Day 427 - Let Me Do It!!!

I find myself needing clarification on something. While it would probably make more sense for me to just ask people who are smarter than I am, I instead choose to just to write a blog and post it to the internet accordingly. Makes sense, right?

The first thing I need clarification on is when exactly do the Terrible Twos begin? I realize that the word 'two' is right there in the name. However, I'm wondering just how tightly we should cling to it. For example, is it possible that my precious daughter could be experiencing the so-called Terrible Twos without even being two yet? To that, I say inconceivable!

**checking definition**

Ok, I take that back. Ellie is definitely in the midst of the Terrible Twos.

While "defiant and unruly" may be a bit extreme, Ellie is definitely in the midst of phase centered around expressing her independence. What do I mean by that? Well, simply put, she is out to prove how little she needs Mommy and Daddy right now. After all, Ellie's a big girl and wants to do things by herself now.

For example, the easiest and most direct method to see Ellie's independence at work comes every morning during the 6:00 hour. I generally like to spend time talking with Bethany in the morning before she heads to work so during those times, it's perfectly normal for Ellie to disappear for periods of time. Upon her reappearance, it doesn't take long to realize something is missing. Namely, her pajamas.

I should play this song every time Ellie ditches her pajamas...

You see, Ellie has gotten into the habit of wanting to dress herself. The lone issue with this is that she isn't very good at it at all. For example, it's common to see her attempting to wear shirts as pants and vice versa. When the clothes don't work in this fashion, then rather than seek help, Ellie will instead seek out another shirt and pant combo only to repeat her same mistakes over again. I almost forgot to mention that most of Ellie's shirt and pant combos she creates should not be worn together in public. Not even by someone who's colorblind!

Now, like any parent, I don't really like to see my child struggle and I find myself overcome by an innate desire to be of assistance to her. The problem is that she doesn't really seem to want help from me or Bethany. 

From the moment I approach her or even hint at giving help, Ellie will take off running and screaming in the opposite direction. Normal toddler stuff, right? It goes further. If I really press the issue, everything escalates. She will begin to scream "Bye-bye" at me over and over in attempt to get me to leave her alone. If I don't take the hint there, it's only a matter of time before Ellie begins declaring "Leave!".

The final stage is for her to resort to crying, screaming, scratching, biting, and clawing in an attempt to get away from the situation. In other words, it's somewhat akin to the reaction of a cat anytime I've attempted to cut their claws. 

I will say that this situation isn't only rearing itself in the area of dressing. It can also be there in regards to sleeping, bath time, and meal time. If she's not getting to do these things alone, then she's not interested in doing them at all. Except for sleeping. Then she instead screams "floor" at me over and over until I finally lay down on the floor.

I feel better now that all of this is off my chest. After all, I wouldn't want people to think my daughter is raised by wolves. She's just a self-dressing, self-feeding, self-washing kind of little girl who also happens to be really bad at all three on occasion. #DaddyWrite

At least she's really good at building towers with Legos.

Day 426 - Circular Motion (in Swings and in Life)

Sometimes it's super easy to envy Ellie. She does have a pretty simple life after all. She gets at least one lengthy nap each day. There's the three meals each day in addition to a seemingly never-ending smorgasbord of snacks. Of course, I can't forget the whole lack of responsibility she gets to experience. Seriously, the only thing that is asked of her each day is to get a plate out of her drawer for herself before dinner. That and she sometimes gets silverware for Bethany and I as well.

Of course there are downfalls too. I can't imagine there are many out there hankering to wear a diaper and sit in their own filth. I know that's not high on the list of things I want to experience. Ellie doesn't always get to do exactly what she wants, when she wants. If she had her way, she'd probably spend 21 of the 24 hours of each day in her swing or at least outside. There's also the fact that Ellie lives in a world void of any kind of understanding of the complications of life.

For example, in our married life, Bethany and I have seen a veritable revolving door of friends both come into our lives and leave just like that. Don't worry, it wasn't anything we did. It's more a product of making friends with people who go to a seminary who possess the goal of eventually graduating. The good thing about Ellie's lack of understanding is that she has no idea anything will change. If anything, she's just living life one day at a time. Therefore, when we went to the park this evening for a going-away party for some friends, Ellie couldn't have been more excited.

To tell the truth, I couldn't have been more excited for her either. Let's face it; as a stay-at-home dad I probably don't do the best job in the world allowing my daughter to interact with other kids. Fortunately for both of us, this was something she actually got to do this evening. Therefore, after a short detour to 'Babies R Us' for some deep-discounted browsing, we headed to Barry Platte Park to meet up with the rest of the party. 

From the time we sat Ellie down on the ground and allowed her to run towards the jungle gym, it's safe to say she was in her own personal nirvana. And no, I don't mean the band; no 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' here. After a handful of trips up and down the slide, she found her way over to the toddler swings and was able to "convince" me to push her higher and higher. Finally after I tired of pushing her, Bethany had a new adventure for her.

Bethany picked up Ellie and carried her over to a tire swing to join in the festivities with a couple of other kids. After my wife sat Ellie down on the swing and encouraged her to hold on tight, I watched from afar as the three kids happily rode the swing around in a circular manner. Each time the swing changed direction, I could see the smile on Ellie's face become bigger and bigger. I still don't know if it's the tire swing or the playing with friends part that Ellie enjoyed more but it's obvious she was happy.

Just in case we needed more confirmation Ellie had fun, as soon as we got home, Ellie went straight to the tub for a quick sponge bath without a fight. Following that, she laid down in her crib after only two stories and proceeded to go to sleep without incident. If only every night could be that easy. 

I guess that means we just need to start taking Ellie to the park to play with kids every night. It doesn't really matter to her if we know them or not, right? #DaddyWrite

Day 422 - Seeing Stripes

You know that feeling of being super excited for something to happen just to be disappointed when it finally occurs? Everyone's been there at least once. Maybe twice.  Perhaps even thrice. It's doubtful it's ever happened to anyone more than thrice though. When you're an adult, it's pretty easy to deal with that kind of disappointment; you just dust yourself off and move on. However, when you're a toddler, you find yourself overcome by this sudden rush of emotions that allows you to respond in only one fashion. 

Insert obligatory 'Boy Meets World' gif here...

Ok, I realize that opening was incredibly vague and you're probably not wanting me to end a story right there. Well, allow me to regale you with a tale about Ellie's latest trip to the zoo. Actually, first of all, let me say that it is never a good idea to go to the zoo in the mornings during May. Schools are still in session and therefore, there are field trips aplenty which can make things slightly more difficult for a dad with his toddler in a stroller. "The More You Know."

As you may or may not know, last week marked the debut of the Kansas City Zoo's newest attraction entitled Sting Ray Bay. I'm going to assume that it's fairly obvious this is an attraction starring, yes, you guessed it, the sting ray. Therefore, when you take all of that into account, it makes perfect sense for the zoo to be packed.  To be completely honest, I really wanted to make sure we saw the exhibit. Ellie probably was indifferent to it at best. Regardless, we hotfooted it over to Sting Ray Bay and hopped in line as soon as we entered the zoo.

First thing we had to do upon entering the exhibit is to wash our hands and arms all the way up to our elbows. Apparently the zoo wishes to keep the sting rays healthy. Then, after washing, it was time to wander up to the tank and thrust our hands in. Well, I thrust my hands in. Ellie, meanwhile, stood nervously watching me as I touched a sting ray's rubbery-feeling skin and/or hide. After a few minutes of trying to help Ellie touch the rays I gave up as the combination of her uncertainty and her inability to reach that far into the water was standing in our way.

After washing our hands and arms off one more time, we bid adieu to the sting rays and headed outside where Ellie immediately declared "Tiger" in a booming voice. It is here that I feel the urge to specify that it would be unusual for a tiger to be roaming free at the Kansas City Zoo. Feel free to take a sigh of relief that that was indeed the case. Although, it is common to see statues of tigers around the zoo as Ellie did on this occasion. She ran up to the statues, hopped on its back, and proceeded to wrap her tiny arms around its neck over and over again until it was finally time to head on our way.

Don't ask me why Ellie is sticking her tongue out in this picture. She's just weird.

At this point, I specifically asked Ellie what she wanted to see more than anything. Her response? "Tiger." Now, a good father would probably take his daughter to the tigers at that moment. What did I do? I took her to see the penguins, elephants, orangutans, polar bear, and even a bird show. Throughout each of these experiences, Ellie's requests for "Tiger" still rang true. Well, not the bird show. In that instance, those "Tiger" calls were instead replaced with a chorus of "Again" every time a bird swooped over our heads on its way across the auditorium.

Finally, the time had come. With the sun reaching its peak in the midday sky, I knew our time at the zoo was coming to a close. Therefore, I saw no better way to spend our closing minutes than to take Ellie to see the tigers at long last. Lucky for me that I chose to go when I did as we received the unexpected treat of seeing one tiger cool itself in its little pool as its buddy prowled the confines of the enclosure looking for any sign of escape. Either that or it was just looking for the perfect place to take a nap because that was the very next thing it did. I can't be certain though.

The big take-aways from this zoo trip? Well, number one, try to go in the afternoon to avoid field trips. Number two, no matter how many times a toddler asks a tiger for a fist bump, the sad truth is that it will never be given. Number three, continue to deeply encourage and foster Ellie's love of tigers to no end. Ok, maybe I should specify that my daughter should always shun tigers if they come from Detroit, LSU, or Auburn. Details, details. #DaddyWrite

Day 421 - Well Done

I find myself remembering just how common it was in the first year of Ellie's life for me to write a post revolving around me lamenting just how little I knew about parenthood. Well, good news, I'm almost two years into this journey and I think I'm beginning to develop a rudimentary understanding of how this whole child-rearing thing is supposed to go. Yay, me!

That being said, there are still quite a few small things that I neglect to think about even after two years. For example, one of those would be to always leave home with at least one diaper, the changing pad, and some wipes in tow. Seriously, I think Ellie knows when I don't and therefore chooses to punish me for my lack of foresight.

Also of note are those occasions when I find myself forgetting just how smart Ellie can be. There are definitely trigger words in her vocabulary that will always provoke a strong reaction in my daughter. Words such as outside, snack, sleep, music, and milk are some examples. Simply put, if Bethany and I forget to spell those words and instead just speak it, we're basically duty bound to fulfill the expectation of said word regardless of whether we want to or not.

Of course, part of parenthood is discovering circumstances you aren't prepared for and figuring out how to avoid said situations in the future. If you require an example, look no further than an ordinary trip to the park for Ellie and I today.

I'll lead with the statement that today was an extremely frustrating day to spend at home with Ellie. Between her refusal to take an adequate nap and her total inability to listen (those two are probably connected somehow), I was feeling pretty beat down by this afternoon. Therefore, I thought maybe getting Ellie out of the house to do something fun might help her to calm down somewhat. Hence the trip to the park.

Now, the beauty of a super warm day like today is that the park is relatively vacant. The downside of a super warm day like today is that the park's playground equipment is approximately 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't believe me? Ask poor Ellie's thighs for proof. Seriously.

As soon as we arrived, Ellie, clad in a pair of denim shorts, excitedly began climbing until she finally stood atop her favorite slide, looking down at me far below. Then, she happily took a seat and began sliding. Seconds later, she came to a screeching halt and boy, do I mean screeching. The echoes of "Daddy, help!" quickly carried across the playground. Standing at the base of the tornado slide, I quickly reached up and lifted Ellie off the hot plastic before setting her down on the ground below.

Over the next few minutes, Ellie would clamber around the playground, testing out the swings and other various structures and slides only to find all were too hot for her liking. She even climbed back up to her tornado slide, gently touching the plastic with her hand, only to be disappointed by the still raging heat. It was at this moment that I had the perfect idea to solve this situation.

It just so happens that I had been keeping an old bath towel in the bottom of the stroller for the sole purpose of wiping rainwater off of slides to keep the seat of my daughter's pants dry on wet days. In my mind, I saw no reason why I couldn't use the same towel to protect my daughter's milky white legs from the hot summer sun's effects on the tornado slide. After coaxing Ellie to the top of the slide one final time, I laid the towel down and convinced her to sit on it before gently pulling the towel onto the incline before watching Ellie fly down it. Upon reaching the bottom, Ellie happily exclaimed, "Again!" My ingenuity and (less than quick) thinking had triumphed, allowing Ellie to slide to her little heart's content.

Now, despite things working out fine today, I did learn an important lesson. That lesson being that it's never too hot to dress one's child in long pants for a trip to the park. After all, no one wants their thighs to be well done after a trip down the slide. #DaddyWrite 

Sorry there's no pictures of Ellie today. Hopefully this image of chicken frying in a pair will suffice.