Day 569 - 1 Simple Rule for Dating One's Toddler Daughter

Like so many of the blog posts that have come before this one, I'm going to start with an obscure/dated pop-culture reference certain to induce confusion whenever Ellie reads it in the future. Let's get to it!

 

Does anyone out there remember the old TV show, '8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter'? It starred John Ritter until he passed away and was inexplicably replaced by the combination of James Garner and David Spade (yes, David Spade). It was also where Penny from 'The Big Bang Theory' really got her start.

Not '8 Simple Rules' but still Spade.

A little know factoid is that the show was based upon a book which I am unable to tell you anymore about. And with that, comes my inspiration. While I definitely don't have enough material to write a book with, I definitely can offer up a blog post. Therefore, allow me to introduce you to '1 Simple Rule For Dating One's Toddler Daughter'. 

I'm almost positive that I have touched on this topic multiple times over the past couple of years. However, I'll do it once again for the people in the back who haven't been paying attention. The basic premise of dating one's daughter is to give her an example for how a guy should be treating her. Not only that, but it also allows a father to build a lasting and deep connection with his daughter throughout her life. 

Even though Ellie has spent the majority of her life in one-on-one situations with me, I still see the importance in practicing the concept of dating my daughter which is where the 1 Simple Rule comes into play. Simply put, when dating one's toddler daughter, make sure your date consists of something she would enjoy. For us, that has generally been Chick-Fil-A lunch dates. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Yesterday was meant to be one of those date days for us. However, it was put on hold as we ended up meeting my parents for lunch instead. While the Chick-Fil-A portion is still on hold for a bit longer, I decided there was no reason why I couldn't make today all about Ellie.

At least Ellie got an awesome fireman's hat yesterday!

Now, I know you're asking, "How do I make a day all about Ellie?". Simple, we do what she likes. On this occasion, with nothing else on the agenda, I decided that what she would enjoy more than anything was a trip to the library. However, I don't mean just any library. I'm talking about the crown jewel of the Mid-Continental Public Library System: The Woodneath Public Library!

While most of the libraries we frequent are great, the Woodneath branch is something special. For starters, they have the best children's section of any, bar none. Not only do they have the largest selection of books, they also have a variety of activity tables available for kids to interact with at all times. 

After I spent a few minutes perusing the shelves on a quest to find new books for Ellie, we then headed to an activity table to sit down. There, we began to work our way from one table to the next. First, we played with the fish blocks. Then, we wandered to the coloring station. Sadly, even though I really wanted to color a mallard, Ellie insisted I color the clown instead (I may not sleep tonight). With that, we headed to the barnyard animals and dinosaur station.

Actually, this is what will keep me from sleeping tonight...

As I sat down to play with my daughter, I found the table simultaneously overrun by other preschool-aged girls. As I really didn't want to look creepy, I took the opportunity to back off and see just how well Ellie would interact with other kids. End result, I couldn't have been more proud of her as she played nicely and shared with her new friends.

Soon thereafter, the librarians announced that Story Time would be starting soon. While I wasn't planning on attending said event, Ellie couldn't turn down a personalized invitation as it would be rude. Therefore, the two of us wandered into Story Time together to take part in the festivities. By the time everything was all said and done, we had spent nearly two hours at the library!

It's just like I said. The 1 Simple Rule for Dating One's Toddler Daughter is to keep it simple and just do whatever she likes. Keep that in mind and everything will be great. #DaddyWrite

Day 564 - "The Times They Are A-Changin"

As Bob Dylan once famously wrote, "The Times They AreA-Changin." True story about that song; Dylan didn't even feel strongly about the lyrics he was writing. Instead, he just saw that people seemingly wanted an anthem of change to rally behind so he thought, "Hey, why not?".

For the record, there's not exactly strong winds of societal change going on in the Holt household. However, there are a multitude of new things set to erupt within the next six weeks as "Chewy" will make his entrance at some point. Before that can happen, there are plenty of things that need to take place first.

For starters, it'd be nice if "Chewy" had a real name by the time he is born. Even though Ellie's affectionate nickname for her little brother is precious in its own way, he probably shouldn't go through life with "Chewy" as his legal name. To quote my wife, ""Chewy" is a dog's name. He needs a people name." For the record, he does have a great first name that Bethany and I are definitely excited about. We just still need to figure out the middle name.

That's not all that needs to happen though. With me spending most of the past month laid up, we really haven't been able to get much preparation done for little "Chewy". That changes this weekend though as Bethany will finally be able to satisfy her nesting urges with a little help from our friends (Hey, also a song title!). A small contingent of guys will be descending upon House Holt on Saturday morning to partake in something I like to call 'Operation Move Our Stuff'. 

While Bethany and I are excited to see 'Operation Move Our Stuff' completed, in all honesty, it will not affect us nearly as much as it will Ellie. You see, one of the most important steps in 'Operation Move Our Stuff' involves Ellie bidding adieu to her toddler bed and graduating at long last to a twin bed. The toddler bed is to be converted back into a crib and moved into our guest room where "Chewy" will reside for the first year of his life. In turn, our twin bed will be moved off of its frame and placed in the spot vacated by the crib.

Even though Ellie is seemingly excited for this change, I can't help but think there will be an adjustment period. I mean, I have recollections of my college roommate rolling off of his lofted twin bed in his sleep to the hard floor below when he was used to sleeping in a full. One would think that if an eighteen-year-old struggled with switching beds, a toddler might as well.

I have to admit that I'm slightly intimidated and scared by the prospect of life changing so dramatically in just a few short weeks. It feels like just a short time ago when we were going through a similar set of changes in preparing for Ellie, or as she was known at the time, Slugger. 

However, I can take comfort in knowing that no matter how much things change, the more some things will remain the same. For proof, look no further than bath time with Ellie last night. 

Since she had a great day listening, she got the reward of being able to listen to music during her bath. Now, one would think that Ellie would immediately ask for some kind of children's music. No, instead she had three simple requests: "Ooga-chaka, Lenka, and Our Song". 

For the record, those songs are more commonly known as 'Hooked on a Feeling', 'The Show', and '3 Rounds and a Sound'. 

It feels lame to be saying/typing but it honestly makes tears begin to well up in my eyes knowing that the very songs I've been singing to Ellie for the last two-and-a-half years are still so important to her. When she's scared and can't sleep, those are what she wants me to sing. To tell the truth, I've even wondered if we'll someday be dancing to one of those songs together at her wedding. 

Change and same, change and same. The two things really are forever linked. #DaddyWrite

Day 560 - A Christmas (Inflatable) Couch

Merry Christmas everyone! 

I realize those sentiments may be slightly early. However, I also realize it's the last Friday before Christmas meaning that I won't have another shot to wish all eight of my readers an awesome holiday!

Of course, everyone knows that a lot of things go into the Christmas season. After all, there's the multitude of family gatherings. The ever-popular Christmas parties with friends. Gingerbread house building competitions. By the way, consider this a reminder that Bethany and I are undefeated as a duo when it comes to gingerbread house building competitions. Of course, one thing that defines the Christmas season for many is the gift giving.

As I've been laid up for the past few weeks, I've really just started to "reclaim my life" this week. It goes without saying that many a thing I normally take care of fell by the wayside during that time period. Dishes went unwashed. Dinners weren't prepped. The bed wasn't made. Laundry wasn't washed. I'm sorry to say my poor pregnant wife was saddled with quite a few of those responsibilities. It's ok, I'm taking care of them now.

However, there was one last thing that had gone undone that I really needed to take care and that was last-minute Christmas shopping. Now, most of our shopping was done online on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. However, there were a few remaining items that I knew could be taken care of later. This week, 'later' finally arrived so with Ellie in tow, I set out on a little adventure to do the last of our shopping.

One thing I've learned over the past couple of weeks is that taking Ellie out of the house by myself is a much more difficult proposition than it used to be. For starters, I can't actually put Ellie in her car seat. Instead, I'm totally reliant upon her willingness to get in and out of it by herself. It's actually quite the process. First, she'll pull herself up into the car before hopping onto the back seat. Then, she'll climb into her car seat and turn around before finally plopping down and allowing me to buckle her in.

Once that process ended, we set out for our destination, Academy Sports in Liberty. Our quest? To procure a nice, warm stocking hat. Now, an added struggle for me right now is that I can't simply put Ellie in a shopping cart because that would necessitate lifting her. Instead, she has to walk alongside me wherever I go. If you've ever had a toddler, you realize how difficult that proposition is.

For one, Ellie's attention span is only for about 30 seconds at a time. On this occasion, she definitely insisted on touching anything and everything at her height and in her line of vision until she saw something that drew all of her attention. The object of her desire? An inflatable rocking couch. 

At first, all Ellie wanted to do was simply touch the couch and watch it rock, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Soon enough though, the desire to sit upon it overcame her prompting Ellie to clamber up unto the seat. While that was all well and good, it was only a few more minutes until she saw the second seat was also desirable for sitting. Even though I told her both seats were exactly the same, Ellie needed to be sure. To that point, she hopped down off the couch, scampered to the other side, and hopped up on it to test her hypothesis.

At this point, after realizing both seats were the same, she realized the importance in having a friend share in the experience with her. With no one else around, she turned to me and implored me to take a seat beside her.  I did exactly that and there we sat in the middle of Academy Sports, rocking back and forth on an inflatable couch to the enjoyment/consternation of other shoppers as they passed by.

After a while, Ellie's enthusiasm for the couch mercifully faded and we took leave of Academy, heading on to our next destination to complete our Christmas shopping list. 

Here's where I wrap up this little post with a reminder for you. As you celebrate this Christmas season, be sure to remember that it's not about the presents or the snacks or the 24-hour viewing of 'A Christmas Story' on TBS. It's not even about the family gatherings. Nope. 

Christmas exists for us to celebrate the day Jesus Christ came into this world. The reason that is still worth celebrating 2000 years after the fact is because He would go on to hang on a cross for the sins of the entire human race, allowing us to have eternal life with the father through the simple acceptance of that sacrifice.

If you're reading this, do me a favor and spend some time thinking about that over the next few days. Also, if you haven't trusted in Christ, there's no better time to start than now. 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good read! #DaddyWrite

Day 554 - Do You Want to Make An Ornament?

One thing about being a stay-at-home parent is that creativity is seemingly a must. After all, it's only a matter of time before one's toddler says those dreaded words, "I'm bored." While Ellie has yet to utter those words, she has said something similar on occasion. "Daddy, I want to do something fun." 

Yes, I admit that sentence is pretty much a synonym for "I'm bored." I'm relatively certain it's Ellie's way of telling me that it's time for me to entertain her or else she will begin to entertain herself. 

Truth be told, Ellie is decent at entertaining herself. However, it generally results in the willful destruction of our home. Toys strewn everywhere. Pots and pans emptied from the cabinets. I've even been known to find our spare dish brush in various locations around the house from where Ellie went on a "cleaning" binge.

As I still find myself in recovery mode from my surgery a couple of weeks ago, I've had to draw upon creativity to keep Ellie and myself out of trouble. Obviously, I still can't wrestle with Ellie. It's also been hard to do some of our normal activities like hide-and-seek as it's really hard for me to get down onto the floor. One thing that we can do though is get crafty.

With the Christmas season rapidly approaching, Ellie and I decided that a little craft project was in order. Well, actually I decided that. Ellie was just happy to go along with whatever. What exactly was our craft project? Making Christmas ornaments!

There are plenty of avenues one  can pursue when making homemade Christmas ornaments. If you need proof, just check out Google and you can look forever. For us, we settled on the fairly simple method of combining glass balls, crayons, and a blow dryer. 

The first step was arguably the most painstaking and time consuming. What was that first step? The removal of the paper from the outside of the crayons. Seriously, it took forever. That could have been due in part to me stupidly breaking them into smaller pieces before removing the paper but who knows. 

Once the paper was off and the crayons were broken into tiny pieces, I placed them inside a zip-lock bag and used our rolling pin to further break up the pieces. Once that step was done, Ellie and I could start our activity. 

As I carefully removed the top from the ornament, Ellie would pick out some crayon pieces of her choosing and place them inside the ball. I'd then reassemble the ornament and move onto the next step. Using Bethany's hair dryer, with the assistance of Ellie, we heated up the ornament, turning it continually so that the crayon wax could run all over the inside of the ball. 

Like any other new activity, there was definitely a learning curve to making the ornaments. It didn't take long to realize that three colors of crayon were too many and we needed to stick to two. It also didn't take me long to realize that heated glass is really hot. Therefore, I had to find a garden glove and a pair of pliers to help me turn the ornament. 

Lastly, I had to teach Ellie that there are certain color combinations that don't look good together. Despite her preference, brown really failed to mesh well with any other color used in this project.

Yes, that is Ellie's precious brown ornament in the bottom right-hand corner.

If anyone else out there is looking for a fun winter-time project to keep their kids busy with, I'd definitely recommend this one. After all, the entry price point of about $4.00 really isn't too bad for the amount of fun Ellie and I had doing this together. #DaddyWrite

Day 549 - What Would Aretha Say?

R - E - S - P - E - C - T

This is a word that has been discussed multiple times over the past few days in House Holt. While it's an awesome Mo-Town era song, that is not the reason for the discussion. By the way, have you ever noticed how hard that song title is to spell? The word, 'respect' isn't difficult but when one is typing out the song title with dashes added, it gets kind of hard.

If you, dear reader, have been privy to recent happenings in my life, you probably anticipated #DaddyWrite would make reference to my recent surgery. That anticipation would be correct. If you're one of the few in the dark, I went under the knife on Thursday in order to have a pair of hernias (affectionately named Steve and Ash) repaired. So if this blog is slightly disconjointed and meandering, you know why.

Video footage of my surgery...

Anyway, with me undergoing surgery, it makes sense that Bethany would be serving as the primary caregiver for Ellie for several days. That is especially true when one considers that the three incisions in my abdomen will keep me from being able to lift more than ten pounds for the next four to six weeks. In fact, the first several days were largely spent with me laying horizontal and lacking all ability to move without the aid of my wife, who happens to be seven months pregnant. Just another day in paradise, eh?

As the new status quo progressed, we became privy to an unsettling set of circumstances. Specifically the fact that Ellie seemingly does not respect Bethany's authority as a parent. 

It's been obvious for a long time that Ellie tends to gravitate towards Bethany over me. Of course, we would always just chalk it up to Ellie loving her mommy. Now we're beginning to wonder if it's because she views Bethany as the easier parent.

Whenever Ellie acts up or throws a fit, it normally just takes me raising my voice slightly, threatening a spanking, or slowly counting to three for Ellie to calm down. However, when Bethany does any of those things, it just results in Ellie becoming angrier and more combative. It's honestly reached the point where I know my poor wife is pretty frustrated by the whole set of circumstances.

While I'd love to get involved and help her out, I'm really physically unable to do so. For one, I physically can't yell right now. I also can't lift or restrain Ellie when she's upset. 

What's really weird about the whole deal is that I watched Ellie by myself all day on Monday and she was a complete dream. From the time Bethany left until the time she got home, Ellie listened and was calm, cool, and collected. The visiting Malachi and Cassie can attest to that. As soon as Bethany darkened the door though, Ellie stopped being sweet and orderly and became stubborn and unruly. That stubborn streak and unruliness was marked by plenty of screaming, fighting, and kicking.

It really is a weird set of circumstances. 

For my wife's sake, I really hope things improve soon because I don't want her to go through four to six weeks of Ellie acting in this manner. Although, it certainly does help me feel like I do a good job commanding Ellie's respect. That's a positive thing right? #DaddyWrite