A to Z Challenge Blogging

Hi everyone. I'll be Blogging from A to Z for the first time. It's for the entire month of April, except for Sundays, but I'm excited to get some blogging in every day and read what so many others have to say. This is only the second kind of blog challenge I've participated in, so I'm anxious to get going. I participated in Gearing Up To Get An Agent (GUTGAA) a few years ago, and honestly, I follow and communicate (through Twitter mostly) with these friends more than any other online friends I've encountered. That being said, I'm encouraged with this new challenge for me.

So stay tuned for daily posts, with each post relating to a letter in the alphabet; a to z. The first letter (A) post will happen on Friday!!

 to 

Favorites Right Now: Top 10 Children's Books

Keeping up with my most recent post, "Favorites Right Now: Top 5 Songs," I'm going to share my favorites right now for children's books. This mix will include many I read to the kiddos repeatedly at their request, but there are a few that aren't read as often but I love the story and illustrations.

• I'm A Hungry Dinosaur by Janeen Brian & Ann James
• I'm A Dirty Dinosaur by Janeen Brian & Ann James
• Happy Hippo, Angry Duck (A Book Of Moods) by Sandra Boynton
• Underpants For Ants by Russell Punter & Fred Blunt
• That's Not My Dinosaur by Fiona Watt & Rachel Wells
• Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me by Eric Carle
• I Want To Be An Astronaut by Ruby Brown & Alisa Coburn
• B Is For Bedtime by Margaret Hamilton & Anna Pignataro
• Dog And Mouse by Michelle Nelson-Schmidt
• Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle & Jill McElmurry

Please feel free to share your favorites right now in the comments below.

Favorites Right Now: Top 5 Songs

My choices for favorite songs always seem to change, but here's a list of my favorites right now:

• "Anna Molly" by Incubus
• "Between The Lines" by Stone Temple Pilots
• "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters
• "Tonight" by Seether
• "Numb" by Linkin Park

What are your favorite songs right now?


















Please feel free to share your favorites right now in the comments below.

We're Talking About Swim Lessons

My daughter is two years old and will reach the "oh my goodness I can't believe she's going to be three!" very soon. My son is 15 months old and we recently signed them both up for swim lessons.

They've had a limited amount of time in pools before the swim lessons, and they were all positive experiences for them. Marshall seems to love the water from start to finish without any hesitation. Adelaide seems a little more cautious at first, but as soon as she gets warmed up, she will start to jump off the sides by herself.

Let me repeat that. She can jump off the side into the water, BY HERSELF!! Even Marshall steps off the side while holding hands and loves every second of it.

Swim lessons have made me quickly realize, if I hadn't fully grasped it before, that my wife and I have two kids and not two babies. We've known for a while that Adelaide is a "big girl," but we recently talked to her about how Marshall is now a toddler.

I know where the time went, because Meghan and I do as much as we can to be involved with every second, but where did the time go?!? Swim lessons just happen to be one of those things that make me stop to think and hope I've done everything to this point to make sure they know that their dad loves them as much as possible, and hope that I haven't missed anything.

They've had a couple of swim lessons so far. Marshall seems to enjoy going off the side and being submerged. Adelaide likes swimming by herself and even floating on her back; all with a floaty strapped around both of them of course.

It's been almost three years since Meghan gave birth to Adelaide, and now, we have two wonderfully enthusiastic, fun, and loving kids that go to and enjoy swim lessons. They're not super heroes in the making. They're already there.

Two of a Kind

The past four years have included a marriage and two children. I am lucky to consider my life-long partner to be my perfect match, and I am still amazed at how lucky we are with our children.

One is two years old and the other is one year old; more specifically, our daughter will be three next month, and our son is 15 months old.

It's pretty amazing to think of how much has changed in such a relatively short amount of time. Tonight for instance, Meghan and I watched as our two kids played together around a play-kitchen AND they both shared "food" with us as we had our very own tea party.

Adelaide made us "the best Golden Grahams," while Marshall continued to feed us a wide variety of plastic vegetables from a pink grocery cart. This fun interaction reminded us how much they mimic each other, and how much they truly appreciate each other's company even if they can't express it an absolute verbal way.

Marshall says momma and dada and nana and I'm so excited! Okay, so the last one isn't true, but his expression when he hears that his big sister is coming down the stairs is nothing short of pure joy, as he stands near the ottoman (our blockade for the living room), grunts enthusiastically, and bobs up and down with a gigantic smile on his face. It's amazing to see each morning, and it is almost every morning because he usually wakes up before her.

Now whether Adelaide wakes up before mommy or Marshall, she always asks where they are and why they are where they are. If they're still in bed, she'll ask why and then ask if she can snuggle with her mommy. If they're downstairs, we'll go downstairs, listen as Marshall waits for her to come down, and then ask to snuggle with mommy on the couch.

They both have favorite blankies; Adelaide's is homemade, pink, and covered with owls, while Marshall's is gifted, blue, and covered with tags. They love bringing it downstairs with them, most of the time, and sometimes wish they can bring it with us on our trips to the grocery store or anywhere else. It's okay, we have backup blankets in the car for them.

During any car ride, Adelaide will tell us what Marshall is saying; "Marshall saying, 'ma ma ma.'" Marshall will always look around his rear-facing car seat to look at Adelaide and laugh as she talks or makes sounds to mimic Marshall. They are their own "dynamic duo." They are Superman and Wonder Woman. They are Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. They are Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton. Granted, they're not old enough to understand or even say some of the things these people say, but the fondness for which they have for each other translates so well to such duos.

As Kirk and Spock were at the playground this past weekend, it was great to watch them both watch each other. She would go one direction and he would follow. He would go to another slide and she would want to follow too. They have created this fantastic bond and Meghan and I are so proud of it. They absolutely adore each other and we hope this connection will be a foundation for them to depend on each other as they get older.

Perhaps one day in the next year or so, Marshall will do something he shouldn't, and maybe, just maybe, Adelaide encourages this something. The hope will be that they have built such a solid friendship and bond that something like this (or something similar many years down the road) won't damage what has been such an amazing thing to watch; pure joy with each other's company.

My greatest hope is for them to depend on each other, learn from each other, and continue to build on their relationship and know that regardless of the circumstances, they will be there to help one another, and hopefully find a way to smile and laugh and realize what they have is exactly what they want with other friends.

As Picard and Guinan move forward, I cannot wait to see them smile and laugh more and more, and hope their bond continues to grow out of this world.