6 Months and Counting

How do I sum up the past 6 months of my daughter’s life… Someone did say a picture is worth a thousand words so here are three:

6 months later her and her hair only grew a millimeter. Mommy insist on using hair bows

At Target looking GLAMOROUS



6 months later she still owns the bed!

 

 

Nola has been in more way than I could have imagined the spinning image of my wife and I. She makes the most bizarre facial expressions just as her father and boy… can she be as directive as her mother. She never fails to amaze me. Even in the simplest ways she is my source of laughter, gratitude, and love. In her 6 months of life she continues to fight with her mother and father in her dislike for crawling… Who knows why? It could be that she is too “lady-like” for the ground and prefers to walk… Or maybe she does not feel like it right now! I mean when it comes to walking people, she is by far a shy one. From the moment her giant bugs bunny eyes open she is yearning for the edge of the counter or a toy that can give her just the right amount of pressure to stand – and once she is up her smile is brighter than ever.

You know one of the things I love most about being a father… It’s the split second when you get home from work and your wife and child are waiting for you. As you arrive you receive your gentle yet passionate kiss from your wife and somewhere around the house you can already hear the laughter of your child. Myself, I enjoy sneaking up on Nola and surprising her she always welcomes me with such a face that literally screams “DADDY!!!” muahhhhh   

Random people often stop us in stores or restaurants commenting on our daughters’ beauty and how we should take advantage of her now. I’m still not sure what they mean by saying “take advantage of her now…”

Rain Rain Go Away!

This Sunday was gloomy and in more ways than one unattractive. However, from a different perspective in the Santos house we were having a blast! The morning started off with Nola wanting to play with every single toy and what was I to do… tell her no? No way.

Living the Dream

 

 

 

On a different note: Nola and I have begun our first of many runs. The goal is for us to start running in competitive races together. Stroller pushing Dad for the first few years’ then transition the little princess to straight foot work. I’m excited and I know that she’s excited. The first run together she fell asleep so basically to parents out there that = great freaking job!

First Run - at the lake

 

Happy Father's Day



My daughter made me this with a little help from Mommie

Happy father’s day to me and to all the fathers out their giving it everything you got to make sure that your family prospers.  

Today is a day of reflection and accomplishment for all that I have been blessed with and for all that I continue to aspire and do for my daughter and family. I reflect on my daughter’s birth and the chill that crawled up my spine as I watched her enter our world. Today I reflect on the overwhelming blessing the lord has given me as a father and a vessel for my daughter. I reflect on the beautiful memories and experience my family and I have been blessed with through the eyes of my daughter. Today I continue to feel the overpowering need to provide for my daughter in surrounding her with love, experiences, laughter, fun… Most importantly I thanked my wife for blessing me with such a spirited and beautiful daughter.

 

On this very father’s day I also reflect on all the fathers who continue to give me advice on the do’s and don’ts. The funny thing is that as a father… I’m going to lend you my ear and not always follow the same path you took. In my own opinion one of the joys of being a father is that you get to try your best in your own way with the support of your wife or life partner to be the role model to your child. Life continues to bless us with unique opportunities in some our child falls and gets a boo boo In others our child trips or scraps his or her arm. Yes, we could have listened to that person’s advice on tying shoes this way not that way. Yet… if we had listened then in the years to come we would have been shy of an experience. An experience that could have filled the family dinner table with laughter, love and fund memories to treasured. So on this father’s day, I’ve learned to always lend my ear to those willing to help here or there such as our parents, friends, or noisy neighbors yet continue to follow your unique parenting style that you and your wife have molded.

There is no wrong or right way when you love your child

Playing with the new rod and reel with Nola!

 

 

Parents and Breaks

 

Only parents can clearly understand the fine line between “breaks” and “parent breaks”. Within the fine line there is even a deeper “break” to those parents who have to broaden their scope and multitask with work and school on top of their already hectic and overwhelming parenting duties.

Here is an idea of what my wife and I do for our breaks ----- some might call “boring activities”

·         Sit outside of Starbucks for a few hours. (This one is my personal favorite considering I love coffee and I love people watching)

·         Watch episodes of our favorite show (… it feels like paradise). Oh nothing comes close to the relief of having no worries for even a few hours.

·         Grab a quick beer (literally one 12 ounce beer) at a local bar and reminisce on our past and the future to come. Funny story: just the other week my wife and are a sitting at a local bar near our undergraduate university (UNC-Greensboro). While sitting there eavesdropping on the conversation of a group of Undergraduates talking about (what time they’ll go home after class, one mentioned needing to call his parents for a new cell phone since his broke, another commented on the difficulties of juggling college life with a part-time job) I wanted to walk over and give them a little clip of the “real world”. But I didn’t, I continued drinking my delicious blue moon and allocated them time to continue to enjoy their busy life of “little to no obligations”. I’m sure all parents say they “miss the college days”. It’s not just the college days but the entire college system of not having anything to do but go to class and talk smack. Although I continued on to graduate school it was not the same L

---All of our “breaks” come to a sudden halt when our phones flash my parents name on it (AKA come get your child she is hungry!). And just like that our “break” is over and we are back to conquering parent duties.

 

Nothing comes close to being with your child

 

Faces of Personalities

 

Our special yet so delicate and beautiful daughter is roughly a week shy of her four month birthday! Who would have thought that I (Juan Santos) would be so excited to celebrate (monthly) birthdays… Yet I am!!! BEYOND WORDS. There literally is no lecture, slide show, presentation, or person who can tell you what it feels to be a “parent”. The feeling is in my own opinion “unique” “individualistic” and in some ways patterned to fit you and yours child unique connection. My daughter in very way is the spinning image of her father and mother. Just today I took her to stay with her grandparents for a few hours while mommy and daddy got a much needed break.

 

 

When we arrived my parents commented that daughter was “fussy at times” or “needing them to do exactly what she wanted in order for her to stay calm”. Interesting I thought to myself. She is literally her father and mother In very way. I tend to get upset or “fussy” at times especially if others do not do as I tell them. My perfect wife can also become “fussy” when people do not do things in the exact way she wants. I was a very mischievous child full of energy, curiosity, and hidden ninja moves that would push any parent towards pulling their hair out. So in more ways than one my daughter is the spinning image of her parents.

Where has the TIME gone?



Hint the Long Legs = She got it from her MAMA

A lot has changed since my “brief” break from blogging. To recap in fast forward motion my daughter has jumped from two…three… and 14 days away from being four months old. Where does the time go? I swear to you, she is all length and literally no width. She can fit by width into her newborn clothes but length wise she is wearing 3month to 6month. Trust me she did not get her height from my side of the family (no offense takenJ



 

>>>>Our daughter Nola has started talking “baby talk” I can stand but love it. I’m not exactly sure what it is about seeing your child try and communicate with you but it is literally a mixture of joy, funny, love, and overwhelming sense that they are perfect. I love standing her up and asking her about what she did all day just to hear her say “ahhhh… arhhh.. uuhhhh”. PERFECT - SOUNDS AWESOME!

>>>>Our family celebrated our first mother’s day (which was an awesome experience) I went all out and gave her a week of “mother’s day celebration”. I’m pretty proud of myself for the brilliantly idea I borrowed from message in a bottle.  If you are father or husband than you know more than anyone else how hard “mothers” work. I honestly do NOT understand how mothers can manage and still look HOT at the end of the dayJ.

Daddy's little Graduate

>>>> I graduated with my Masters which was an overwhelming experience of joy, gratitude, and aspiration for all the great things coming in life. Achieving obstacles and triumphs in life used to be centered more around (my personal achievements) as a father my entire mind frame has transitioned into pushing myself to achieve as much as possible in order to become a role model and an inspirational figure for my family. I hope that as my daughter and future children age they will look at life as merely a field to play on where they too can achieve success. I continue to thank my supportive wife for her role in my life as the main force behind our success, fortunes, and blessings in life.

Two reasons I Graduated!

 

>>>>Even after the “brief” break my daughter continues to resemble me and so many ways: she is always laughing and joking around with me, she has the exact charismatic personality as her daddy, she loves structure and will definitely tell you with a “scream” or “shout” if you are late for her bed time, and last but not least she is a human form alarm clock “ready to go at 6am sharp”. Each morning I turn and there she is nudging me on the back with a huge smile on her face “its 6am Daddy wake up time to play”.

What will life bring next? I’ve got a few things I’m working on… maybe doctorate school if my daughter lets me (she is pretty selfish with me and wanting me around all day) – thank God for my superhero wonder women all mighty all powerful wife who continues to hold down the home fort.

Stay Tuned Until Next Time

 

 

Mommies simply wear more hats than a man can count

Nola

Before I even begin my spill, I want say thank you a thousand times over and over to my wife and the mother of my beautiful daughter. It’s simply not enough to whisper the gracious words “thank you” to your wife.  As a new father, I have begun to see how my love, admiration and respect continues to grow for my wife. She is simply amazing and to be completely honest with you… I don’t know how she does it. Day in and day out. She continues to face obstacles and with each she faces their never seems to be a time that she falls.



Girls

This weekend, my wife had a few of her girlfriends over. So I did what any loving and dedicated husband would do. I gave her the weekend off from “mommy duties”. It was what I like to call “Girls Weekend”.




Mom + Dad + Nola

 So how was my experience with my beautiful daughter Nola…As always, it was perfect… beyond words… would not could not will not trade it for the world. Yet, I the two days that I spent as “full-time” daddy where… draining and difficult at times. There were times in which our daughter would cry and as her supportive father, I would bounce her…sing to her… walk her in the stroller… etc… until something worked. And if none of the above worked, then a quick phone call to “mommy” would solve the problem. That’s simply it… “Mommy’s” fix the problem. They are in every way deserving of “thank you”.

As I’m reflecting on the weekend… she really didn’t have that large of a break. Although she did have a “break” she was always available and in the vicinity to breast feed our daughter as needed. I have no idea… literally “zero” idea as to how my wife and all you mothers do it. Day in and day out – staying home with your child. Please do not interpret my words as seeming that “I don’t love or enjoy being with my daughter” I do and wouldn’t trade my life for all the glories in the world. I am in very way amazed! Amazed as to how my wife battles life as a mother, wife, caretaker, etc. I don’t know how she fits the time into her day to workout, to read, to shop, to cook, to clean, etc… The two days I spent as “full-time” daddy left me mentally fatigued and physically drained.

This week and those to come, I thank my wife for who she is and what she does for us

 

Easter Weekend



Easter 2014 - Nola

Proud Daddy moment! This weekend has been an absolute experience for my family and I. Today of all days (Easter) my daughter Nola decides to perform her first official full ROLL. She did it! First and foremost, I prior to becoming a “Daddy” did not anticipate that I would feel so proud of her for “rolling from her front to her back”. It’s absolutely crazy how parents achieve such an intense level of love, passion and overwhelming satisfaction for each “small” or “large” accomplishment achieved by their child. My wife and I are… Happy! To say the least.

So you are probably wondering… oh… how did this even happen?… Please please tell me the full story from start to finish and don’t leave anything out. Okay… if you must ask…-----so my wife and I are gathered around my daughter while she is playing on her play area. A few feet in front of my daughter is her grandmother… as usual mesmerizing the beauty and excellence of her granddaughter. As we are chatting up a storm and watching my daughter kick and push from side to side… BAM! It was beautiful she kicked and pushed her way to a half roll and finally a full roll. Oh… I am absolutely and entirely proud of my daughter. She’s only midway through her second month of life and has already amazed me with her “rollover”. Life can only get so much better from here!

Mom - Dad - Nola - Granpa photobombing

 

 

 

Nola - Granpa

My dad (AKA Granpa… AKA  Papa…) had some quality time with baby Nola out at the beach. As you can tell catching giant fish. As I’m looking at this picture I’m not even sure how the fishing line is holding up this immense pounder. We ate for days! This picture is actually a learning experience for me. I’m hoping that when I take my first picture with my daughter I have a huge fish on the line. That way when she gets older she will “believe” my fishing tales… J

 

 

 

 

Easter Weekend was a SUCCESS

 

 

 

 

 

Family Time

 

Before I Begin... Please tell me she is just not the cutest looking baby you have EVER seen!

 

These past few weeks have really came and gone. It seems that with the arrival of our daughter we have drastically increased the amount of time spent with family and friends. It literally feels like every other day someone is knocking on my door wants to see my daughter or my phone is ringing with my mother or father asking when their granddaughter is coming to visit. There definitely is an essence built around babies… one that pulls friends, family and loved ones closer and closer together. Connections with past friends are re-established and differences with friends or family are put aside just for the few seconds one can spend with a baby.

Working Hard!

Celebrating the finish product (wife holding our daughter under the blanket and Matt N. on the right)

Looking back now (I know I’m not an old timer like other parents out there) but… looking back since my daughters’ arrival roughly over 2 months, I have really felt a fire lit under by booty. With the amount of family time we have been spending I am wanted to do some renovation to the outdoor space and get it ready for bon fires and quality family time. My wife and I made our trip to Home Depot for .25 cent bricks and spent all day Saturday (literally 9 hours) to get the brick floor down. We had a surprise visit from friends to break in the patio and fire pit. I’m hoping the new space continues to bring family and friends around for my daughter to have many many many many fund memories to look back on!

 

Learning Lessons each day: Having a child is a blessing and a “push” that makes you want to do so much more in life. I thank her each and every day J

Babies Need Their Daddies

Daddies across the board can relate on how “little” our babies need us the first few months (so far…). There should be a sign that says: listen up parents your child from ages birth to (ohhh… about the age that your child gets the sense to know who runs the household) will not need her Daddy.

 Please don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s quite simple. My daughter will cry and fuss… so what does she need… a cuddle from her dad? No… Okay option two, maybe a bounce up and down from her Dad or a rattle here or there to get her to feel better? No… Wait… I got it…Magic answer is…. MOMMY… For the past seven weeks of my daughter’s life, I’ve stayed up nights thinking and brainstorming as to what MOMMY has that I don’t. Well hot damn! Breast Feeding… That’s the magic answer, that’s what makes babies calm and relax after a temper tantrum.

 

Please don’t read this and think to yourself, hmm… he’s not a good dad or he’s too hard on himself. It’s not that. It’s just… if we are talking statistics here then… 2 out of 10 times I can calm my daughter down. The other 8 times the magic “breast feeding” does its trick. Oh the simple joys of being Mr. Dad. But you know what… there is a flip side to this coin. I’m assuming in about two years from now when my daughter is mentally able to look up at her “awesome” dad and say… “you know what I love my dad he is the man”. Yes, that’s the day that my daughter will be all mine!

I look forward to the day that I get home from work and find my daughter crying and fussing with my wife in the background shouting “she needs her Dad”. As I walk in, I’m looking around the house with a wicked smirk shouting Yes!!!... can’t wait ohhh… I just can’t wait!

Beach Trip

This weekend we (the wife, the daughter and yours truly) took a much needed trip down to the beach house. First and foremost, why is it that I always get stuck with the worst weather when I’m down there? Literally, I get there in for the majority of Friday and Saturday we are stuck in doors due to the excessive amount of rain. Who needs this much rain? Not my plants… On our way back home, the sun decides to make an overdue appearance. An appearance that my family and I can only see from our rear view mirror. I asked my wife to read me the weather forecast for Monday and the rest of the week: sunshine and low 70s. Seriously! We got stuck with rain, low 50s, and a ridiculously strong wind.

Enough of my complaining. Who am I the spring Grinch!... Asides from the nasty weather, we had fun. We engaged in our first marathon at the beach which was really eventful. My wife and I have done a few marathons back at home, and some at the beach before our daughter arrived. But this was the first one we did together. We did a marathon of Redbox movies. Yeah… you know exactly what I’m talking about. Some people do marathons of Netflix (we do at times) but this weekend just felt right for Redbox. Lets’ see the three of us watched: Wolf on Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club, Frozen, Best Mens Holiday, Thor and Gravity. We really enjoyed them all. Gravity… was kindaaa boring. Sorry to say it for those of you who enjoyed it… but come on… the movie took place in literally one setting.

Parents can understand the importance of dressing your child up regardless if you are going out… or staying in… there is literally something “fun” about dressing them up. Fun and Funny both mixed together in a way that makes you laugh from your insides out! My wife got really excited this weekend about taking our daughter out on her first beach trip… you know… taking pictures out by the sea with her daughter playing in the sand and a FREEZING wind on their backs. I had to put my hand down and say NO. NO honey you are not taking our 6 week old daughter out with this freezing ASS wind to snap a few pictures. I’m sorry! However, please feel free to take pictures of her inside the beach house… as if you were out there…

I'm Ready To Ride Waves!

 

 

So to recap… The weather was not up to par! Yet, the Santos clan seems to always pull through when it counts. Can it be the strong support system or our love for one another? I had an AWESOME time on our first family beach trip! Hands down would not have changed a thing. Even under the most unfriendly weather conditions my family seems to always find laughter, love and memories. I even got a chance to splurge on some seafood. And for those of you who know me… I LOVE seafood it brings back childhood memories… Here’s a Shrimp Po Boy, sweet potato fries and Crab legs! Yes… I ate everything.

Every bite was delicious

 

Until next time your diaper changing Daddy!

All Things Elizabeth: Weekly grocery shopping: $104 worth of groceries f...

Savings with Coupons!!! Turning coupons into CASH

All Things Elizabeth: Weekly grocery shopping: $104 worth of groceries f...: This week I spent my weekly grocery budget at Harris Teeter, Target and Aldi. I spent a total of $51.10 and saved a total of $118.43!  Below...

Batman and Nola

 

After a long day at work, Mr. Dad (aka yours truly) came home to one of the biggest and most spectacular surprises of all time. No gift asides from my wife's hand in marriage and my daughter’s birth came close. Before I even begin to explain the “surprise” I want to stress the significance of “heroes” as they play a part in my life. Some people find guidance in presidential figures… Nixon and so on… Others identify more with humanistic characters like Gandhi. Myself, I’ve always been motivated by people who “do for others” you know… persons that work for the benefit of others.

My wife…oh my awesome precious dedicated love of my life took my daughter out and prepared a momentous surprise…

She took the biggest risk of her life today by doing what she did.

 

In actuality this is the first time in my life I'm not wearing my mask. To answer some questions out there from my fans... I'm still your hero!

BatGirl



Batman man without his mask and his first born Batgirl







 

 

 



Target had the batman outfit for girls http://www.target.com/c/baby/batman/-/N-5xtlyZ5xdz1/Ntk-All/Ntt-toddler%20batman%20clothing/Ntx-matchallpartial+rel+ALL#?lnk=lnav_narrow by category_1. This week they had a sale $9.99. But realistically Priceless :)

Extreme couponers meet my WIFE!

All Things Elizabeth: Weekly grocery shopping: $124 worth of groceries f...: Each week I make at least one couponing trip to Harris Teeter and other stores. Our household has a monthly grocery budget of $200 for the ...

Revisiting our Roots

This past Sunday my wife and I took our daughter on a family trip to visit UNCG. The University that we not only graduated from but more importantly we met and fell in love at. It’s a bit… No it’s drastically different walking through your college campus as a parent pushing a stroller than a 20 year old holding a slight buzz from the night before slumber party… Oh how time fly’s



We stopped by the historical “clock” at UNCG. Basically you are told that if you walk under it you will graduate late… Please believe it because I didn’t and I am the historical clocks testimony. Basically I graduated like one too many years later. My wife however, stands to uphold the truth behind not walking under the clock. She till this day has never done it! And to conclude her testimony she graduated in four years. I didn’t want to curse my daughter in case she became a future Spartan eighteen years later…

 

 

If you live in Greensboro, NC or have attended UNCG then you know that the best coffee in town comes from (Tate Street Coffee https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tate-Street-Coffee-House/33119448719). We treated ourselves to some coffee for our family adventure. There’s just something incredible that happens to you when you trace your footsteps back with your “partner in crime”. It’s simply a mixture of reminiscing on beautiful memories, admiring what one went through to get to where they are now, and staring down at your daughter with “goggly eyes whispering this was all for you love”. Moments like these work in the most subtle way to remind you how awesome of a husband and father you really are.

 

 

One thing that I want to stress to expecting parents is picking out a proper and effective stroller. You want one that is “light in weight”, “heavy duty ie. can carry your child, your wife’s pursue, your water or beverage of choice, daddy’s diaper bag, and laptop or iPad.”, “versatile”, and that can take turns like a Lamborghini. Our stroller resembles these exact words in very way. As I said earlier this small section of advice is to parents and expecting parents; these are the issues that we face and must overcome. Thank me later! We got it as a gift during our baby shower from our daughters’ grandmother. I urge parents to get it, you can check it out at your local Target: (http://www.target.com/p/graco-fastaction-fold-click-connect-travel-system-monroe/-/A-14516621#?lnk=sc_qi_detaillink). The stroller has some nice features too; it clicks right into the car seat that comes with. This makes it extremely easy when transforming from car to stroller.

 

Until next time your diaper changing stroller pushing wife romancer.