycling, or playing with water in a sink. All are clearly valid.

Sleeping Ellie versus Sad Keanu...

While I do really like those three words, Ellie's fascination for saying "Mom" is probably more useful. While she's been able to say "Mom" for quite a while, I think she's finally just gained a firm understanding for it in the past week. In fact, it's becoming common for her to acknowledge Bethany's presence with a hearty "Hi Mom" each afternoon. Sadly for me, I think I'm destined to forever be known as "Bob." Oh yeah, after all of this time, we finally figured out that I am the "Bob" to which Ellie has been referring for months and months on end. You know, it's not like I'm her primary caregiver or anything. Oh wait, I am!

Ok, that's probably enough of talking about verbal communication. Especially if it's just going to make me sad. Quick, someone reassure me Ellie will learn to say "Dad" someday soon. Somebody? Anybody? **sadly whimpering** #DaddyWrite

Why did you lie to me, Jimmy Fallon?