Day 1,107 - It's "WORLDS OF FUN!"

With summer coming to an end and with it, Ellie's tenure as a full-time stay-at-home child, I've been trying to make the remainder of our time together count. Part of the way I've been doing that is to try and come up with special things for Ellie, Ethan, and me to do together each day. Thus far, we've done some cool things like going to Union Station to see the model trains or splash pad/park visits or even going to Cabela's to see some quality taxidermy. Our biggest event though was on Friday as Ellie and I headed to Worlds of Fun to spend some quality time together.

You may be wondering, "Isn't Ethan a little small for Worlds of Fun?". He is indeed. That's why I had my parents come down and spend the afternoon at the house with him so that Ellie and I could enjoy Worlds of Fun on our own. Once they arrived around 12:30, Ellie and I headed out the door almost immediately to head on our little date.

For nearly as long as I can remember, Ellie has been enthralled by the sight of the massive roller coasters out the car window whenever we've driven by Worlds of Fun. It was not uncommon to hear her muse about going there someday. Therefore, with a pair of free passes in my possession, I decided now was the perfect time to let her experience Worlds of Fun.

Upon our arrival, the first thing she wanted to do was get her picture taken in front of the massive air balloon statue at the front of the park. After that, we headed to our very first ride, the "Nordic Chaser." Situated near the front of the park, I thought the ride seemed tame enough. It looked as if we would just sit in a car shaped like a Viking ship and travel in a circle. I did not take into account how quickly said vessel would travel and was treated to the loud screams of panic from my seatmate riding next to me. After that, I decided that maybe our time was better spent in the "Planet Snoopy" section of the park.

After a short detour at "Le Taxitour" and the "Autobahn" bumper cars, we finally arrived at "Planet Snoopy". We first headed to "Snoopy's Cosmic Coaster" where I painfully squeezed myself into a car right next to Ellie. Ellie was slightly nervous as the ride began but her nerves quickly subsided. She even was willing to raise her arms momentarily into the sky in an expression of glee. After that, we spent some time wandering around "Planet Snoopy" riding anything that Ellie deemed to be not "too spinny or scary." 

Those taxicabs can be terrifying!

After a couple of hours, I decided that we had exhausted all that "Planet Snoopy" had to offer and tempted Ellie out of that section of the park with the promise of ice cream. After a nice treat of Dippin' Dots, Ellie and I set out in search of the Ferris Wheel. After riding one at the Beatrice County Fair with her grandma, Ellie was enthralled with riding yet another one. We finally found the Ferris Wheel and settled in for our first ride. When the wheel stopped at the top, Ellie took in all of the sights of the park and provided a running commentary on each. Once our ride ended, Ellie suspended her rule of only riding each ride once in favor of immediately riding the Ferris Wheel again.

Once we finished up our ride(s) on the Ferris Wheel, I knew our time at Worlds of Fun was growing short as it was already after 4:00. That being said though, I couldn't resist trying to convince Ellie that we needed to try my favorite ride, the "Viking Voyager". The ride consisting of an increasingly bumpier journey down a river before finally making one final climb up a large hill and splashing down below is one of my all-time favorites. Despite the initial line, we hopped in line and eventually took our place in a blue and orange Viking ship. While I was initially disgusted at the thought of riding in a Denver Broncos-colored ship, I decided to think of it as being Florida Gators-colored instead and that seemed to help. With that, we were off down the river with Ellie smiling gleefully all the way.

After our final splashdown, Ellie turned around and looked at me, declaring that the "Viking Voyager" was her new favorite ride! She also began lamenting how she wanted to ride again but it was time to go home. It didn't take much convincing for me to agree to one more ride on the "Viking Voyager" even if somewhat ironically, it was in the same Broncos/Gators-colored ship.  Despite her best efforts to obtain one more ride, I had to sadly say no as it was nearing 5:00 and we needed to get home.

 Overall, I'd say Ellie's first trip to Worlds of Fun was a success. Despite her fearfulness of certain rides, she was willing to step out of her comfort zone on others. While we likely won't make this a yearly occurrence at this time, I definitely see many more trips in our future!

#DaddyWrite

 P.S.: The Saturday Night Live skit from last year doesn't lie. I did actually see full grown adults riding the "Viking Voyager" with life-sized stuffed animals. If only it would have actually been the guy from "Soul".

Day 1,105 - Something, Something Change...Something, Something Same...

Wow, as I sat down to write this post, I came to the realization that I have now been a stay-at-home dad for over 1,100 days! At this point, allow me to reiterate that the official #DaddyWrite countdown only reflects days in which I am alone with the kids. Weekends, holidays, and maternity leaves DO NOT count!

MINIONS!!!

 It really is kind of an accomplishment if you ask me and I'm actually pretty proud of that number. It's crazy to think back at how much things have changed over the past five years and how much things will continue to change. I mean, Ellie starts kindergarten in a mere six days if you're going by the official #DaddyWrite countdown. However, I'm constantly reminded that even though things may change, there will always be ways in which they stay the same.

One of those big changes I'm talking about was on display yesterday as Ellie and I headed to Fox Hill Elementary for Kindergarten Roundup. I wanted that experience to be all about Ellie so I even found a sitter to hang out with Ethan for the duration of our time at Fox Hill!

Even though we arrived at Fox Hill right at 4:30, we still found ourselves having to wait outside the building for a little bit. Finally though, our time came to head inside. Once we made it through the doors, we were immediately introduced to Ellie's new principal, Dr. Bradley. Nice guy if you're wondering although I do kind of miss the folding knee walker he was sporting over the summer due to injury.

After meeting Dr. Bradley, we were guided down a hallway to the library where pre-Kindergarten screening was taking place. After a short wait, Ellie was accompanied into the room by a teacher while I took up residence sitting on a little wall near a window on the side of the library. There I watched, not creepily, as Ellie went through a variety of little tests. Per Ellie, the tests included counting to 100, naming shapes and colors, writing her name, identifying letters, and reading a few words. When Bethany asked her later how she did on her screening, Ellie replied, "Good, except the teacher said I missed number 39." I'm sure it was a soul-crushing disappointment to her...not really. After Ellie finished the screening phase, we headed down to the classrooms for a quick meet-and-greet with the Kindergarten teachers before heading home.

True story: moments after this shot was taken, Ellie pointed at me and she and the teacher waved in unison.

While Ellie starting Kindergarten is certainly going to change things in our household, today was a reminder that some things likely will never change. I'm not going to go into much detail but today was likely one of the worst days of Bethany's entire career due to some unfortunate office tragedies. Needless to say, she was upset and really sad about. When I mentioned the situation to the kids at lunch time, Ellie immediately knew something had to be done. Therefore, during her quiet time, Ellie got right to work.

When she later emerged from our guest bedroom, she had a piece of paper in tow. On it, she had drawn a giant rainbow and a self-portrait of herself which inexplicably included pig ears. However, the real prize on the drawing was a note she had written to Bethany. The note said, and I quote Ellie, "Mom I am soree yor sad." While the spelling left a little to be desired, the sentiment was indisputable. Even though Ellie makes little love drawings daily for Bethany, I would bet this one will go into the keeper pile.

For the record, don't talk about Ellie's "cute, little mouse".

Overall, the last two days just served to remind that things will undoubtedly change around our home into the not-too-distant future. However, no matter how much things change, it currently looks like our little girl is going to stay the same sweet girl that she's always been...95% percent of the time. That's still an 'A' if we're talking in school terms!

#DaddyWrite

Day 1,094 - Ellie the Gardener

Bethany and I are big advocates of giving our kids responsibilities. There are multiple reasons why we do so. One is that they honestly love having something that is their job alone to get done. 

For example, one of Ellie's main jobs is to keep our guest room straight and organized since that is where she has her daily quiet times or naps. It's not farfetched for us to find that she has made the bed after a nap in there. Even if it's not perfectly done, it's still awesome that she is taking that kind of initiative. For Ethan, his main job is to take his diapers to the diaper pail in the garage. That's a bonus for me since I don't really want to mess with them.

We don't actively pay our kids to do their jobs around the house either if for no other reason that they're both still a little young to grasp the concept. However, this week has marked a first for Ellie as she is actively earning a paycheck for doing a job for the very first time!

Ellie's job is simple enough. We are making daily pilgrimages over to a friend's house so that Ellie can water their outdoor plants while they are on vacation. In case anyone is curious as to the type of plants, there's cucumbers, tomatoes, raspberries, and various flowers that need water. It's really the perfect job for Ellie as due to the current heat and the type of plant, she can't really "kill them with kindness" as she is wont to do at times.

 

When we first took on this job, I honestly assumed that I would be the one watering while Ellie just played on the trampoline in the backyard. While it's true that she's enjoying said trampoline, that's not stopping her from being responsible for her job first. The only thing I'm really having to do is help her fill the watering can and carry it across the yard to the garden bed for her. After all, carrying a heavy watering can without spilling can be a difficult task for a five-year-old. Once we get it over to the garden beds, she can do most of the work by herself.

I'm happy to say that after four days or so of watering, Ellie has managed to keep our friends' garden thriving thus far. We'll see if she keeps up that trend for the rest of their vacation. I'm optimistic that she'll do great and when it's all said and done, she'll have a nice little paycheck to boot. Hmm, I wonder if she will expect us to start paying her for jobs?

Also, if anyone wonders what Ethan is doing while Ellie is watering plants, he's wandering around their backyard, slinging a football (left-handed, of course), and singing "Pat Mahomes, Take Me Home" loudly for all to hear. In other words, basically the same thing he does 95% of the time he's at home. I think he might be ready for football season.

#DaddyWrite

Day 1,087 - Let's Get Wet

Some days it's hard to find a theme for a day. Other days, it just falls onto one's head like a raindrop from the sky. In other words, today is a day that's all about getting wet.

I knew very early on that Ellie, Ethan, and I were destined to get wet at swim lessons today. We wouldn't only be getting wet due to the obvious factor of a swimming pool but also due to the rain storms forecasted for today. While swim lessons in the rain didn't really sound like much fun, the fact that today is the kids' last swim lesson meant that we weren't going to miss it for anything. While Ellie and I were fine with waiting until swim lessons in the rain to get wet, it just so happened that Ethan couldn't wait that long.

It happened innocently enough. I was in our master bathroom getting ready for the day when I suddenly heard someone turn on the bathtub in the other bathroom. Then, who should appear at the door but Ellie to relay the message of "Ethan's in the bathtub!" With that, I quickly finished up what I was doing and ran out of our bedroom only to find a drenched Ethan standing in the hallway waiting for me. It just so happened that Ellie neglected to mention one little thing about Ethan being in the bath: he was still in his pajamas! Lucky for him though, it was time to get ready for swim lessons. That meant "Goodbye, wet pajamas" and "Hello, dry swimsuit".

While I knew the weather was going to be a little rough for swim lessons today, I didn't anticipate just how quickly it would change. While we were all getting on our swimsuits to leave the house, I would have referred to the rain as 'sprinkling' or 'drizzling'. By the time I opened the garage door, it was completely pouring!

Upon our arrival at Gorman Pool, we found ourselves with about ten minutes to kill before we could realistically go poolside for lessons. While the gates were open, it seemed a little foolish to spend that amount of time getting rained on when it wasn't absolutely necessary. When it was time to head in, I was happy to see that the rain didn't dampen the kids' spirits at all. Instead, they became even more stoked to get in the water.

For Ellie, lessons involved nothing out of the ordinary for her final day. Ethan only had the slight difference of being the only kid in his class. The big change was due to the steady rain pouring down all through the lesson. Also, another change was that the lesson was cut short. It wasn't due to Ethan getting cold and wanting to wrap up in a towel though. Instead, it was due to a burst of ominous-sounding thunder which prompted the lifeguards to order us out of the pool.

In case you're wondering, Ethan passed his "mommy and me" swim class with flying colors. Unfortunately, he did not pass the "Seahorse" level class he was taking at the same time (which I had no idea he was taking). For her part, Ellie did pretty well in her "Starfish" class but not well enough to pass. She just needs more extension with her arms while swimming to pass though.

Oh yes, there was one more aspect of getting wet today that I almost forgot to mention. Did you know that if you forget to put a child in a swim diaper and instead leave them in a regular diaper, that regular diaper gets insanely large and heavy? Ethan knows and can attest after this morning. Good work me! #DaddyWrite

Day 1,085 - Sink Like a Stone? Not Anymore!

I have a little science lesson to share with everyone. First, I need to change the name and branding of #DaddyWrite to that of "Jesse Nye the Science Guy." 

Just try seeing this picture without hearing the theme song in your head.

 

Have you ever thrown a stone into a pond before? What does it do? That's right it sinks. I'll ask another question. What happens when you throw a small child into a pool without a life jacket. That's right; they sink, too! How do you stop the child from sinking? Well, the best option is to enroll them in swim lessons.

That little science lesson was my way of sharing that Ellie and Ethan are currently in the midst of their second week of swim lessons. Great way to start a blog, right? The great thing about Ellie's and Ethan's swim lessons are that they are 100% free courtesy of Clay County. Both kids are enrolled in classes that are tailored to their current level of comfort in the water. Obviously, Ellie's class skews a little older than Ethan's. Also, due to Ethan's age, I'm required to be in the water with him at all times. Hardly a sacrifice for me except for the random cold morning we had yesterday.

It's been really fun to see the comfort levels of both Ellie and Ethan grow over the last week, Ethan especially. Since I'm in the water with Ethan, the amount of time I can spend actually paying attention to Ellie's class is limited. Luckily, one of Ellie's best friends is in the class with her so his mom takes plenty of pictures and videos for Bethany and me.

Ellie's class only has three students, most days, so she gets plenty of time to practice. At first, her lessons mostly consisted of standing on an elevated platform in the water and taking turns blowing bubbles in the water and dipping her head under the water. Now, in week 2, she's actually floating across the pool on her back unaided by her instructor. Don't worry, the instructor is right there in case she sinks. Ellie is also jumping into the water and being allowed to practice swimming back to the ladder. While the water is only four foot deep, it's still a cool experience for her.

 

 

Ethan's class moves a little slower but that seems appropriate for his age. Each day though, he seems to get a little more comfortable. Today, he practiced jumping into my arms in the pool and was willing to let the water go above his nose on multiple occasions. It's pretty cute to watch him pinch his nose shut and count to three before springing off the side of the pool into my arms. 

Ethan's also grown in his desire to be challenged during his swim lessons. While he initially wanted to be in control of what was happening at all times, he's learned to trust in both me and his teacher to keep him safe in the water. The last two days, he has been willing to float on his back across the pool while being lightly supported by me. He's also been willing to practice kicking while supporting himself on a lifeguard's floatation device.

The thing I love most about watching my kids in the water is just how unafraid they are of the water. While I certainly want them to respect the water and be safe, I'd rather have to teach them something like that instead of having to teach them that the water is nothing to fear. Hopefully their love of the water doesn't go away anytime soon.

As long as they don't sink like the aforementioned stone, then all should be fine, right? #DaddyWrite

Day 1,082 - Pants

Throughout most of her life, Ellie has been better about responding to Bethany during those times when she's upset. Regardless of how kind or calm I am, it's more likely that any of my attempts to calm her results in large amounts of screaming, crying, or door slamming. It certainly hasn't been easy. However, courtesy of Ethan, Bethany is finally experiencing what it's like when an upset child won't allow you to calm them.

Flashback to last Friday. The kids and I were spending some much needed time outside together while waiting for Bethany to come home. Our activities were nothing too out of the ordinary: bikes, water guns, and the like. When Bethany got home, I decided to head inside to get a batch of tacos made up while she continued playing outside with the kids. At some point, I needed to talk to her about something real quick and stuck my head out the front door to find that she and the kids were missing. Figuring they went on a short walk, I thought nothing of it and returned to my tacos.

A few minutes later, my phone rang with Bethany on the other end. I answered only to find an exasperated Bethany on the other end declaring, "I need your help! Ethan's laying in the grass next to North Oak screaming and I can't get him and the bike home." It just so happened that between a screaming Ethan, his bike, the water bottle she was carrying, and her phone, Bethany had run out of hands. Not to mention the fact that her shorts didn't have pockets. Inconvenient, right? Therefore, I turned off the stove, took my taco meat off the burner, and ran down to North Oak to help.

When I reached North Oak, the first thing I found was Ellie's bike laying on its side in the middle of the sidewalk. There was no one in sight though so after moving her bike into the grass, I continued on my way. After turning the corner from 103rd St. onto North Oak, I discovered Ellie running down the sidewalk towards Bethany and Ethan. As I got a little closer, I saw that Ethan had moved from the grass right next to the street to the safer patch of grass on the inside of the sidewalk.  However, somewhere in the process of the move, he had lost his pants. Yes, you read that correctly. Ethan was pantsless. He was still sporting his diaper but the pants were laying in a pile by themselves on the sidewalk.  

Upon my arrival, Bethany basically said you're in charge of Ethan, took Ellie, and headed home. As I looked at my son laying on the grass and crying his eyes out, I wondered how to fix the situation. Lucky for me, the first thing I did solved everything. I asked him if he wanted to go home and eat tacos. While Ethan responded with a joyful "yes", he also made it clear that he didn't want to wear his pants. While that wasn't an ideal set of circumstances, I decided not to fight it.

That being said, he did have to do one thing before we could go home. He had to pick up his pants and hand them to me. This was part of his "punishment". Lucky for me, he did that pretty quick. So therefore, that's the story of how Ethan and I walked home from North Oak with only one of us wearing pants. It's a good story, filled with wit and charm, but lacking in one crucial department; PANTS! #DaddyWrite

Day 1,078 - Rain, Fevers, and the Floor of the Red Robin

Sometimes I wonder if the actions of past Jesse have a direct impact on the actions of current Jesse. Let's face it, sometimes past Jesse is a total moron when it comes to his decision making. Actually in this instance, current Jesse isn't the one suffering due to the actions of past Jesse. Instead, it's current Ethan who may or may not be suffering due to the actions of past Jesse.

Allow me to flashback to yesterday. Once naptime and quiet time ended and the kids emerged from their respective rooms, it was only a matter of time before Ellie started campaigning to go outside and ride her bike. Over the past couple of weeks, Ellie has become quite the adept bike rider. While she initially bristled at the ideas of us removing her training wheels, she has ultimately adjusted like a true champ. It's not an uncommon sight for our neighbors to see Ellie flying down the sidewalks with a big smile stretched across her face. Since it yet raining, we headed outside for the kids to get some time on two wheels.

Unfortunately for Ellie and Ethan, their time on two wheels was rather short as the rains moved in. While the initial sprinkles were nothing to be concerned about, the harder drops were enough for me to pull the bikes into the garage. That may sound harsh or extreme but I didn't want anyone to fall and get hurt on slick pavement. While our bike riding had come to an end, that didn't mean our outdoor fun had to stop. After all, what's more fun to a kid than playing in the rain?

 

It turns out that there is one thing my kids like more than playing in the rain and that's taking a walk in the rain. So, I grabbed my umbrella (since I'm lame and didn't feel like getting wet) and off we trekked. 

Honestly, I loved watching Ellie and Ethan take a walk in the rain. It was a ton of fun to see them both spreading their arms out wide and looking up towards the sky as the rain dumped on their faces. Their smiles at getting soaked to the bone couldn't be discounted either. The fact that they were so wet didn't bother them at all. After about 30 minutes of being outside, I decided it was time to head for home. After all, it was a little chilly and I didn't want anyone to get sick.

Oh, how foolish I was. Low and behold, as we were out at dinner with my parents that night, Ethan curled up on Bethany's lap, buried himself into her chest, and proceeded to try and go to sleep. When that didn't work, he even tried to lay down on the floor of Red Robin to gain some relief from the fever that had suddenly hit him. Lucky for us, we had two cars at the restaurant so Bethany eventually left early to go home and put Ethan to bed while I remained behind.

This morning, Ethan was still running his fever but it has definitely decreased in intensity as the day has gone on. While I'm happy he's feeling better, I can't help but wonder if I was partly to blame. That being said, I feel like the kids getting to play outside in the rain was probably worth a day with a fever if that even was the cause. Bethany had her doubts about that being the case and well, she's probably right. Right? #DaddyWrite