Day 729 - Continued Development, not 'Arrested Development'

Between a week of self-imposed exile due to (feeling like I was) dying from the flu and a week of traveling over Christmas week, it's easy to feel like there's several important events that need to be written about. Chief among them feels like it should be Ethan's continued development.

CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT, not 'Arrested Development'!

What exactly does "Ethan's continued development" mean? Well, simply put it can mean a lot of different things. First and foremost though, it means that we officially have a walker. 

Since really stringing together his first steps back on the 11th, Ethan has grown more and more confident in his walking. In fact, it's not uncommon for him to take off trotting across the room in search of a certain toy or perhaps whoever his favorite person is at that moment. The thing that's really exciting watching Ethan walk is that he doesn't give up when he falls. After all, it would be super easy for him to just decide to crawl to his destination when he falls flat on his face. Instead, he always pulls himself back up and sets off on his mission again. There's probably a good message there about never giving up and always achieving one's dreams that I should remember to bust out when the kids get older. I'll make a note.

Walking isn't the only thing new to Ethan though as we officially have a stair master. For the record, I am not talking about the American company specializing in the design and production of fitness equipment for commercial, light commercial, and home use. And yes, I did steal that description directly from Wikipedia.

Stair Master, not Stair car.

While Ethan has had the ability to climb up stairs for a while, his ability to climb down was virtually non-existent. If Bethany or I would help him make the initial transition from flat ground to the top step, he could slide down with no problems. However, if left to do that step himself, he could not make it happen. All he could do is sit on the top step, crawling back and forth from one side of the step to the other, and whine until someone came to get him. 

All of that is now a thing of the past. Now, whenever Ethan is hit by the desire to go downstairs, he'll turn himself around backwards, carefully dropping one leg over the ledge. Then, he'll slowly slide the other leg off the ledge until both are on the step below him. Then, all he has to do is slide down the stairs on his belly at his leisure. It really is quite the process to sit and watch and I can't get enough of doing so.

To continue along the theme, there's one more thing that Ethan has become adept at: playtime. The kid absolutely loves to play. His favorite by far is to be chased. As soon as a person starts following Ethan down a hallway, he will start giggling relentlessly as he sneaks sideways glances back to ensure his pursuer is still following. The best part though is when the pursuer either ducks into an open room or hides on the stairs. Ethan will then turn around and cautiously creep back to where he last saw his playmate. As soon as he lays eyes on that person though, he's off again, laughing maniacally all the way.

Now, that's just alarming.

Even if I haven't documented the day-to-day minutia of Ethan's life to the extent with which I did Ellie's, don't think for a second that I'm not enjoying him. I love the relationship I'm developing with my little guy. From all of the snuggles that he seemingly wants from me and me alone to the tickle-filled playtimes, I love it all. 

Well, maybe not those instances when he gets super tired and wants to scream relentlessly. That's not super fun but it's also not super common either. Maybe I should call it a wash? #DaddyWrite 

 

Day 723 - **Insert Prototypical Story About Baby Screaming at Santa Claus Here**

I love just how kids pick up on the things going on around them. It really is fascinating how even at the age of three, Ellie picks up on the most minute detail. Of course, she doesn't just pick up on those small details. She remembers them for extended periods of time and will inevitably use that information to her advantage whenever she can. For example, take this morning's trip to 'Above All Trampoline Park'. 

Since our first trip to 'Above All' back in October, it's undeniable that Ellie had a desire to go back. Every so often, she'll randomly talk about it and want to know when we can go back. With nothing else going on today and Fridays mornings being "Toddler Time" at 'Above All', I decided it was as good of a time as any. As soon as Ethan woke up from his morning nap, I loaded everyone up and we set off to Liberty for 'Above All'.

It goes without saying that Ellie was justifiably excited for her return trip to the trampoline park. In fact, as soon as I helped her put on her special jump socks this morning, she knew exactly where we were going and what we were doing. Once we arrived, it was all I could do to keep my daughter semi-close to me as we walked across the parking lot to the front door. Once inside, as soon as I paid Ellie's entry fee, she was off like a rocket to have some jumping fun.

Now, even though Ellie's time jumping was fun to me, it was largely exactly the same as last time. Really the only difference is that Ethan was much more cognizant of what was happening and therefore, jealous that Ellie was having fun and he was not. For the record, Ethan adores trampolines. It's not uncommon to find him standing up on the mini-trampoline in our family room, gently bouncing up and down, laughing and clapping his hands all the while.

As we wandered around from activity to activity, I glanced over just in time to see a large man in a red suit exiting an office door and walking around the front desk. I was a little confused (justifiably so) but really didn't give it much thought until an announcement came over the speakers. "To all of our guests at 'Above All', we invite you to come meet Santa Claus and get your picture taken with him. Also, feel free to enjoy a complimentary cookie after doing so."

Now, I feel like most kids her age would focus on the Santa aspect of that announcement. Not Ellie. All she wanted was that cookie. For the record, part of her lack of fascination with Santa is that Bethany and I have been upfront about his **ahem**  fictional status (Spoiler alert). We approach it with the idea of Santa being a fun part of Christmas that can be celebrated through stories and song. However, we don't want her to think we lied to her one day in the near future and taught her something untrue. With that in mind, I was shocked that once our jump time ended, Ellie asked if she could go meet Santa. I happily obliged and we took our place in line.

As soon as Santa laid eyes on Ellie and invited her to come sit in his big chair, Ellie was completely and utterly fear-stricken. While Santa was able to get a fist bump and high-five out of her, that was the extent of it. She wouldn't even take a seat in Santa's big throne if he wasn't sitting in it. Instead, she chose to seek refuge in the nearby 'Fast and the Furious' arcade game. 

While I was ready to call the experiment a bust, Santa asked if I would at least like a picture of Ethan with him. Once again, I didn't have an issue and happily obliged. Ethan, not so much. As Santa took him in his white-gloved hands, Ethan looked up at his bearded visage and then turned and looked back at me. His little face contorted into a frown, his bottom lip quivered, and then, the screams came. Truer terror was never before seen like Ethan sitting on the lap of Ol' Saint Nick. Finally, after a nearby worker snapped a couple of photos, I mercifully retrieved my son from Santa's lap where he responded by bearing his tiny face in my chest.

Does it make me a bad dad if I say that Ethan's look of terror brings me joy?

With that, I thought it was time to take our leave of 'Above All'. Ellie, meanwhile, had other ideas. You see, she knew there was one more part to that announcement. "... Also, feel free to enjoy a complimentary cookie after doing so." I couldn't argue with her logic so there I sat beside my daughter on a nearby couch as she enjoyed a Christmas tree-shaped sugar cookie. 

Oh yeah, lest I forget, I enjoyed a chocolate chunk cookie of my very own. Don't judge me; it's not like Ethan was going to eat it for himself and I couldn't let it go to waste. I'm just always trying to do the right thing. It's clearly hard. #DaddyWrite

Day 718 - Do You Want to Build a "Fauxman"?

Children have a magical way of creating something from nothing. Not only that, but they can put so much heart and imagination into the simplest thing that it becomes an indelible part of who they are. As a direct result, said creation can become a permanent fixture in the home for an indeterminable amount of time. I know I basically just outlined the entire character arc for Forky in 'Toy Story 4'. It's still applicable though.

As is true on many a Friday, Ellie and I had hit somewhat of a boredom wall for the week and found ourselves out of things to do. By the time 9:30 rolled around, we had already read over ten books and had watched 40 minutes of 'Llama Llama'. Even though she could have kept watching TV all day, I really don't want to be that kind of parent. Therefore, I started contemplating fun things for us to do. Unfortunately for me, I was pretty much out of ideas. The only one I had left was to text Bethany and have her provide us with a great idea. Lucky for us, Bethany rose to the occasion.

As people well know, the Christmas season is upon us. As a result, gift buying is a common thing which results in, you guessed it, lots of boxes. Bethany's big idea was for me to come up with a craft project Ellie could do using the boxes. With that, I wandered to our subbasement and began taking stock of the shapes and sizes of the boxes. Very quickly, an idea came to me: it was time for us to build a "fauxman"!

What is a "fauxman", you ask? Well, it's kind of like a snowman, only not. For one thing, it's constructed out of three boxes, each slightly smaller than the one that preceded it. From there, one uses their choice of adhesion to make the boxes stick together. My choice was Gorilla Tape. Once assembly is completed, the decorator can then get to work on their design.

Now, I'm fully aware of Ellie's love for doing crafts. However, I totally underestimated how much she would enjoy this activity. The first step for Ellie was to break out one of the most precious of her craft supplies: the stickers. With great care and precision, Ellie happily removed one sticker after another and placed on her "fauxman". There were 'Frozen' stickers, 'Spider-Man' stickers, glittery stickers, and last but not least, some freebie stickers we received in the mail from the DAV. 

After she tired of stickers, Ellie dug into her craft box to find her markers. Over the next half hour, Ellie asked all the color she could ever desire to her "fauxman's" body. There soon came a time for Ellie to raise the artistic bar ever more. However, for that to happen, she would need a little help.

Ellie's request was simple enough. All she wanted was for the "fauxman" to have eyes and a mouth. I was more than happy to oblige with the mouth. However, I felt the urge to raise the bar on the eyes. I mean, why have eyes when sunglasses would be more cool? For the sunglasses in question, I first cut out a basic shape from an old blue filefolder. Then, I cut lens to match out of some shiny gold cardstock left over from a recent Kaleidoscope trip. The last step was to affix those become moving on to the scarf.

The scarf may have been less labor intensive than the sunglasses if one cares to know. To create that scarf, all I had to do was cut an appropriate piece of ribbon, place it gently around my neck, and tie it up in a four-in-hand knot. This gave me the ability to easily loosen and tighten the scarf as needed. From there, I also helped Ellie add some hair using an old wrapping bow and a bright green necklace made from more ribbon.Finally, we reached the point where Ellie had added all of the personal touches to her "fauxman" that she cared to put forth at that time. 

There was one more step in creation that needed to occur though. Ellie needed to name her creation. Ellie's choice? Bubble-Wrap. Yes, Bubble-Wrap the "fauxman". It just so happens that when I asked Ellie what she wanted to name her snowman, her toy of choice was a small role of bubble-wrap, hence the name. Even though I didn't really have an issue with Ellie calling her hard work, "Bubble-Wrap", I recommended a different name might be in order. Perhaps something like Bubbles would be for the best.

Whenever I find myself glancing over at Bubbles' smiling face, I can't help but be proud of all of Ellie's hard work and how happy it made her. On the flip side, I also can't help but wonder if Bubbles would feel the same unyielding desire to throw himself in the trash that Forky did. Unfortunately, I may never have the answer to that question. Here's hoping Bubbles stays right where he is, though. #DaddyWrite

Day 716 - Ellie the "Intern"

When I was growing up, I was the type of kid who never had any clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. There was that brief window when I wanted to be a Ninja Turtle. However, once I realized that I was not a reptile, I realized that dream was an impossibility. Since that fateful day, I haven't come any closer to figuring out what I want to do with my life. Pretty sad, right?

The moment I saw Oprah staring at a Ninja Turtle with absolute confusion, I knew I must use this gif.

Lucky for Ellie, that's not a struggle she has had to deal with. In fact, her dreams for her life seemingly change weekly. One week, she'll desire to be an astronaut. On another, she'll want to be a farmer. However, my daughter does have one dream that is consistently there and never fades. She aspires to become the world's greatest check-out lady. Fortunately for Ellie, she recently got a little practice to help her achieve her goal.

As most people realize, we are in the midst of Christmas shopping season. The quest for the perfect gift envelopes us all. Sometimes though, the perfect gift doesn't require spending an arm and a leg (especially if it borders on being a gag gift). All it might take is a little trip to the local Harbor Freight Tools. 

I realize many might not be familiar with Harbor Freight Tools. Basically, it's a place to buy really cheap tools. For the record, they are both cheap in cost and quality which makes it perfect for a gag gift. I don't want to say much more about said "gift" because no one wants their Christmas to be spoiled.

As the product I was interested in was currently on sale, it was very important that I complete the transaction before the sale ended. While I realize I could have just purchased online, my reasons for not doing so were twofold. Number one, I really didn't want to pay more for shipping than the cost of the product. Number two, our local Harbor Freight is but two or three miles away. Therefore, I loaded up Ellie and Ethan and set out on a short car ride.

Upon arriving at Harbor Freight, the three of us headed inside the store with Ellie and I co-pushing Ethan in an incredibly tiny shopping cart. Seriously, my poor little man's hips were nearly touching the side of the cart. We serpentined down aisle after aisle before finally discovering our prize in the last aisle remaining. With ecstatic victory, we headed to the check-out counter to pay for our purchase.

I've become aware that part of shopping with two incredibly cute children is that it's pretty easy to find myself engaging in conversation with random people. In this instance, the random person was our check-out lady. For the record, I didn't get her name so we'll call her "Betty". 

As "Betty" and I made small talk over my silly purchase, she then turned her attention to the set of blue eyes and blond hair sticking up over the counter. "Betty" then explained to Ellie how the checkout system worked and actually asked Ellie if she would like to scan our purchase. She didn't have to ask Ellie twice as she quickly ran around the counter and stood next to "Betty" waiting for whatever was next. "Betty" gently handed the scanner to Ellie and showed her the proper button to press. Then, she held our purchase under the laser while Ellie scanned the bar code. With the accompanying "beep", our purchase was made and it was time to pay and leave. 

As I wheeled away from the counter, "Betty" called out to Ellie one final time saying, "Thanks for helping me check out today, Ellie! You were a big help." Ellie's response was non-verbal in nature but the massive smile covering her face said all that needed to be said on this day. My little girl had just completed her very first "internship." #DaddyWrite

Day 715 - The One Where I Quote 'Thor: Ragnarok'

"So much has happened since I last saw you! I lost my hammer, like yesterday, so that's still fresh. Then I went on a journey of self-discovery. Then I met you."

 

Actually, most of that is complete and utter malarkey. Bonus points for being able to use 'malarkey' in a sentence. For starters, that is a direct quote from the opening scene of 'Thor: Ragnarok'. I know exactly where my hammer is. It's somewhere in the garage. Or maybe downstairs in our subbasement in an old fan box. I'm not entirely sure which one is true but it's not missing. I really haven't been on any kind of journey of self-discovery either. That would be fun though.

What has happened is that I've had a pretty full couple of weeks and writing took a bit of a back seat for me. Also, per the iron clad rules of #DaddyWrite, I am forbidden to put finger to key when Bethany is home and she did take all of last week off work. I mean, I guess I could have published another 'Intermission' piece. Why didn't I do that? Regardless, there's so much to catch you up on. Therefore, like Thor, allow me to quickly fill you in on the recent details of my life. 

There was a pair of zoo trips, running audio/video at a funeral, touring a preschool, me going to the dermatologist, various trips to the store, an Uncle Ryan visit, Thanksgiving, a cousin play date, decorating the house for Christmas and multiple viewings of 'Tangled'. Pretty busy, right? Of course, in there, you have the continued development of Ethan as he gets ever closer to walking and having a mouthful of teeth. And with that, you basically find yourself caught up to today.

What was special about today? If you ask Ellie and Ethan, not much. It makes sense why they would feel that way though as today marked Bethany's first day back at work in nine days! While I may have been hoping for a relatively uneventful day, all hope of that flew out the door right behind Bethany as she left for work. Almost immediately, Ellie embarked on her typical routine of screaming "MOMMY!" at the top of her lungs and pounding on the windows at Bethany drove down the street. Shortly thereafter, I made the mistake of trying to put Ethan down for a nap and got a earful of screams for my trouble. 

Never fear though as Ethan did fall asleep......for an hour. Once he awoke from his slumber, he pretty much saw fit to pick right up where he left off. With neither kid particularly happy, I decided it was time for us to get out of the house. We loaded up the Traverse and set out on a little drive. After about 30 or 40 minutes, I decided it was time to head back home and eat an early lunch. 

Ellie, with her pancakes topped with peanut butter and syrup, underwent a startling metamorphosis right around this time as her mindset changed from one of #MissingMommy to being the happy, go-lucky girl I know and love. Unfortunately, I wouldn't get to enjoy it right away as it was time for a nap. With both kids down, I took the opportunity to have a little 'me time' which pretty much devolved into compulsive Cyber Monday Christmas shopping accompanied by a short YouTube session.

Before I knew it, Ethan was up and fussing all over again. Despite my best attempts, I really couldn't keep him happy for more than a few minutes at a time. So, as you can probably guess, Ellie was up shortly thereafter and ready to play. 

Fast forward a couple of hours and we reach yet another nap for Ethan coupled with dinner prep and kitchen cleaning for me and Ellie. Over the past year, Ellie has actually become quite the little helper in the kitchen. For one thing, she already knows where almost everything belongs in our kitchen. Seriously, I was able to test her knowledge as we unloaded the dishwasher and dish drainer and she was rarely mistaken.

After putting the dishes away, it was time for dinner prep. The item on the menu tonight? Chicken Stuffing Bake. Since I was working with raw chicken, I really didn't want Ellie playing a role in that part of the prep. The stuffing was another matter though. After I measured out the water and tore open the bag, I left her to pore the contents into the bowl of water and stir accordingly. At this point, I turned my back briefly only to be met by the loudest crunching sounds I have ever heard. Ellie had decided to help herself to a nice mouthful of dried bread crumbs. For the record, I don't think she liked it one bit but she was way too stubborn to spit it out.

The nice part of dinner prep time is that it means Bethany's return home is at most , an hour away. Before we knew it, she was walking in the front door where both kids met her with huge smiles and massive hugs to boot. I guess our kids do subscribe to that old theory. Absence does make the heart grow fonder. Or at least reminds them that they mind enjoy the presence of one particular parent a little more than the other. Who knows?