Day 329 - Baby's First Snowcapades

Remember last week how I found myself complaining about how it's cold outside and I'm stuck inside going crazy? I still find myself feeling that way to start off another week. Alas, there is an end in sight! A simple peek at the handy, dandy WeatherBug app on my phone confirms as much. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself.

Wasn't lying

So, while the warmer weather is indeed coming, I still find myself destined to spend the rest of Tuesday looking out the window at the sun shining, knowing that "the cake is a lie". What's that, you didn't understand that reference about the cake? Ok, hailing from one of the funniest video games ever, it essentially means that your promised reward is merely a fictitious motivator. And yes, that definition was lifted straight from the annals of UrbanDictionary.com. 

However, it's not all bad. You see, despite the fierce chills of the outdoors keeping Ellie and me locked up in the house, I have recent good memories of being outside to look back on to bring me peace. Join me now in a #DaddyWrite flashback. We're not going too far back though; only to Sunday afternoon and Ellie's first time playing in the snow.

Now, I realize you might be ready to judge Bethany and I for not letting our daughter play in the snow before now. It's not that we didn't want her to play in the snow so much as it just wasn't feasible for her to do so before now. Last winter she was only six months old and barely crawling so it really would not have been enjoyable for her or us. Different story this year for a multitude of reasons, first among them being the fact that Ellie is a very active eighteen-month-old little girl. 

More important than that is the fact that we actually planned ahead for this exact instance and had all of the warm weather gear we needed for Ellie to play outside and remain warm in doing so. In the spirit of Jonny Gomes, I say the following.

"It's unbelievable what we've got. Winter coat? We've got it. Snowpants? We've got it. Stocking hat and gloves, we've got 'em. Snow boots? Got them too."

'Merica

Taking all of that into account, coupled with the fact that our driveway needed to be shoveled and that temperatures were relatively mild, there was no time like the present for a family outing in the snow. So, with that, we set about corralling the baby (easier said than done) and then dressed her accordingly. First came the snow pants which, of course, had to be rolled at the bottom so that Ellie could actually walk. Then came the winter coat, followed by the hat and gloves. The final step was to set Ellie on Bethany's lap so that her feet could gently be shoved into her snow boots.

Just like 'A Christmas Story' right?

As soon as Ellie was completely zipped up, hooded, and otherwise shielded from the elements, we opened the garage door and headed outside for some family bonding in the snow. The initial sight of snow definitely provoked some caution in Ellie. That faded soon enough though when she wandered into the yard from the driveway and began playing in the actual drifted areas. It also helped that I was literally throwing shovels of snow into the air where it would gently sprinkle her on its way down. Before we would head back inside, Ellie was nice enough to help me finish scooping the driveway just as she assisted me with raking in the fall.

Honestly, it continues to amaze me how the simplest things I've come to take for granted seem brand new again when looking at it through the eyes of Ellie. Just to see the curiosity and enjoyment she shows is awesome. It honestly makes me excited to see her discover other fun winter activities in the future. You know, like sledding, snowball fights, licking frozen flag poles, and building an igloo.

Ok, on second thought, maybe we should leave out one of those. I'll let you decide which one that is. #DaddyWrite

MMM, frost.

Day 326 - Post may or may not be advertising for the Garmin vivofit 2

Winter can be rough. That is, unless it's one of those random nice days that occurs now and then. If it's one of those typical snow is blowing, water is freezing, everything's chilly days, then yeah, winter can be rough. Today was no exception as the entire metro area was victim to cold temperatures, icy conditions, and bitter winds to boot. Therefore, it should go without saying that I am definitely suffering from cabin fever and am prone to doing dumb things such as spending way too long creating cat-themed memes for the sake of a dumb joke in a text conversation.

Now, as you likely know, I often try to start my day off with a trip to our local Planet Fitness to spend around an hour working out. It's a nice way to start the day because it ensures I have at least that time to myself before I have little Ellie clinging to me for the next eight-plus hours until Bethany gets home from work. Not only that, but it also helps to keep me in moderately decent shape. After all, I am almost 32 so it's only a matter of time until the "Dad-bod" comes for me.

While I do love to start my day off with said workout, today was a rare exception to that rule. The reason? Well, I didn't want to be subject to the harsh conditions outside and instead wanted to remain safe and secure in my nice warm bed. The bad part about that decision is that it basically guaranteed I wouldn't reach my step goal for the day. While, yes, that is true, that didn't stop me from learning a lesson I can put to use in the future.

As you can probably guess, I spend a good 92% of my day chasing after a certain toddler as she gets in and out of mischief. Therefore, if you add up all of that time, it generally gets me pretty close to my daily goal as set by the very handy Garmin vivofit 2 (BTW, fine folks at Garmin, if you're reading this, I certainly wouldn't turn down a free vivofit 3). There is one problem in that logic though. 

Namely when you've gone through a percentage of your day without said vivofit 2 on your arm.

Flashback to this morning. As I do most days, I take off the vivofit and lackadaisically toss it onto my nightstand, dresser, bathroom vanity, etc. before heading into the shower. Obviously, there's not much routine to where I toss it as you can plainly see. On this day, as I tossed it onto my nightstand, it bounced and rolled off to the floor below. Now, being a moderately lazy person, I chose to delay picking it up at that moment, instead letting it be "future Jesse's" problem. Instead, "future Jesse" completely forgot about said vivofit post shower as it was not in plain sight.

Fast forward a few hours as I hear an unmistakable giggle from my dear Ellie. Now, this giggle in particular is part mischievous, part victorious. It essentially means she has something she's not supposed to have and she is delighted about that fact. I go to see exactly what she has found and am shocked to see my vivofit clenched in her tiny hand. Rather than immediately take it from her, I choose to instead engage her in a low-speed game of hot pursuit as I chase Ellie around the house.

I'm overly proud of the fact that I took the time to create a Rosco P. Coltrane gif as I couldn't find one in existence.

Finally, the time comes when I have tired of said game and back Ellie into a corner in our spare room. At that point, she holds out her hand to deposit the vivofit in my awaiting grasp with a big smile. As I take the vivofit and latch it back onto my wrist, my natural curiosity begins to take over and I wonder exactly how many steps Ellie had achieved in her time with it. As I clicked over to the proper setting, I found myself shocked by the result. Ellie had actually achieved nearly 2,500 "steps" in her time with the vivofit. Now, I'm not certain how much of that was actually her walking versus her actively shaking it, but that doesn't necessarily diminish the impressiveness of her feat.

As an added bonus, I now know that on any occasion I fail to meet my step goal for the day, I can just unlatch my vivofit from my wrist, hand it to Ellie, and watch her fly. After all, I've got to make sure I beat Bethany's number of steps every day. Otherwise, what's the point? 

What's the point, indeed? #DaddyWrite

"Hahaha. I'm still laughing about stealing Daddy's vivofit!"

                                                                                     

Day 324 - Barking Babies Amid Calendar Chaos (Day 322, Part II)

I remember how in the days pre-Ellie, it was relatively easy for me to go out and remain totally anonymous. Slinking in and out of crowds without drawing attention to myself really could be second nature. Now, if I actually wanted people to take note of me, all I had to do was be my naturally loud and obnoxious self. Easy enough, right? 

In case you're wondering, it was even pretty easy for me to dart in and out of places at will when Ellie was really little. Just close up the carrier with her fast asleep inside and no one would be any the wiser. Now that Ellie is mobile and has her own little personality to boot, those days are long gone. Need an example? Ok, I'd be happy to oblige.

The day is Friday afternoon. And yes, the reason I am blogging about something from Friday afternoon is because absolutely nothing of interest has happened in the past two days. That is, unless you find story time at the library, trips to Sam's Club, or Ellie being frightened of the guy installing a furnace humidifier to be super interesting.

Who is this guy, Dad, and why is he in our house?

Ok, back to Friday afternoon. Ellie and I had a very important mission that needed to be fulfilled ASAP. Our mission was to travel to Zona Rosa, infiltrate the Calendar and Games store, and obtain a new fidget spinner if possible. The reason for said mission you ask? Pretty much me being clumsy and dropping the old spinner on the kitchen floor several times resulting in multiple hairline cracks. Also, everything in the Calendar and Games store was 50% so there was no better time to check things out.

Upon arriving at the store, I did what I pretty much always do anymore; I sat my daughter down and held her hand as we walked the store. As we were wandering through the store, I suddenly felt a sharp pull at my right hand. Looking down, Ellie had become completely enthralled by an item on the shelf next to her. The item in question? A wall of calendars featuring dogs. Seriously, there was a calendar for every breed imaginable. Although, on second thought, I don't recall seeing one for the labradoodle. Probably sold-out.

Who wants to cuddle a labradoodle? Ooh, ooh, me!

Of course, Ellie becoming enthralled by a wall of dog calendars isn't necessarily a bad thing. I honestly love the fact that my daughter is so in love with animals (don't even get me started on her overwhelming obsession with cows). Where it got interesting was her reaction to the calendars. It wasn't just enough for her to stare at the pictures on the front. She had to make certain I was staring at the pictures along with her. 

Now, as you might guess, I became pretty bored after looking at dog calendars for about two minutes. Ellie's attention span, however, was much, much longer than mine and that just would not do. Once she realized I wasn't giving the wall of calendars the attention they apparently so rightly deserved, she decided to gain my attention by barking repeatedly at them. Oh, and when I say barking, I literally mean barking. People on all sides of the store began to make their way over to the dog calendars to peek around the corner to see the amazing barking baby in all her glory.

Finally after about ten minutes had passed, I was able to pry my daughter away from the wall of dog calendars. Maybe it was because she realized the pictures weren't living. However, it's probably more likely that I simply picked her up and carried her out of the store over my shoulder. I'll let you be the judge as to what actually happened there.

Oh, and if you're wondering, after all that, I didn't even buy a fidget spinner. Or a dog calendar. #DaddyWrite

Day 322 - Flag Day

For some weird reason, I've always found flags to be really cool forms of interior decorating. Possibly something to do with the bright, bold colors. Or maybe the way in which the slightest breeze from a ceiling fan or air outlet can cause ripples across the flag. While that's really cool and all, it's probably not the most likely scenario.

I promise I'm not this into flags...

More likely is that it's kind of a lazy man's form of covering white space up on walls. That would also explain the fact that while my college dorm room was once host to an American flag, Brazilian flag, and a Dale Earnhardt Jr. flag (one of these things is not like the other), my homes since getting married have had none of the sort. 

There is an exception to that rule though. Game days. Yes, on game days, the no flag zone is out of play. It began in our apartment when I would always proudly fly my Dale Jr. flag in the window on race days. Now, that tradition proudly continues with the presence of a Chiefs Kingdom flag fluttering in our front window at least one day each week in the fall.

Now, I get to the point of this post. You see, I'm not the only Holt who enjoys this tradition. While Bethany's fairly ambivalent towards it as a whole (I think), that's not the case for the youngest Holt. 

When the Chiefs flag is not in use, I generally just lay it lazily across our spare bed where it patiently awaits it's next game day. Well, on Wednesday of this week, Ellie decided early that it was time for the flag to be raised. She first delivered the carabiners I use to hang the flag on our curtain rod before leaving and returning with the flag. Unfortunately, I had to break the news to her that the flag does not fly on Wednesdays and returned the items to storage (to the disappointment and tears of my child).

However, I am not completely without heart. With this weekend representing a playoff game for all of Chiefs Kingdom, I made her a promise that we could fly the flag on both Friday and Saturday this week. Well, apparently Ellie remembered that promise since her first act this morning was to proudly present the carabiners to Bethany. Unfortunately for Ellie, her quest to see the flag fly had to wait just a little longer until I arrived back home from my morning workout.

As soon as I arrived home, Bethany clued me in that Ellie was excited and ready to fly the flag. So with that, I turned to my daughter, gazing up at me with her big, blue eyes, and said, "Ellie, it's time to hang the flag!" With that, Ellie made a beeline for the spare room and came out proudly hoisting the red and yellow carabiners above her head. As I gently took them from her hand, she then turned and quickly climbed the stairs before returning with the flag in tow.

Ellie waited patiently for me to carefully clip the carabiners onto our curtain rod before happily presenting me with the flag. As soon as the last grommet was clipped on, I picked my daughter up and watched as she pointed to the flag, rubbing the soft, smooth texture, and smiling all the while. However, that's not the only attention she'll pay to the flag during the course of the day. It's not at all out of the ordinary for her to occasionally just walk over and gaze up at the flag, beaming at the soft glow of it being illuminated by the sun.

I'm glad Ellie enjoys this little tradition for several reasons. It obviously gives me hope that I'm not accidently raising a Broncos or Raiders fan (or even a Cowboys fan). That would be a terrible tragedy for all of mankind. Secondly and more importantly, it's just something else special we can enjoy doing together. You never know, maybe it'll even be her first memory.

Side note, when do kids develop their first memories? I just need to know so that her first memory isn't something that would be embarrassing to me. If it embarrasses Mommy, that's probably fine though. #DaddyWrite