Durango Dance

Maia has been taking dance at the Durango Dance studio for 8 weeks now. To say she loves it would be an understatement. Her instructor, Miss Kristin, is awesome!

Enjoy a few videos (that can apparently only be viewed when using an actual computer):

Parents cannot be in the studio during regular class but every 4 weeks we are invited in to see what they have learned. And yes, I am a sap. As one of the few Dad's who attends, I cry more than the Mom's. She makes my heart melt! Insanely confident that one!

She has decided, however, to take the next 6 weeks off to pursue ice skating. Stay tuned for that. Let's hope for no broken bones or head injuries.

Hasta..

What I've Learned (So Far)

I'm officially 6 months into this stay-at-home Daddy business. I was having a moment of reflection today and here is what came to mind:

Talking gets more accomplished than yelling. After my fair share of yelling, I finally get it.

When asked "Daddy can we do your hair and make up?" The right answer is always "yes". Or they provide their fair share of whining until I finally give in.

Pick my battles. (Refer to reflection just prior to this one).

Cartoons give you 5 minutes of peace. Thank you Disney, Nickelodeon, and PBS.

They have their own sense of style. Let them pick out their own clothes. (Refer to Pick my battles again). Plus, I apparently can't match girls clothes to save my life. Who knew there were so many different colors of pink?

Have a plan for the day with some kind of activity. I have quickly learned how to do "crafts".

At 1 (almost 2) and 3 years old, they have an opinion on everything. I thought I had several more years (like teenage years) before this happened. With 2 girls and a wife in the house I better get used to it. I don't get my own opinion anymore.

Kids don't drink water or milk, they live on juice. Coming from a kid who grew up on Kool-Aid, I guess this is an improvement. 

I'm hearing the things my parents said, that I hated, coming out of my mouth on a regular basis. "I'm not mad, I'm disappointed" and "Because I said so" are common ones. Sorry Mom and Dad.

Every meal is a battle. (Enough said. You get this if you are a parent).

 

I'm always carrying somebody's purse.

There is no such thing as sleeping in anymore. And Sunday mornings are no exception. Might as well be Tuesday as far as kids are concerned.

They make me laugh everyday.

They teach me much more than I teach them.

Enjoy every minute because they grow up too fast. I must have that cheesy statement a thousand times. Damn, it's true.

I fall in love with them more and more everyday!

Hasta...

Preschool Class Photos

Maia had her first class photo taken a couple of weeks ago. Turns out we have the tall kid in class! She has always been tall for her age but it appears she is officially the tallest. Welcome to the back row kid. Might as well get used to it. Doesn't look like anybody is going to catch you any time soon! 

And here is her individual photo. 

Remember the days of the boring Olan Mills gray background? Or if your parents were rich you could upgrade to that weird sci-fi laser space/star background? I guess we just don't get that kind of classy anymore (or maybe we just didn't special order that much awesomeness)!
(Photos by Niki Bryant Photography)

Hasta...

Introducing Eva!

Poor Eva has been a bit neglected in this blog so far. So here is a post dedicated solely to her! 

"Daddy and Reva's Special DAY!" 

In case you can't tell from the video that's what she is shouting, "Daddy and Reva's Special DAY!" And why would you be able to understand her? I'm her Dad and I can barely understand her. (No need to go calling the pediatrician or speech therapist, I assure you she is right on track for a 23 month old).
And she calls herself Reva, not Eva. So let me also assure you that is not a typo.

Maia goes to all day preschool on Tuesday's and Thursday's leaving Eva some much needed alone time with Daddy. She's actually pretty sad when we drop Maia off at school and asks about her frequently throughout the day. I have to reminded her some days that she should be enjoying some alone time with Daddy, that this is her special time with Daddy. She often just looks at me and then asks for Maia to come home... That is why I recorded (admittedly a poor recording) of her being excited about our special day. So that I have proof, one day when she is a teenager, that she did enjoy hanging out with me at one time (or at least she said she enjoyed hanging out with me!).

We go to story time at the library on Thursday mornings and some times another stay-at-home dad friend of mine joins us. Otherwise, it's me and the mom's. I have gotten used to this.

On this particular day we went to the neighborhood park. Enjoy a few picture of Eva in all her playground glory!

More posts on Eva to follow, promise!

Hasta...

Garcia Family Date Night

The girls love going to "Old McDonalds" (aka Burger King because Whoppers are way better then Big Macs...sorry McDonalds) for family date night. And as luck would have it, we have an "Old McDonalds" (with a playground - score!) within walking/bike riding distance from our house. 
What makes this particular Garcia Family Date Date special is that Maia rode her big girl bike all the way by herself, even across the bouncy suspension bridge! 
I mean this is Maia's moment. But as the Daddy who hauls the extra 70 lbs of girls and bike trailer around town every other day of the week, I'm also claiming this as a personal victory! 

I don't know quite how to put this...but I'm kind of a big deal:

Hasta...

Oh Boy...Literally

I think I actually felt a little piece of my heart break today!

When I picked up my 3 year old from preschool, she whispered to a boy. When I asked her what he said to him she told me that she just told him goodbye. But on the way home she says this to me: "Daddy, I think Chase is handsome!"  

WHAT? She's 3! Just yesterday I was the handsome one. Now there's Chase! A little fire (a white hot fire) showed up from no where and I had a sudden desire to go to that little boy's house (little home wrecker!) and tell him to stay away from my little girl. (Just in case Chase's parents ever get wind of this... To be fair, Chase could be any boy. Insert any name here. Wouldn't matter!).

Preschool. Boys. Handsome boys. This was a first, of many, and I don't like it. Stop the little girl growing up ride, I want to get off. 



Hasta...

Mommy is the greatest!

This happens every other Wednesday:

48 hours of uninterrupted Daddy-Daughter time.

June 1, 2013 My wife, Magan, and I made a MAJOR life change. We packed up and moved the family 350 miles away from Denver to a new home and life in Durango, Colorado. We needed something new, more outdoorsy, and with less material distractions. We wanted our girls to be able to ski/snowboard, hike, camp, be in nature without having to schedule it into our lives and/or have to drive hours to accomplish that goal. We wanted to spend more time together as a family. We wanted our girls to grow up a bit more small town (not too small town, but small town enough where we are friends with our neighbors and can walk or bike most places, which we do). We wanted to spend less time in the car commuting EVERYWHERE.

This is where Magan comes in. Magan's job was awesome enough to negotiate a plan where she could move to Durango AND keep her current position. They allowed Magan to continue to work from home full time with "office face time" every other week. So every other Wednesday we pack Mommy up and send her off to Denver via the not-so glamorous Durango airport. (Sometimes she drives but a 700 mile, 12 hour round trip every other week is not really accomplishing the goal of commuting less, so she flies when she can...or unless the whole "fam damily" is heading to Denver together).

This leaves the girls and me to survive on our own from Wednesday to Friday. And really, it doesn't change much. We FaceTime so we can all get a small daily dose of choppy, broken communication. Magan leaves us with a well organized schedule of daily activities and meals. There is crying, there is whining for Mommy, but there is also whiskey! And we survive. Mommy really is the greatest!

Hasta...

What Have I Done?! (Am I allowed to use the same blog title twice...and other things I don't know)

I have yet to publish this blog. But I did share it with my trusted advisor (i.e. my wife's best friend), who knows all things Blogs, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.). She said it was awesome and I should publish right away. I have my doubts though...

What am I doing?
Should I share?
Will anybody read this?
Is this funny?
Does this represent what I want it to?

As I type this, this is what is going through my head:




For those of you older than 20, you know what I am talking about. For those of you under 20, welcome to one of the best shows ever created (YouTube it. You won't regret it!).

And, because this blog is supposed to be about my girls, here's a picture:

Hasta...