Day 807 - "I Ran" by A Flock of Ethans

I'm 99% certain that today is a momentous occasion. In 805 days worth of posts, I have never before mentioned the 1980s pop band A Flock of Seagulls. At least, I hope I haven't. If I have done so, sorry for the incorrect statement.

Wrong Flock of Seagulls

That's more accurate.

Of course, even if one doesn't consider themselves a massive fan of A Flock of Seagulls, I would wager there is at least one song most have heard. Allow me to "sing" a little bit of it.

And I ran

I ran so far away

I just ran

I ran all night and day

I couldn't get away

That song, of course, is "I Ran (So Far Away)." While I said earlier that I would wager most have heard it, I realize now that is a bet I do not want to accept. It just so happens there is a little boy who lives in this very house who has not yet heard "I Ran." Although, given recent events, he probably should hear it very, very soon.

This is one of those second-hand tales that I wasn't actually present for. However, I think I've heard enough variations of the tale between Bethany and Ellie that I understand the gist of the story.

Following our family walk yesterday afternoon, I headed inside to prepare a quick dinner while Bethany and the kids took some more time to play outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. While Ellie was more than happy playing with sidewalk chalk and water guns in the driveway, Ethan's sights were set on something much more adventurous. 

Before Bethany knew what was happening, Ethan was gleefully toddling down the sidewalk towards North Oak Trafficway. While she caught up to Ethan by the time he reached our neighbor's driveway, Bethany (and Ellie) were curious just how far his little legs would carry him. Surprisingly enough, his little legs would indeed carry him all the way to North Oak before Bethany scooped him up in her arms and carried that screaming little boy all the way home.

Once the three returned home, Bethany figured that would be the end of Ethan's travels. It just so happened that she was wrong about that. While her back was turned playing with Ellie, she looked back at where Ethan had been to see him nowhere in sight. She then set sights on him once again toddling down the sidewalk toward North Oak. The lone difference was that he had actually made it two driveways away from home this time. With that, Bethany quickly grabbed Ellie and the two followed Ethan all the way back to North Oak before picking him up and walking back home. For the record, Ethan screamed all the way home on that return trip as well.

Once the three arrived back home, Bethany made the executive order to leave Ethan in the house with me while she continued playing outside with Ellie. After all, Ethan had just covered a 1/3 mile on his own two feet during his little adventure and Bethany didn't really want to add to that total.

One has to wonder exactly why Ethan had such a strong desire to run away. Perhaps he just wanted some exercise. Or maybe he was looking for me and forgot I was inside. I personally like to believe that my son, ever the extrovert, was desperately wanting to go make a new friend and figured North Oak was where he would find the most people.

Regardless, the fact of the matter is that try though he might, much like A Flock of Seagulls, Ethan "couldn't get away." #DaddyWrite

Day 805 - Ride That Roller Coaster, Baby!

This is a story that I have had every intention of writing down for the last week. However, as people well know, pandemic life often leads to a multitude of disruptions and procrastination. Never fear though because I'm finally writing this down.

It's true that life in quarantine hasn't changed nearly as much for me as it has for a lot of other people. For one thing, I don't have a traditional nine-to-five job forcing me to work from home, trapped in a bedroom like some kind of prisoner (I'm sorry about that, Bethany). Also, I'm not having to try and homeschool my kids like many are. Instead, as a stay-at-home dad, my job mainly revolves around trying to keep my children entertained while maintaining my own sanity. For the record, doing just that has become increasingly harder during the pandemic. 

One of the things that Ellie and Ethan seem to miss the most about pre-quarantine life is a good trip to the park. Prior to current events, we would find ourselves there at least once or twice a week if weather is warm. Nowadays, there's nothing to do at the park other than gaze longingly at the caution tape-covered equipment as we sadly read the "Park Closed Due to COVID-19" signs. As a result, the two find themselves without a good outlet to satisfy their daredevil streaks. While we do have a child's slide in our subbasement, a trampoline in our family room, and a swing outside, none of those options seem to satisfy the quest for danger both kids seem to have. Instead, the only thing Ellie and Ethan seem to want is to ride a roller coaster.

Obviously, not even Ellie is tall enough to ride a roller coaster at this stage of her life. Also, with the current social distancing standards, who knows when one will even be able to ride a roller coaster again. Lucky for my kids, I am the master of creativity and ingenuity. Using our laundry basket and YouTube videos, I have been able to create any roller coaster known to man within the cozy confines of our family room.

With Ellie and Ethan both safely crammed into our laundry basket, I reenact all turns, hills, and drops that they see on the screen in front of them. I don't take it easy on them either. I'm more than willing to sling the two around any and all turns, adding in my own yells as they go "up and down the hills." By the time we "pull into the station" to complete our ride, Ellie is already asking for another coaster ride. For the record, it normally takes four rides for me to finally cut her off.

Seeing as how Bethany isn't really a big fan of roller coasters or most theme park rides, I honestly can't wait for the kids to get a little older so that I have riding buddies on thrill rides. I'm even already imaging Ellie and I standing in the real-life queue for her favorite "virtual" coaster, the Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios. Who know if it'll actually happen anytime soon but one can dream, right? #DaddyWrite

Couldn't pass up animated Patrick Mahomes riding a carnival ride.

Day 798 - The (Legitimately) Deep Questions

It seems to me that life with two under four years of age can often be a roller coaster. You never really know what one day to the next is going to look like. Sure, there are always those constants that will be there. However, for the most part, things can and do often change from day-to-day.

Part of the roller coaster is that I never really know what's going to be coming out of Ellie's mouth at any given time. Like any three-year-old, she has lots of questions. It can be something as simple as wondering if she can have a glass of milk or if she can wear a dress today. It can also be as complicated as wanting to know why the sky is blue or why the moon is constantly changing in size and shape. Those questions are just the tip of the iceberg though.  

It's probably a direct result of the Easter season but Ellie has been asking us a lot of extremely deep questions lately. For example, on one afternoon last week, she wanted to know "Why can't we be with God without Jesus dying?". Pretty deep question for a three-year-old but I was able to satisfy her curiosity by explaining that God is perfect and that the only way to be with him is by being perfect. From there, I went on to explain that since we aren't perfect, we needed someone to be perfect for us. Therefore, Jesus who was perfect took the brunt of our sins on the cross so that we could be with God forever as long as we truly believe that Jesus was perfect.

OF course, that's not the only hard question. Ellie has also asked Bethany things like "If Jesus raised people from the dead in my Bible, how come people are dying from the virus?" and "Jesus's arms weren't that big so how did he move the stone?". Obviously, the first one was a little trickier than the second for Bethany to answer. In the case of the first question, Bethany responded with "God could heal them if he wanted but sometimes he chooses not to so that he can use the situation. Maybe he wants us all to learn something from this." The second was quickly answered by "Remember the song "He has the whole world in his hands? God is big enough to hold the whole world." 

It's fascinating to see how her tiny mind is constantly churning and processing information right now. There's been some other questions that we can't exactly remember. However, they were along the lines of Ellie wondering why some people have hard hearts and end up not believing. Super hard questions from a three-year-old, right?

Honestly, we are just overjoyed that at the tender age of three, Ellie already has an interest in working through these kind of spiritual quandaries. Through it all, we're constantly encouraging her to not be afraid to ask us anything and reminding her that if we can't provide the answer, then we will find someone who will. We just find ourselves wondering each day what Ellie's big question of the day will end up being and hoping we'll be prepared to answer it. 

#DaddyWrite

Day 793 - Kevin Bacon

I want to talk a little about the legend of Footloose. It's a tale of one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, a man named Kevin Bacon. In said tale, Kevin Bacon heroically teaches a town of lame, stuck in their way people that dancing is the greatest thing there is. And yes, I did rip off most of that description from Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War.

Honestly, I feel like there's some kind of a massive generation gap as it relates to Footloose. While I've long been aware of the film (and the hit Kenny Loggins song), I'm pretty sure I have never experienced it for myself. The film, not the song; I've heard the song on many, many occasions. In fact, most of my peers seem to have the same experiences regarding Footloose. 

Taking all of this into account, I'm beginning to believe that it may be time for a new hero to arise in the great tradition of men like Kevin Bacon. Someone is needed to teach the world (or one backwards town) that dancing is the greatest thing there is. The legend of Footloose is begging to be shared with a new generation and there's only one man, err...baby, who is ”man" enough for the job: Ethan Holt!

Who, me?

It goes without saying that there is one very important prerequisite for being the face of Footloose for a new generation. One must actually be able to dance. Lucky for all, Ethan has that ability in spades.

While Ethan has always been a big fan of music, we didn't actually realize just how much he loved it until recently. One day last week, I found myself frantically trying to get dinner prepared while Bethany was finishing up her work day. Ellie was happily reading books to herself in the living room while Ethan preoccupied himself with screaming at me as I hurriedly sliced carrots. As the stress from the constant screams was beginning to rattle me, I began to grow increasingly more concerned for the safety of my fingers. 

It was then that I decided to try something a little desperate. Taking our bluetooth speaker, which was blasting music on the counter, I handed it to Ethan so that he could examine it. My hope was that his curiosity would buy me about four minutes of peace with which I could finish my prep. What I got was much more than four minutes.

Taking the speaker in his hands, Ethan examined it thoroughly before setting it on the ground and taking a step back. Then, picking it back up again, he began to excitedly bounce up and down while peppering in occasional squeals of delight. The faster the song, the happier and more pronounced the moves. Before long, he was two-stepping so fast that it wasn't out of the question to see him fall on his backside. Props to him though as he dusted himself off and went straight back to dancing.

The great thing about Ethan's new Footloose and fancy free lifestyle is that he's already learned a new word as a result. Whenever he sees our bluetooth speaker, he will immediately point to it while happily exclaiming "Dance!". Of course, if we don't immediately start playing music, the tears will start streaming. 

In other words, if we don't allow Ethan, a.k.a. Kevin Bacon, to dance, then Bethany and I become the denizens of Bomont, Utah. That's apparently the town where Footloose takes place and yes, I did have to look that up on Wikipedia. Perhaps in the future, I should skip some Marvel movies and repeats of The Office and instead pepper a little Footloose into my watch queue. #DaddyWrite

Ever love two gifs so much that it was impossible to decide between them?

Day 790 - The Brown Bear Conundrum

I could spend the next ten minutes choosing to rewrite from scratch all that I had written before my computer unceremoniously crashed. Unfortunately I don't remember most of what I had written prior to that moment. There was something about "talking" about pandemics or quarantines within the confines of the blog post. There was also something about "being careful what one wished for".

Taking those two things into account, you should be able to follow along with this post just fine.

Throughout most of Ethan's life, Bethany and I haven't had any complaints. Sure, he occasionally gets upset and throws a tantrum. He even has those rare nights when he fights sleep at all costs. For the most part, he's been a really easy baby. That being said, we have had one minor complaint: we just want to be able to read books to him! 

You can rest assured that the issue is not entirely our fault. Ethan's been around books since he was a baby as he's frequently in Ellie's room every night for Bible and story time. However, when it comes time to read a book to Ethan, it's always been a nigh impossibility to convince him to sit still long enough to get through two pages, let alone an entire book. Every time we tried, it wouldn't take long for him to wriggle off of our lap or for him to just repeatedly slam the book shut.

Lucky for us, all of these reactions from Ethan are now a thing of the past. Although, to tell the truth, it's probably just a matter of time before we find ourselves wishing for those days of struggling to read to the baby. At least, that will be the case until Ethan decides to broaden his literary horizons. For now though, we are seemingly resigned to an eternity of reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?.

For the last month or so, Bethany and I have really been striving to convince Ethan to read a book. One by one, we'd work through the bookshelf until finally, Ethan found his favorite book. Now, it's a near impossibility to get him to put it down. In fact, the second he spots the book, Ethan drops everything he's doing, holds the book aloft, and cries until someone reads it to him.

It's not reading Brown Bear to Ethan that's the problem. The problem is how to stop reading Brown Bear to Ethan. The second the story is over, Ethan will flip back to the first page and patiently wait for Bethany or I to read it to him again. If for some reason we decided not to do so, the waterworks begin and screaming will commence until he either wears out or gets distracted by something else. 

Honestly, I'm just happy that Ethan has finally found a book he loves to read. It's still an early enough trend that I'm not entirely sick of Brown Bear at this time. However, judging from my experiences with Ellie and Animal Sounds, it's probably just a matter of time until that becomes the case. Beggars can't be choosers though, am I right? #DaddyWrite