Daddy Daughter Days

So I have a not-so-dirty secret.  In fact it's a not-so-secret secret.

I don't take a lot of pictures of my kids.

I know that this isn't common practice for people in the blog world.  In fact most bloggers consider themselves semi-professional photographers.  I'm just not that guy.  I don't consider contrast or framing when it comes to taking a picture.  I don't consider much of anything.

In fact I rarely think to whip out my phone and take pictures.  When I have a day off with my girls, my priority is spending time with them and interacting with them.  And I don't do it through a lens.  I'm not saying that people who spend all their time with their kids setting up photos are bad.

Actually yes I am.  Every interaction with your child shouldn't be through a camera.  I'm all for adorable pictures.  In fact about 99% of the pictures on my Instagram are my girls.  I get it.  My first instinct just has never been "Where's my camera so I can document this?"  I think about talking to them and playing with them without a camera in their face.  With how image-conscious we are and the emphasis that has been placed on looks in our society, it's probably for the best.
This of course is a roundabout way of explaining why I didn't post this last week.  I've got some photos for you this week though.  Enjoy.

My day really started the night before.  Erin went out with Kim to enjoy their last burger from The Counter before it closes down this week.  So I was left alone with the girls that evening.  Ana was enjoying her bath time.  Grace was anti-paparazzi.

We went to Target for a few items.  We always seem to find something there that we weren't looking for to distract us.  Are these not the cutest tissue boxes ever?

We purchased new pads for our patio furniture last week in the lead-up to Mother's Day.  When we were at Target we also saw a throw pillow that was a perfect match for the pads.  Unfortunately there was only one, so that was all we bought.  Since I was at Target, I figured I'd stop by the patio section and see if they had any more.  They did.  I bought three more.  I made my wife happy.  Sometimes it's just the little things.

Another great thing about Thursdays with my girls is the Giants usually have an afternoon game scheduled, so the girls and I usually catch the first inning together before nap time.  Here Ana and Grace are showing their team pride by taking off my hat and putting it on themselves.  Grace was also clapping when she saw fans doing it on the television.  I immediately died.

Grace doing her best Banksy impersonation.  She is such a cutting-edge street artist and so underappreciated in her own time.

When Erin got home, we went on a family walk to the park.  The girls love the playground.  Here Grace is going back and forth through the tube.  Ana was doing the same, but she was much more elusive.

Oh if the pictures weren't enough, I also have videos!

Ana just dancing away.  My favorite part is when Grace is laughing at her.  Probably because she knows she has better moves than her sister.

Grace is so fearless.  Ana has to be coaxed and then essentially pushed down the slide.  Grace just does it without hesitation.

That's all from our Daddy Daughter Day adventure this week.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Daddy Daughter Days

I told myself at the beginning of last week that I would be a responsible blogger while being featured on Multiples and More.

That didn't last.

I was done posting stuff by the middle of the week and totally didn't post my Daddy Daughter Day from Thursday.  I suck.  Get used to it.

A few days late, but I'd figure I'd post it anyway.  Enjoy.

In my free and easy years (read: single), I would take a day off on the first day of the NCAA tournament.  I'd drink beer and eat wings all day and flip between 4-5 games at a time without ever watching a commercial.  Thursday is my normal day off now, so I thought I might get to watch some basketball with the girls today.  Didn't happen.  And as you can see by my Final Four, I'm screwed and stopped caring pretty quickly.

The girls kept looking at pictures of their mom throughout the morning and saying "Mama" while pointing at them.  So heartbreakingly adorable.

Help us.  We're trapped under here...

She's such a responsible care giver to here baby dolls.  Look at the attention she gives...

Okay maybe not.

We went outside to play in the rain.  It was lots of fun.  Especially playing with muddy rocks.

Grace stopping to smell the flowers.  This was right before Ana tried to pull the petals off.

After playing in the rain, Grace wrapped herself up in the warm blanket to rest.

I have no words.

Ana was tuckered out too.

"We can climb onto the couch all by ourselves.  Have fun worrying about us falling off because we stand and run across it.  Hooray!"

Erin brought a small table and benches home that her grandfather made for her when she was a little girl.  The girls love it already.  They wasted no time climbing onto the bench and sitting together.  We now have it in their book nook, so they can sit and read or color together.

It was another great day (except for my bracket).  See you next week.

Daddy Daughter Days

I realize that last week I didn't post a Daddy Daughter Days.

I apologize for any heartache this caused.  I know the real reason anyone reads this blog is to see pictures of my daughters.  My writing is mediocre, so we know that's not the reason.  So it must be pictures of them that draws you in.

So I'm back this week in spite of wanting to just rest my weary mind.

Nothing too special.  Just pictures for you to ooh and aww at.

The sunlight was coming in through the window just right, so that it caught the dust particles in the air.  Grace was grabbing at them but couldn't quite catch anything.

I love kids in overalls.  Especially my kids in overalls.  I hope it never gets old.

Have any of you Instagram users out there noticed that basically every other picture is feet or food?  This was my contribution to the former.  Grace's foot is on your left.  Ana's on your right.  Don't think that is some dad intuition or anything.  Ana's toe crosses over another one.  Not sure what caused it...probably something Erin did.

I see my girls doing things like this and wonder how anyone can have just one kid.  It seems criminal not to have more than one.

No she didn't write her own name.  That would be pretty amazing if she did, right?  She was just walking everywhere and writing random blue lines all over the ground.

She has the look of an artist, doesn't she?  All forlorn and crap.  Although I don't think Picasso tried to eat his paint or brushes.  Just shows that Grace is that much more dedicated to her art.

Ana rocking a fake smile.  Normally she has a toothy grin, but this one was a little more reserved.  If you look closely, you can see the rock in her hand.  She has a habit of collecting rocks and also trying to eat them.

And this is just our attempt to keep it gangsta up in our house.  You can tell it's gangsta because I used a Z instead of an S on "KIDZ".

Hope this was enough to tame the masses after missing last week.  You'll see us next Thursday.

Daddy Daughter Days

Not much of a story to tell you from this Thursday.  Instead we're going to let the pictures tell the story.  Mostly.



Breakfast in bed




That's not my bear



They love this dog

 

The real Nook



CHEESE!!!

Blustery day

Redecorating

Fashionista

My Shoes

Seriously. Can't emphasize enough how much they love her

Daddy Daughter Days

Once again my busy life has gotten in the way of putting pen to paper or fingers to keys.  So I come to you late on my second consecutive week.  It didn't mean my day was any less enjoyable.  I hope you agree.

Ana wanted to start the day with a refreshing shower.  She has yet to figure out how to open the shower door, but that certainly won't stop her from trying.

Cream cheese on an English muffin.  Grace loved it.  Who would have thought?

Erin got a balloon for her birthday from one of our family friends.  The girls spent the morning fighting over it.  Actually Ana would smack it and run away.  Then she would try to take off with the plastic weight that keeps it from flying away.  Grace wasn't having that, so she played keep away from her sister.

Yes, I could get her down instead of taking the picture.  But I'm thinking of you dear readers.

When they girls go down for their nap, it is clean the house time.  If the kitchen is cleaned quickly enough, it becomes TV time for Dad.  I figure it's for the best to not subject my kids to zombies.  That's more of a year three kind of thing.

Grace woke up from her nap first, but she was feeling lonely.  She figured it was time for Ana to be up too, so she started reaching through the bars on the crib to get her up.

I love this kid so much!  Erin bought be a new Ireland hat.  Grace found it and actually put it on herself then started walking all over the house with it.

We went shopping all over.  We went to Ulta to buy Erin a new curling iron (Yes, I am an awesome husband.  Thanks for recognizing.).  Then we were to Home Depot for some stuff for around the house.  Finally we went to Target.  As I pulled Grace out of the car, she started saying "BALL" very enthusiastically.  I wondered what the heck she was talking about until I turned around and saw this in front of the Target.  Good call Grace.  It was a big ball.

Erin's birthday is around the corner.  It's Oreo's 100th birthday.  They have special edition Birthday Cake Oreos.  I had to purchase them.  They were amaze-balls of deliciosity.  Seriously.  Cake batter flavored Oreos.  Purchase them.  Now.

Have a great weekend everyone!  See you next Thursday.

Daddy Daughter Days

I know that I'm a few days behind on my normal Thursday post.  This is what happens when you work open to close on a Friday and have no time to write.

But you don't care about my excuses.  You just care about pictures of my children, so I'll get on with it.

I love when they "read" their books.  Grace speaks in gibberish as if that is the sentence structure in her colors or counting books.  Ana slams her hand against anything she likes and says "doggy" or "happy happy happy".  Yes it is as adorable as it sounds.

We broke out a new toy this week that is basically a modified leaf blower...in elephant form.  It shoot balls our of it's trunk when you push a button.  Ana likes to push it and run away.  Grace likes to push it and keep her hand over the trunk, so she can grab the ball.  They've also figured out where to put the plastic balls to have them shoot in the air.  And after a few days, they figured out the air coming out of the trunk will blow in their face, and that makes them laugh.

They both decided to take turns wearing their mom's fuzzy hat.  By taking turns I mean that Grace saw Ana wearing it and chased after her until she could get it off her head.  Later when Grace inevitably lost interest in it, she took it off and Ana kept trying to put it back on Grace's head.

Ana also pulled it over her own eyes and got the hugest smile on her face.  It's the little things I guess.

With Valentine's Day coming up, the girls and I decided to go shopping for Erin.  I love then planning and execution that goes into giving gifts.  I always try to put a lot of thought into the process and really consider what people want.  Even if they didn't really know they wanted it.

Grace is ready for pitchers and catchers to report.  Bring on baseball season already!

Our new Thursday tradition.  We play in the back yard.  We throw the ball up in the air as high as we can.  We climb the bridge.  At one point Grace lost her footing and tumbling off the bridge into the grass.  I had a mini-heart attack.  She just looked up at the sky and started laughing.  Glad to know she tries to find the humor in things at such an early age.

I'm taking part in the February Photo A Day challenge on Instagram.  Thursday's prompt was front door.  I tried to get a picture with the girls from outside our front door, but that turned into a herding cats situation since the both just wanted to run in opposite directions.  Instead I took a photo of what we have above our front door.  It's Gaelic for "a thousand warm welcomes".

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.  See you next Thursday.