Halloween

I love Halloween.I think it is one of my favorite "holiday's. Now this year I have a reason to love it even more. I am so excited to take Gianna to the pumpkin patch, carve pumpkin's, take her on a hayride, go to all the fall festival's here in town and take her trick or treating


And I'm so excited about her costume. Gianna will be a ...

Ladybug!. I can't wait to dress her up in this and take picture's

The town we live in has a fall festival the weekend of Halloween. They have a big block party in the downtown area and adult's and children can come dressed up and go trick or treating.

Now I am all for dressing up for Halloween. This year however I will not be dressing up as a "slutty" pirate, cop, referee, etc that I have in the past. I was thinking of making myself a red/black tutu and pairing that with some leggings and dressing up like a ladybug as well

But then I got to thinking. Am I to old to dress up? Do any of you dress up with your little one's?

Gianna's two month update

I finally have the time to sit down and write Gianna's two month update

Dear Gianna

You are two month's old already. I can't believe how fast time is flying. It seems like just yesterday we were waiting for your arrival. You have grown so much this past month. Remember how mommy was worried about all the sleeping you did, well you are much more active and alert during the day. You love to smile and you are starting to look around more at your surroundings.

You still love to be held all the time and get quite fussy when we put you down. Especially at night. But that's ok. Mommy and Daddy love cuddling as much as you do.

You are sleeping more at night. You usually go down around 8:30 and sleep until 1 or 2 depending on the night. Then I feed you and you fall back asleep with a little coaxing. You get up around 5 for a mini feeding session and then get up again around 6. Mommy has figured out that when you wake up at 6 you don't really want to eat, you are ready to be picked up and cuddled. Sometimes Mommy gets lucky and you fall back asleep on mommy's chest for another hour or two

You are wearing size 1 diaper's. You can wear some of your newborn clothes but we are mostly in 0-3. And if your daddy dresses you you wear 9 month clothes. But that's ok we will cut him some slack

At your 2 month Dr appt you were 9.9 lbs and 20 inches long. You are in the 40% for weight and 10% for height. You def are a little peanut

You are still exclusively breastfed and hate taking a bottle. In fact you push it out of the way and spit up the milk every time I try to give you one. You are def our stubborn little girl.

You love being held upright so you can see everything around you. You also love being placed in your crib. The mobile sends you into hysterics. You are trying so hard to laugh although right now it sounds like a cross between a cough and a choke. At first it scared me half to death but now it makes me smile.

You are growing up so fast little one. Mommy wishes I could keep you this little forever but that would take all the fun out of watching you grow

Always remember Mommy and Daddy love you so very much. We are so blessed to have you in our life

And for some 2 month pics!

Family Vacation and Photos

My whole family came to visit us the first week of August. My grandparent's will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this November and decided to celebrate it by going on one big family vacation. Now my grandma is terrified of traveling. Won't leave Wisconsin but decided to venture out of her comfort zone and come visit us down in Florida so she could meet her great granddaughter. So my parent's, brother and his girlfriend, my cousin's and their significant other's along with my aunt and grandparent's all came down for a visit.
It was a blast having everyone in town.I am so blessed to have had that time with them and for Gianna to meet everyone. We won't be going home until this coming July so it would have been awhile before Gianna was able to meet everyone. Since this was a special occasion we also had a photographer come out and take family photo's of everyone. I am so glad we had them taken, especially since they will be a great keepsake for Gianna. Family is very important to me and I miss being near my family every day. I only wish we all lived closer to each other! Now onto picture overload

Here is the house my family rented

Our Little Family

The Whole Family

My brother and Gianna. He is also her Godfather

My Dad and Gianna

My Mom, Grandma and Gianna

My Mom, Me and Gianna

The Great Grandparents and Gianna

Another pic with My mom and Gianna

This is my favorite pic of the three of us

My Family. My parent's, brother his girlfriend and the three of us

The whole clan

My Dad, My Aunt and my grandparent's

My adorable grandparent's. Married for 60 years

Gianna's newborn photo's

I finally received Gianna's newborn photo's and just had to share them with y'all. We found a great photographer here in Destin and have scheduled Gianna's three month pics with her as well. All photo's are copyrighted by Jubilee Photography

My Memories Giveaway

I can't wait to tell you about this awesome giveaway. A few years ago I got hooked on scrapbooking. I was already addicted to taking pictures, I take a camera with me everywhere so scrapbooking seemed like the perfect hobby. But it was too expensive and time consuming for all the picture's I had. So I stopped scrapbooking and in a way my blog has become my own personal scrapbook and journal
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I was contacted by My Memories which is a digital scrabooking software to offer my reader's one copy of My Memories Suite. With this software you can create digital scrapbooks, photobooks, cards, calendars and gifts. And it is very affordable.
Along with giving one of my lucky reader's a copy of this digital software I also am able to share with y'all this promo code which will give you $10.00 off anything on their site from the My Memories Suite Software to a digital scrapbooking kit or a album template.
The promo code is STMMMS17808 so head on over to MyMemories.com and get started today

I had made some really cute scrapbook pages to show y'all how great this site is but my computer is acting up. WhenI can get it uploaded I will bhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifut for now you will have to head on over to the website and check it out for yourself

To enter this awesome giveaway here is what you have to do
1. Be a follower of my blog. Leave a comment and let me know you are following me(1 entry)http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

2. Visit www.MyMemories.com chose your favorite digital paper pack or layout and then comment on my blog and let me know which one you chose(1 entry)

3. Visit their facebook page, like it and let them know you entered the giveaway from my blog(2 entries)

4. Tweet about this giveaway(1 entry)

I will end this giveaway one week from today. Good luck everyone

Easy Canvas Prints

I have always wanted to get some picture's turned into canvas photos and just never got around to doing so. Until I found the website Easy Canvas Prints. This website is amazing. All I had to do was upload a picture, follow the simple steps and the photo was ordered. I received the photo in about a week and I love it!
Here is my canvas photo


I love it. And for those of you that are wandering I stillhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif have the plastic covering over the picture because I am waiting to hang it up on the wall.
Another great thing about this website is that they are affordable, offer amazing deal's and every so often have it where you can get a free 8 x 10 where you only pay shipping. How great is that!
SO head on over to Easy Canvas Prints and make your own canvas photo today

And for all you milspouses this same company offer Free Welcome Home Banner's. I have yet to order one since every time the hubs has come home we haven't been able to go and greet them until they are back at their company headquarter's but you can bet now that we have a little one we will be going all out welcoming Daddy home. So if any of you are coming up on the end of a deployment or R&R head on over to www.buildasign.com/troops or click HERE

2 mth appt

Yesterday Gianna had her two month well baby appt. I was dreading this one since this was the dreaded 2 month shot appt. I've been on the fence about vaccines. I know what you all are thinking but hear me out

After working with kids with autism who wouldn't be paranoid about vaccines. I'm in no way saying they cause autism, all I'm saying is that some research suggests that some kiddos are born with weakened immune systems. And that when they get multiple shots at one time it can bring out pre existing conditions that may or may not have come out later in life.

Before I had her I was convinced we would space them apart or do the delayed vaccine schedule. My nurse of a mother was horrified. Kids have been getting shots for years and they are perfectly safe. Just the other day she was telling me about how in Wi there is a measles outbreak due to kids not being vaccinated. That scared me. So I spoke with Giannas dr about it. He explained that the current schedule is the safest combination of the shots in years. He said if I spaced out the shots they may not be as effective. So I did what I thought was best and she got all of her shots.

It was awful. I cried. Seeing her scrunch up her face, turn bright red and scream did me in. But I know it's what's best for her

She def slept a lot yesterday. In fact I got my first 7 hour stretch of sleep! And every time she woke up she would give this little scream. It was heartbreaking. Today again she has been sleeping alot, not eating as much and just wants to be cuddled. Hopefully tomm she will be more alert

I also discussed with her dr my concerns about her sleeping. After falling asleep for the night she sleeps three hours, then wakes up every two after that. But sometimes she doesn't want to eat. She wants to comfort suck and will only fall asleep being held or while attached to me. When she puts down she screams. He laughed and said this was perfectly normal. That she is trying to figure our and adjust to her own routine and schedule. I was told pushing it and making her conform to a schedule would only make me more tired! So at least I felt justified that I have been doing things right

I will be back Monday with her officiall two month update.


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The Beauty of Parenting

Thanks ladies for all the comments on my book review. I have a whole stack of parenting books I plan on reading and reviewing so it's not strictly limited to BabyWise
Again I feel that everyone has different view points and beliefs about the type of parent they want to be and the methods they want to follow. That's the joy about parenting. It's your kid and the way you chose to raise them it's up to you. It shouldnt matter what someone else thinks or believes. How I chose to raise my baby may be different from yours and although I may not agree with one method it doesn't meant that I think that method is wrong. Just like although you may not agree with my method it also doesn't mean that it's wrong. Since I am a huge book nerd I have found many contradictory things about each parenting method. Some books bash attachment parenting, other books support it. Some bash the Ferber method and BabyWise, others support it. I am just trying to make myself as educated as possible while following what my own Dr tells me and following my own instincts. And I feel that it is working so far. Like I also stated, before Gianna was born I thought BabyWise would be the book for us. But due to the type of baby she is right now it's not. She is on as much of a schedule as can be right now. And she has started sleeping longer during the night. Yay for more sleep for me! I don't care if I have to hold her more often than some other babies need to be held, they are only little once and in a few years she will be screaming at me and slamming doors in my face! Well maybe not a few years but ya never know!

Parenting is a complex and amazing job. I'm sure any new parent can attest to the fact that with your first you are stumbling along with blinders on. People are constantly telling you one thing whole someone tells you another. There were so many things I swore I'd never do that we are doing right now. In the end the only thing that matters is you and your baby.

Next up on my list to read and review is The No Cry Sleep solution. I also had read about the book Cinderella ate my daughter which I just picked up from the library so hopefully I'll crack open the books and have a review soon for ya!


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BabyWise-A Book Review

This book came highly recommended by some and received negative reviews by others. Despite that I added it to my to-read list anyway. I should also add that when it comes to reading, if I can't relate to or find interest in the subject matter within the first few chapters I will not finish the book. And this is one of those books

Here is why. Before having Gianna the hubs and I discussed the types of parents we wanted to be. We definitely didn't want a baby sleeping with us and we were firm believers in crying it out.

Then Gianna came along. Our high needs baby. Who wants to be held at all times, needs to be rocked and soothed to sleep and loves to comfort suck on me instead of using a pacifier. We've discussed these things with our pediatrician, the lactation consultant, other mommies, my own mom who is also a nurse and read articles and books relating to this. They all say this is normal. That holding her at all times won't spoil her and that we should be following along her schedule instead of trying to adapt her to ours. I was also instructed that I should be nursing on demand. So this is what I do. I guess you can say we have adopted the "attachment" parenting frame of mind

In the past few weeks Gianna has started to taking a pacifier more, she has slowly gotten her nights and days back on track and she has become a smiley happy baby. One who still needs to e held at all waking moments
In my Baby412 book it had said that all this is ok. That up until 3 months no bad habits are being formed. Since she is just two I figure we have one more month before we really need to focus on Settling her into some sort of routine. Many resources also say babies don't know how to self soothe until they are about 4 months anyway so until then the parents are there source of comfort

What does this have to do with BabyWise. Well BabyWise doesn't seem to like the child centered approach or the attachment parenting approach. From the few parts I read, since as stated above I didn't finish the book they seem to go against the type of parenting we have adopted.

I found this book quite contradictory. I understand they were trying to explain that once a child comes along we should have them become a part of our life, not center our lives around them. That being said how can you not center your life around a baby who has constant needs. I find that their advice about parenting is much better suited for parents of an older infant or toddler. Not my 2 month old

I found the author to be preachy about subject matters such as feeding and sleeping, yet he didn't really provide me with much information about how to adopt the correct way of parenting in his opinion. If you are looking for a book to help you with your child sleep or eating habits this isn't it.

I had taken this issue to twitter and someone commented that the Academy of Pediatrics have come out against this book. I found that interesting.

At the end of the day everybody is different when it comes to raising their children. For some this book has worked wonders. For others it has not. It all depends on your parenting style. Again this book didn't agree to much with my parenting style. And that's fine by me. I am following along with what my pediatrician has instructed me to do. In a few months when Gianna is older I will revisit reading BabyWise and come to my own conclusions then. Until then I didn't bother finishing the book since right now it doesn't pertain to me. Again I know for many it does and maybe I'm looking at the book the wrong way. Maybe I'm missing something?

What are your thoughts for those that have read this book? Did you like it or dislike it? And please let's keep the comments positive. This isn't a bashing session about parenting styles. Everyone has different views and beliefs on that and they all should be respected.


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Settling In

The hubs has finally finished the class he was in. He will finally be home with us again. The last five weeks of him being gone 5 days and home for 2 has sucked. Not so much for me, as I'm used to him being gone but for Gianna and him. Obviously at 2 months she doesn't know what's going on but except for his 10 days paternity leave he hasn't been able to spend much time with her.I know this has killed him. In these last few weeks her and I have settled into a routine and when he would come home I could sense he felt like an outsider.

Gianna is what is considered a "high needs" baby according to some of the books I've read. She wants to be held at all times and gets very fussy in the evening. When the hubs would come home he wasn't sure what to do. And since I'm breastfeeding her I was an instant source of comfort. I remember running to the grocery store for 30 mins the night before he was set to leave again only to come home to the hubs on our front porch smoking and a screaming baby inside the house. He was so upset because he said he didn't know what to do to calm her down that he had to step outside. (He wasn't annoyed or irritated by her crying, he just felt useless)

I've had to explain countless times that she just has to get to know him. That she just needs to bond with him a little due to his absence. And don't get me wrong, he is great with her. He sings to her, walks her around the house and loves playing with her on her floor mat. But the minute she cries he freezes. It also upsets him when she falls asleep easily on me and not on him.

It is kind of funny to see my big tough army man be so outdone by a baby. Luckily he will be home now for awhile so he will be able to spend quality time with her. And I must admit I've had a hard time of letting go and letting him take over. I've had to bite my tongue when he has done something not necessarily wrong but different that I would do. Or to not re-do things he has done. Like last night after bath time he was playing with her while putting on her pj's or night nights as we call them in our house. Anyway I come into the room to her in pj's that are huge on her. When I asked what size they were he said 3-6mths. Keep in mind she is 2mths old and just outgrew her newborn clothes a week ago. I debated about what to do, quietly change her outfit, comment about how big they were on her or just leave it alone. I decided to leave it alone. I know he is trying so hard to make up for lost time

And I have to laugh at how clueless men are sometimes. Saturday night lovebug would not sleep. She seemed to think her play time wasw from 3-530am. So of course I was up with her all night. Hubby slept peacefully through it all. So sunday morning at 8am I shook him awake and handed her to him asking him to change her diaper so I could sleep for 10 more minutes. He did and after that got up to make breakfast. I fed her and walked into the kitchen where he told me to go back to bed. I gladly did thinking he was going to watch her so I could sleep. 5 minutes later he walks in, lays down a wide awake baby and leaves to get a hair cut. MEN!! And what was even funnier was that he didn't get it. He thought he was doing me a favor and letting me sleep. Oh well I was able to catch a nap with her later on.

I can't wait till the hubs gets home tonight so we can go for a family walk. And before I go I'll leave you with a pic of my love's

9.11.11

10 years ago our nation was attacked. 10 years later that attack is still impacting the world

I was a senior in high school when the twin towers were attacked. My understanding of the world changed forever that day. My safe bubble was shattered and talks of war, terrorist attacks and Al Queda became every day topics.

Although my life wasn't directly affected by the attacks that day, now ten years later it is. My husbands job is a result of the terror attacks that fateful day. him and thousands others put their lives on the line to ensure that something like 9.11 never happens again.

I have been staying away from the news coverage today. I was watching some of it the other day and could not stop crying. It breaks my heart to hear the survivors stories,and to hear the stories of those who lost loved ones.

I watched one segment about the wish kids of 9.11. One two year old lost his dad. He said he didn't know which was worse, not remembering his dad at all or never getting the chance to know him. His sister who is now a teenager said she gets upset when her friends complain about their dads being strict, or not letting them stay out past curfew. She then went on to say how she wishes her dad was here to say those things.

All those lives lost 10 years ago. May they not be in vain. For those that say this war is stupid never forget why we are there in the first place

Not only does 9.11 make me
Sad it makes me scared. Scared that something like this will happen again and scared about when the hubby will be returning to Afghanistan which will be soon. And I'm scared for my daughter. That she will grow up in a world with increasing hatred and war

But today I remember those that were killed ten years ago. Gone but never forgotten.

So regardless you viewpoint of the war and what political stance you take, today should also serve as a reminder that life is short. Always tell those you love them and never take anything for granted




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The Great Diaper Debate

When we first found out we were pregnant one of the first things my dad told us was... I hope you plan to use cloth diapers. Mr Cheapo was shocked when we said we planned to use disposables. My parents used cloth diapers for my brother and I. But that was back in the 80's and they had a diaper service so things were a little different.

Too be honest the thought of cloth diapering grosses me out. I love the fact that I can throw a nasty diaper in my diaper genie and be done with it. I can't imagine throwing a nasty, poop filled diaper in my wash. I also didn't think that cloth diapering would be any cheaper than using disposables once you factor in the added laundry and increase on your electric and water bill due to that.

However I saw a friend on Facebook who is very frugal comment on making the switch to cloth diapers because after spending 80bucks or more on diapers and wipes each month, cloth diapers were way cheaper

So I decided to look into it but u have no idea where to start. How do you know which cloth diapers to get, how many do you buy and how does cloth diapering even work?

Help!!!


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A Mother's Prayer for Her Daughter

I love this! I'm sure most of you have read this but I can't help but post this. It's hilarious. Written by the hysterical Tina Fey and taken from her book BossyPants

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered,

May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half

And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her

When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the nearby subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock N’ Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance.

Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes

And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.

Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long,

For Childhood is short — a Tiger Flower blooming

Magenta for one day –

And Adulthood is long and Dry-Humping in Cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever,

That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers

And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister,

Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends,

For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord,

That I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 a.m., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck.

“My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental note to call me. And she will forget.

But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.

My Biggest Fear

My biggest fear next to something happening to me and leaving Gianna motherless are tornado's. You would think growing up in the midwest I would be used to storm's and tornado's. Granted they are nothing like you see in Oklahoma and Texas but summer's in Wisconsin are prone to a lot of thunderstorms. I actually was in a tornado once as a little girl while girl scout camping which spawned my fear of storms and tornado's forever. All it took was for it to start drizzling outside and I was turning on the news and heading into my basement.

A basement. I really miss having one of those. Living in NC I can honestly say that I never really experienced a bad storm like the ones I experienced in Wi. Sure it rains more there but the storms always blew over very fast and were never as severe. Even now living in Florida we have been in the midst of a drought and I can count on one hand how many times it has rained.

So now with Tropical Storm Lee hitting Louisiana we are under a tropical storm warning and a tornado watch. This sent me into a panic. This is my first summer living in Florida. Whereas in NC we were 2.5 hours from the coast, I am 20 mins away. I have our hurricane kit all ready but as far as what to expect or really what to be prepared for I have no idea. When we first moved her our neighbor's said if a hurricane hit's we will have the heavy rain and damaging winds but the main concern is the spin off torando's. Perfect. Give me a basement please

I woke up at 3 this morning to it storming outside. I managed to fall asleep but when I woke up we had no power and to top it off the hubs leaves for 4 days today. Perfect. Now I am def not the army wife to complain about her husband leaving for four days. Don't get me wrong, I miss him and hate when he goes but we have been through 3 deployments and numerous classes and training that has taken him away from home. This past month alone he has been gone for 5 days a week, home for 2 and then leaves again. So this four days should have been a breeze. Now I'm just irritated. I can't believe they are still sending that guys away when not only are they leaving their families behind in severe weather in an area we all just moved to, but they are sending the guys to the middle of it. That's the army I guess. And I know this but I can't help but be irritated and afraid when they are still predicting tornado's in our area. As M left this morning he said it looked like a tornado touched down in a neighbor's yard since there fence is gone. And on the local news reports of funnel's touching down are now coming in. I already have my bathroom loaded with blanket's and a flashlight and Gianna and the dogs are not going to be let out of my sight for one second today!(AHH as I'm typing this the tv beeped and we are now under a tornado warning)

Hopefully everyone stays safe during this storm.

I had called my parent's this morning to tell them about the weather. They had gone to northern Wisconsin to stay at our family cottage. They were supposed to leave Friday to go up there but waited until yesterday to leave. Good thing they did. Once they neared the area where our cottage is they exit off the highway was blocked by a tree. Further driving they noticed a lot of damage and trees down. WHen they worked their way around the damage and got to our cottage both entrances to the cottage were blocked by tree's and a tree had fallen onto the roof. 45 years the cottage has been there and it has weathered it's fair share of storms. Luckily the tree didn't cause much damage. My dad and brother spent all day yesterday clearing the property and said about 75 trees had fallen down. That's a lot of trees. I'm just glad they are safe as well.

Looks like it's the weekend for bad weather. Praying for all those affected by this line of storms

A Shout Out

Many of you had asked where Gianna got the outfit she was wearing in this picture



I got this from the fabulous etsy shop Ella's Bows. I had ordered some other cute headbands and outfit's from her but those we are using for her 3 month pictures so I have no pictures of her in them yet.
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Ella's Bow's is one of my favorite etsy shops. Her site is filled with some very unique things. If I could I would buy one of everything!
To check out her shop click HERE


I just saw on her facebook page that she has added a lot of new things for fall! Have fun shopping

50 Rules for Dad's of Daughter's

I stole this from the blog From Dates to Diaper's. Her post included some awesome pics that go along with these rules. So click HERE to be taken to her site

1. Love her mom. Treat her mother with respect, honor, and a big heaping spoonful of public displays of affection. When she grows up, the odds are good she’ll fall in love with and marry someone who treats her much like you treated her mother. Good or bad, that’s just the way it is. I’d prefer good.

2. Always be there. Quality time doesn’t happen without quantity time. Hang out together for no other reason than just to be in each other’s presence. Be genuinely interested in the things that interest her. She needs her dad to be involved in her life at every stage. Don’t just sit idly by while she add years to her… add life to her years.


3. Save the day. She’ll grow up looking for a hero. It might as well be you. She’ll need you to come through for her over and over again throughout her life. Rise to the occasion. Red cape and blue tights optional.


4. Savor every moment you have together. Today she’s crawling around the house in diapers, tomorrow you’re handing her the keys to the car, and before you know it, you’re walking her down the aisle. Some day soon, hanging out with her old man won’t be the bees knees anymore. Life happens pretty fast. You better cherish it while you can.

5. Pray for her. Regularly. Passionately. Continually.


6. Buy her a glove and teach her to throw a baseball. Make her proud to throw like a girl… a girl with a wicked slider.


7. She will fight with her mother. Choose sides wisely.


8. Go ahead. Buy her those pearls.

9. Of course you look silly playing peek-a-boo. You should play anyway.


10. Enjoy the wonder of bath time.

11. There will come a day when she asks for a puppy. Don’t over think it. At least one time in her life, just say, “Yes.”

12. It’s never too early to start teaching her about money. She will still probably suck you dry as a teenager… and on her wedding day.


13. Make pancakes in the shape of her age for breakfast on her birthday. In a pinch, donuts with pink sprinkles and a candle will suffice.


14. Buy her a pair of Chucks as soon as she starts walking. She won’t always want to wear matching shoes with her old man.


15. Dance with her. Start when she’s a little girl or even when she’s a baby. Don’t wait ‘til her wedding day.


16. Take her fishing. She will probably squirm more than the worm on your hook. That’s OK.

17. Learn to say no. She may pitch a fit today, but someday you’ll both be glad you stuck to your guns.

18. Tell her she’s beautiful. Say it over and over again. Someday an animated movie or “beauty” magazine will try to convince her otherwise.


19. Teach her to change a flat. A tire without air need not be a major panic inducing event in her life. She’ll still call you crying the first time it happens.


20. Take her camping. Immerse her in the great outdoors. Watch her eyes fill with wonder the first time she sees the beauty of wide open spaces. Leave the iPod at home.


21. Let her hold the wheel. She will always remember when daddy let her drive.

22. She’s as smart as any boy. Make sure she knows that.

23. When she learns to give kisses, she will want to plant them all over your face. Encourage this practice.


24. Knowing how to eat sunflower seeds correctly will not help her get into a good college. Teach her anyway.

25. Letting her ride on your shoulders is pure magic. Do it now while you have a strong back and she’s still tiny.


26. It is in her nature to make music. It’s up to you to introduce her to the joy of socks on a wooden floor.


27. If there’s a splash park near your home, take her there often. She will be drawn to the water like a duck to a puddle.


28. She will eagerly await your return home from work in the evenings. Don’t be late.


29. If her mom enrolls her in swim lessons, make sure you get in the pool too. Don’t be intimidated if there are no other dads there. It’s their loss.

30. Never miss her birthday. In ten years she won’t remember the present you gave her. She will remember if you weren’t there.


31. Teach her to roller skate. Watch her confidence soar.


32. Let her roll around in the grass. It’s good for her soul. It’s not bad for yours either.

33. Take her swimsuit shopping. Don’t be afraid to veto some of her choices, but resist the urge to buy her full-body beach pajamas.


34. Somewhere between the time she turns three and her sixth birthday, the odds are good that she will ask you to marry her. Let her down gently.


35. She’ll probably want to crawl in bed with you after a nightmare. This is a good thing.


36. Few things in life are more comforting to a crying little girl than her father’s hand. Never forget this.

37. Introduce her to the swings at your local park. She’ll squeal for you to push her higher and faster. Her definition of “higher and faster” is probably not the same as yours. Keep that in mind.

38. When she’s a bit older, your definition of higher and faster will be a lot closer to hers. When that day comes, go ahead… give it all you’ve got.


39. Holding her upside down by the legs while she giggles and screams uncontrollably is great for your biceps. WARNING: She has no concept of muscle fatigue.

40. She might ask you to buy her a pony on her birthday. Unless you live on a farm, do not buy her a pony on her birthday. It’s OK to rent one though.

41. Take it easy on the presents for her birthday and Christmas. Instead, give her the gift of experiences you can share together.


42. Let her know she can always come home. No matter what.


43. Remember, just like a butterfly, she too will spread her wings and fly some day. Enjoy her caterpillar years.

44. Write her a handwritten letter every year on her birthday. Give them to her when she goes off to college, becomes a mother herself, or when you think she needs them most.


45. Learn to trust her. Gradually give her more freedom as she gets older. She will rise to the expectations you set for her.

46. When in doubt, trust your heart. She already does.


47. When your teenage daughter is upset, learning when to engage and when to back off will add years to YOUR life. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

48. Ice cream covers over a multitude of sins. Know her favorite flavor.


49. This day is coming soon. There’s nothing you can do to be ready for it. The sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be.


50. Today she’s walking down the driveway to get on the school bus. Tomorrow she’s going off to college. Don’t blink.

About Michael(author)

Michael Mitchell is an (almost) thirty-something dad who blogs daily tips and life lessons for dads of daughters at lifetoheryears.com. He spends his days practicing the arts of fatherhood and husbandry, while attempting to be a man of God and a professional raiser of philanthropic funds. On the rare occasion he’s not tied up with the aforementioned and other pursuits of awesomeness, he enjoys fighting street gangs for local charities and drinking from a cup that’s half full.