In speaking to another parent I learned about a tactic that he used when potty training his son. In what I call the “crash and burn” (I find it similar to the cold turkey technique for quitting a habit) he described to me the technique they used for teaching their son to use the toilet. [...]

Pacifiers. You either swear by them or swear at them. Nowadays we hear constantly about how you should not attach them around your child’s neck because your child may choke. Good enough reason, but what if your daughter is Avery? Avery is a fan of yelling out in restaurants (the only public place where you [...]

The door to door salesman vs. Avery. Another challenge, another night. Whew. I was worried tonight when Colleen was leaving that Avery and I would be at odds once again, as per our usual, but that was not the case (for most of the night). It is amazing what cartoons and a swing can do. [...]

I thought it would be fun to buy Avery an outfit that said “Daddy’s Girl” on it. She sure appreciated it. The first time she wore it, she blew out her diaper onto it, and the second wearing, same thing. Well, nothing says thank you like a hearty diaper blowout.

Well, she is not walking yet or even crawling for that matter, but when we put Avery on her stomach and let her put herself to sleep on the floor for naps she looks and moves kind of like a fish you just caught – flopping this way and that around on the deck of [...]

As a parent you worry day in and day out about your children catching more than just a simple cold. Here in our house we are dealing with what we think is our first with Avery. As a parent you just want your children to be healthy 100% of the time, even though it is [...]

I had never really heard of baby signs, but since seeing the move Meet the Fockers I have learned that it actually exists. I decided to do a little research, and I found an interesting fact about signing: I found that representation of the signs for mommy and daddy were quite correct: Mommy Daddy You [...]

It was just another one of those nights. More photos online of Avery from Weeks 13-15.

I think that the end of the world is coming. While there were no accumulations this morning, here in Kansas City it snowed. That is even earlier than last year! Not only did it snow, but there was a thunderstorm associated with it. Snow, thunder, and lightening – Sounds like the end to me.

Right out of the womb Avery had a full head of hair. To this point it has not fallen out at all, and in fact, may even be growing a bit, but what we worry about is the advice we were given and its interesting consequence. When we first arrived home from the hospital, we [...]