A Great Morning.

Good morning everyone. I'm on the bus right now and figured it would be a good time to write a quick note  about how my morning was the complete opposite of yesterday. It went perfectly. Sierra not only slept until my alarm went off she let me hit snooze for 10 minutes and then get everything else ready. Having everything all set, including myself, before having to start getting her dressed and fed is a huge leg up in the race out the door.

When I first went into her room she was crying a bit and asking for Lauren but after about 15 seconds of holding and a game where I pretended her fingers and toes were bananas and that I was STARVING she was giggling and ready to get help pick out her clothes.

We threw the clothes on, the 'clippies' in her hair and toast in her mouth and out the door we went. The rain that was pounding the window earlier in the morning had now subsided and the sun was just beginning to poke through the clouds making our trip much easier than yesterday.

On the stroll to daycare I noticed Fall had certainty begun to fall here in Boston. This is THE best time of the year to be in Boston in case any of you are considering vacationing in the next couple of months, its truly a beautiful time of year. On the walk I asked her if she knew why their were leaves covering the sidewalk and explained that the seasons were beginning to change. I explained that Summer is lots of fun because its warm, sunny and we get to go to the beach but that Autumn can be just as much fun, just in different ways. I explained about the leaves falling and the crunching sound they make when you walk on them. I asked if she remembered going to the apple orchard to pick apples and pumpkins. I reminded her about how we went on a hay ride and asked if she'd like to do that again to which she answered "Yes… some day".

It was a wonderful walk and as much as I miss our leisurely mornings I'm beginning to remember why I love the special mornings between just my daughter and I even more.

-Craig

Best Apps for Toddlers & Dads!

I haven't done an app review in a long time so I figured why not tell you Sierra's top 3 apps and my favorite 3 as well. These may not be the best apps out there but they are the top 3 we have been using as of late. Enjoy and feel free to tell us your favorite apps in the comments section below! -Craig

Sierra has recently been playing "Nighty Night" on our pals iPad so I gave in and bought it for the iPhone as well. It's a hybrid between a goodnight book / and an interactive game that allows you to put all the animals at the farm to bed one by one by shutting their lights off. There are a few other fun little interactions that you get to do by tapping the animals; some bark, moo, do a little dance, etc. It's beautifully illustrated and well worth the $1 for the iPhone or $3 on the iPad.

NightyNight - $2.99 (iPad) or 99 cents (iPhone) - Download Here

 

Next up is one of Sierra's all-time favorite apps: Tozzle. It's a puzzle game that allows the player to drag the objects from the corner and put them in the corresponding holes where they should go mimicking the wooden shape puzzles that are awesome but not so great when you're on the go. There are fun sound effects and it also reads the names of the letters, fruit and various other objects you create. They add new puzzles all the time and for $2 bucks it's WELL worth it. Tozzle has saved us from meltdowns in many of restaurant. Thanks Tozzle.

Tozzle - $1.99 (and theres also a free version!) - Download Here

 

I personally am not a fan of this game as it's basically the same couple of tasks over and over… and over. Wake the animal up, wash it, feed it - thats it. But the game wasn't made for me, it was made for toddlers - and my toddler LOVES it. It's 99 cents and for that you get 5 or 6 animals. You can pay more and unlock other animals as well. In addition to the wake/wash/feed/repeat portion of the game it also has a couple of other neat features; educational videos of the animals, a sticker book and a few little mini-games. It's pretty neat and Sierra loves it.

Curious George at the Zoo - 99 Cents - Download Here

 

OK so now onto the apps that I love. I'm a big fan of taking panoramic shots because I feel they just capture the moment and location a lot better than just a standard photograph. I used to use "360 panorama" which is good and all but just can't compare to the $2 "DMD Panorama", it works flawlessly and is very easy to use. The images it outputs are amazing and I highly suggest you pick this one up. Check out some of the panoramas here.

DMD Panorama - $1.99 - Download Here

 

I hate to say it because EVERYONE (and their mother) is on Instagram but yes Instagram is an app I have various accounts for and that I use everyday. I won't go into detail about why it's awesome because I assume you're already on it but if you're not what are you waiting for!?! Get on it and then follow us! Our username is: TheHipsterDad :-)

Instagram - FREE - Download Here

 

Last but not least is Cinemagram. Think Instagram but it allows you to animate certain portions of the photo. It's fun, creepy and you can make some AMAZING looking images!

Cinemagram - FREE - Download Here

 

Here are some cool examples of the type of images you can create:

Damn dude, you got daddy skills...

Check out this awesome music video about what it takes to be a dad from the awesome dudes over at HorizonAve.com. It's a commentary on entering the brave world of extra-early mornings, advanced diaper-changing technique, and the ins and outs of playground etiquette. Enjoy!! -C

 

Happy 4th of July Post!

Happy (belated) 4th of July everyone! Ours was AWESOME! If you don't know already Don Naylor (Adeline's Daddy) and his adorable family moved to Massachusetts! They moved from Troy, NY to Marblehead, MA and invited us to spend a couple of days with them enjoying the holiday at their new home. Their home is beautiful and so is their new town. It's a classic american beach / vacation town and it was great way to spend the 4th.


p.s. Writing this post reminded me that we've been blogging for over a year at this point -- Check out 2011's "Happy 4th of July Post!" -- A whole year... thats crazy to me. Anyway enough nastolgia check out 35 or so adorable photos from our 2 day trip. -Craig

Don & Rachel practicing for if they ever have a second child. 

Addy cheesing for the camera.

Addy is a huge fan of fans.

BFFs in the making hanging down by the dock.

(vegan) Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese.

family portrait.

Me teaching the girls the wonders of rolling down hills.

Sierra was quickly a fan.

Hey! Why you take picture of me?

Mama and Sierra rolling down the hill.

Sierras face is the best in this picture.

HIGHER DADDY HIGHER!!!

Yeah man..... nature.

Wait what do you mean theres no more chips???

FACEPLANT.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm crackers.

The beautiful harbor where we watched the fireworks.

Waiting for the show to start.

family portrait.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

oooooooooooooooh aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

AMERICA!!!

Here we are the next day hanging in the shade at a nearby park.

Mmmmmm cream cheese.

PEEKA BOO!

Lauren and her cameo.

Tattooed Daddy club.

Organic Kids.

Waiting for Addy to come down the slide.

Facebook checking break.

AHHHH TOAST MONSTER!

GRUMPY.

From Troy to Boston: Adeline's Daddy & Family come for a visit! -- PART 2

So meant to post this last week but life got int he way so here we go! So on day two of "Don Does Massachusetts" we explored some neighborhoods so they could get a feel for the different parts of Boston. We checked out Back Bay, Brookline and a few other places. I won't bore you make you jealous with the details but here are some cute photos from the day! It was a lovely day shared with new pals and we miss them already! -Craig


(p.s. If you missed part 1 read here!)

For lunch we went to one of our favorite spots The Otherside Cafe which sadly is closing in less than 20 days! Glad Don, Rachel and Addy got to try it out before it closes it's doors. Here are Sierra and Addy enjoying some cucumbers and sunnies:

Here is Don on double swing duty for the girls. I die from the cuteness.

Sierra shredding up the playground!

Rachel taking a nice picture while Addy is eyeing the boys on the basketball court.

Addy enjoying the sandbox.

Apparently my daughter is half puppy and enjoys the feel of the open air on her tongue?

ACTION SHOT! Best part of the photo is Rachel's face.

She used to be frightened of this bridge and here she is enjoying it for the first time (with a little help of course!)