As Simple As a Smile

At times our lives seem to get moving so fast, you forget a lot of things! Where you put your keys, how to do something at work, forgot to get the milk on the way home.....the list is endless. We take for granted the little things that only take a second to take in and enjoy......our kids smile.

When your day seems endless and you don't know what to do....its as simple as a smile....

When your mad and aggravated and want to calm down....its as simple as a smile....

When they fight about dinner, or games, or playing outside....its as simple as a smile....

When you spend the best day with your family and its time for bed...its as simple as a smile....

When you think you are not being the best parent you can be...its as simple as a smile....

When you want someone to talk to but you know they wont understand...its as simple as a smile....

So what I am trying to say is, no matter what is going on, or how you feel, if you take a second to think about how they feel with you, you know it.....its as simple as a smile!!!

THE LOOK

I didn't realize how many times you get "THE LOOK" when you are out in public alone with a baby. I spent the day with my daughter yesterday, due to having the day off and also that Sam had wisdom teeth removed. Well there are a lot of things I did not realize happen when your out in public.
1. Baby cries....now this is normally OK, except when you are trying to get something done and she starts screaming like you just pinched her leg. Now most people will just walk by and not say anything, then others will stop and say how cute it is. Now you always have the people that walk by like they are going to call 911 because they think child abuse is anything from the baby not smiling to a tear in there eye from a long yawn they just had. I didn't realize how many people don't like you when the baby cries.
2. The helper....now I know that I am not a baby expert, but do you really feel the need to come over and ask if I need you to take my daughter. Yeah, I got that yesterday. A nice grandma came right over, told me how cute Avery was, and then asked if I wanted her to take her and make her stop crying. Well grandma did not realize that we had been driving around all day, were really tired of the car seat, and were ready to go home and have a bath! So of course my answer was no thank you, but thanks for the offer. Well not even a second after I said no, SHE GAVE ME THE LOOK!
3. The noises.....not that it is a bad thing, but I caught myself singing, laughing, talking, googoogaagaaing, and anything else you can think of to keep Avery quit. I realized that everyone could hear me later in the day, but I must have been doing some funny things because Avery was laughing at me, and so was anyone else walking by. All is well with the noises because kids give you the right and permission to make yourself look completely ridiculous any time of the day, any day of the week, and again, I don't know how I found this person. While I am making baby noises to keep her quit, a lady comes up to me, tells me it is not good for her speech if I continue to make the noises and not talk to her normally, and gives me "THE LOOK" as she walks away! What, you really took 2 minuets out of your day to come and tell me that. I will now never make gaga noises to my daughter again! Just kidding, I think it is OK for a 2 month old because I still make the same noises to my 5 year old son to get him to quiet down!
So I think I am going to try and do something new, I am going to start giving THE LOOK to people. I don't know what look to give, and I think it will take practice and advice. When I see someone coming over with the eyes like they want to talk, I will just throw it out, BAM...THE LOOK.

Diaper Chump

So we have a diaper pail, its called the Diaper Champ. Its a great concept, hold the diapers in a contained area, where the smell won't drive you insane and you done have to see how much she really cost you in diapers. It works OK, you put the used diaper in the top, grab the handle and spin the top. There is a sliding part that pushes the diaper into the bottom holding area that is lined with a trash bag. Do not forget the bag because if you do, you will have a bit time mess on the floor.

Well, Sam got this at a major discount at the store!! We thought it was a good deal, but it really has not been the dream diaper pail. First thing we noticed was that it was hard to rotate the top all the way if there is any part of the diaper that sticks to the side. Well that's OK, just make the diaper into the smallest ball that you can and it works OK!! Well next, it doesn't always keep the diaper in the bottom. The diaper would get caught and when you tried to put another one in, it would bring back the diaper like magic, and you spend a little more time flipping back and forth! No biggie right, well, until it gets full. At 3 am when you have one eye open and just want to get the diaper to its resting point and the pail is full and it will not turn at all, the last thing you want to do is open it to push on the diapers to make more room. MMMMM, and that's a great smell!!

I know it seems like a little thing, but the smell is not as contained as advertised. So Sam and I are not completely in love with the Diaper Champ, so we are looking for a different diaper pail because lets face it......Avery is not going to slow down on the amount of diapers that shes going to produce!! Not sure what anyone else uses, but we are looking for something new.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

So this morning I woke up to the cutest little girl smiling and just wishing she could say Happy Father Day. So after a little bit of stirring I finally managed to get out of bed to grab my little girl. When I came into the living room I saw a package on the couch and Xavier, despite still playing the Wii, had a hand made card on the floor next to him. He needed Sam to kinda umhum him off the game, and he ran up, gave me a big hug and said Happy Fathers Day! The card was completely his writing, and Sam told me that he sounded out all of the words. He did awesome, and its cute that Dadddy and Luv are spelled his way, but it makes you smile!

Well Avery had some help from mommy, she got me a picture frame, with one of the first pictures of her and me in it. On the other side was a clay block with Happy Fathers Day written in the top, and on the bottom were her two little footprints. The tiny feet are so cute, and even though mommy had to help, I am sure she had the biggest smile on her face!

So I had a great fathers day morning, after gifts I made french toast for everyone, well everyone except Avery, who took her normal 5 to 6 oz bottle and went back to bed. Well we sat and ate breakfast, and it was nice to sit with the family! We have been running around so much lately that I was happy to just sit in our kitchen and enjoy a meal at home with just us. Its amazing how a hand made card, some footprints, and a home made breakfast can make you feel like the luckiest daddy around! So to everyone else I wish you a Happy Fathers Day!!

MVP!!

So for weeks we have been telling Xavier to pay more attention during his tee ball games and he may be the MVP for the day. See, in tee ball, it is had for 5 and 6 year old to stay focused for more then 1 inning. They set up the games fair, every person get to bat, they take one base. Then the last batter on the team gets to hit the home run!! That's always the best part. Well, when your team is done batting, it is time to take the field, which is always a madhouse. 10 kids all fighting for the same spot, the pitchers mound. Well, after the first batter, one kid is bound to find the dirt more interesting then watching another kid hit the ball. Then after 2 or 3 more batters, there are 3 or 4 kids playing in the dirt. See how this can go after 10 or 15 batters!

Well the coach came up with a great idea, well a couple great ideas. The kids have a rotating position where they don't play the same spot twice in the game. So when they take the field they all rotate to the left one spot, and it keeps them in a certain position. That works for about 3 batters. So he came up with another way to keep them interested. The MVP of the game. Well, there are 2 MVP's because of the short schedule, but it works. They get a game ball, with there name and date written on it, with MVP in big letters. Little to some, great for the kids. The thing is, they have to pay attention to the whole game, batting and fielding, and maybe they will be MVP. Well, this weekend was the second to last game, and by the third inning, Xavier can always be found staring off into nothing, or playing in the dirt. Not this weekend. He had his eyes on the prize. The whole game was full of focus. When a batter came to the plate, he had his hand on his knees ready for the hit. When hitting, it took no more then 3 pitches to hit the ball.

Well at the end of the game, during the team huddle, it finally came, "Today's MVP of the game is......Xavier!" He was so excited. He turned at his mom and me with the biggest smile on his face and said that he had done it! The first thing he asked was if it was a trophy that he could put in his room with the other trophies. We told him of course it was. So this weekend, on the way to daddy's house, we are going to make a quick pit stop to the baseball store, to get his trophy case! After 15 weeks of tee ball, the day had finally come.....he was an MVP!!

Minor Adjustments

When Avery first came, she was put onto Similac Advance Early Shield formula. Everything seemed to be going ok. There were no problems, she took from 1 to 2 ounces at a feeding and seemed to be going good. Well, last week she decided that she didn't like the formula anymore. During feedings she would spit up after a couple gulps, she had a lot of gas, and was not sleeping at night time. Grunting was not only keeping her awake, but it was keeping us awake too!! So the other night Sam decided she had enough, and went to get Similac Sensitive. Well, at first there was no change, but by day two Avery was taking 4 to 6 ounces. Avery has started to get a lot more sleep, and has become our little chow hound again!! I am not sure if anyone else has had this problem, but it worked for us.

On another note, bottles!! We had started with Avent bottles, and it seemed like they were going to work. Until the first mishap. In the middle of the night, you are a little tired, and I was not aware that you needed to be McGuiver in order to get the nipple into the cover, make sure it is set in 100 percent correctly, and it has to be tightened. Well if it is too tight it will not seal correctly, if it is too loose it will not seal correctly, bottom line, it did not seal correctly and Avery got her first formula bath! Yeah, she doesn't like getting wet that late at night, and it makes for a long wait to be able to crawl back into bed. We have since switched to Playtex drop in, and we have had none of the issues we had before. The only issue is that we bought a newborn starter kit, and did not know that they come with fast flowing nipples. Well, if you want your child to suck down 4 ounces in 2 minutes, it works, they will just not be so happy until they get the burps out!! Its the little things that get you, and at 1 am, checking the nipples that you think are slow flow is one of the little things you may forget! I guess you can say it has been a learning experience, but we have found what works.

I need your help!

So I am always trying to think of good movies for the kids to watch, and I always come up with blanks. I know the basics, but I would like to create a list of Baby and Disney movies that the kids can enjoy and won't put the parents to sleep!! I started with some of the ones that I watch, with or without the little ones around, but I need help to keep the list going. Any suggestions would be great!

Hello all!

I would like to explain a little about my family and myself. I am a father of two, Xavier and Avery. Xavier is my oldest, 5 turning 6 next month. For years he has been asking his mother and myself for a sibling. Well a month ago he got his wish, he got a little sister. He was excited, but said that he still wants a little brother. What can you do?! Now we don't have Xavier every day, he lives with his mom and comes to our house every other weekend. At first I was nervous about how he will act with his sister Avery, but the first night proved to be great. In the morning when she was crying he was one of the first ones to want to know what was wrong with her and what she needed. He loves to kiss her on the head, but has not got the holding of the baby down 100 percent, but we are working on it.

When Xavier was born I was not home for most of the pregnancy or for the birth. I was serving in the Army in Iraq during the beginning part of the war. It was hard to know that he was going to be born and I was not going to be home to watch, or be a part of the experience. The first time I saw him was in a picture that I had gotten in the mail a month after he was born. Everyone was so supportive of what I was going through, but it didn't help that I felt horrible for not being home with him. By the time we first met, he was already standing on his own, and had no idea who I was. So in a part, I am a first time father when it comes to newborns. So Xavier and I are learning about it together, and I think that helps with some of the parts that I am missing from him. He is proving to be a great big brother, and his instincts are great with her.


When I ask Xavier to watch his sister for a minute when I need to get a bottle or binky and she starts to fuss, he immediately starts to sing the Alphabet song to her to try and get her to calm down. Sometimes she quiets down, but for the most part when he is done, he starts all over and tries to get her to settle down again. I'll tell you, when I was growing up with my little sister, whenever she started to cry, I immediately started to bug my mom to make her stop, so I like that he is trying to be so helpful on his own. Don't know who is going to be more protective of her, mom, dad, or brother!


In the last month Avery has proven to be growing up fast. She is sleeping longer at night, eating more food, filling up diapers more, and starting to smile and hold her head up. Well mommy and daddy think she is smiling, so that is what I am going to stick with. When I get home from work, mom usually has her fed and sleeping, so I am not sure how grumpy she can get, must be that she just loves her daddy! So that is a little about our little family. I thought it would be fun to talk with other people and get perspective of things that work, things that don't, and have some laughs.



Jeremy