Tell us what to blog about!

I'm stumped on something interesting to blog about this week. So how about YOU tell us what to blog about? :-) -Craig

I have a Love / Hate Relationship with technology!

On one hand I am a graphic designer who reads TechCrunch, Engadget and Mashable. I have owned every apple product in the past 10 years and use them every single day. On the other hand I love "old stuff" meaning I have a nice hifi stereo  instead of a TV, my book collection heavily outweighs my movie collection and I even tried to institute a Disconnect Day for my family. There is nothing I hate more than when I am talking to a friend and realize they aren't answering me anymore so I look over at them and low and behold they are on Twitter or Instagram. It's like "HELLO! I'M RIGHT HERE A REAL HUMAN BEING!!!". But I can't lie, I'm just as guilty of doing the same to others. I feel we miss out on (real) life because we are so immersed in the digital lives we all lead. It's just setting priorities and finding that balance I feel we all struggle with. I do LOVE aspects of the "connectedness" of the technology though, it's not all bad and evil. While sometimes it makes us disconnected from our friends and families, other times it can have the complete opposite effect. Recently I went to Chicago for work and got to see and hear my family "face to face" because of this technology.

Sierra's grandparents live an hour away so although we visit often it's nice to catch up in between visits. We call at least once a week, but sometimes it's nice to send videos and on occasion we even video chat. Yes my Mom can video chat! Just like the Apple iPad commercials! Sierra loves doing it! Here is a cute video we sent last week:

So this post wasn't saying much, it was more of an declaration of how I feel: I love and hate technology. Or perhaps, I love it but I wish I hated it? I don't know. Anyway what do you guys think? Do you find your friends and family more or less disconnected now that we have smart phones, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Or do you like me see it both ways? Would love to know how you and your family find that balance. Let me know! -Craig

p.s. please take a second and click the banner to give us a vote on Top Baby Blogs? :-)

Our weekend via Instagram ♥

Photos by:
Us + Before I Was A Mom + Just By Living

p.s. please take a second and click the banner to give us a vote on Top Baby Blogs? :-)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Hello all,


Sorry we haven't been posting as much lately but we've both just been SO busy with work, the holidays, etc. Anyyywayyyy I am sitting in my living room supposed to be getting some work done but just can't focus so figured I'd take a mental break and write in here. Yesterday was a wonderful Thanksgiving for us. We decided to do it small and just stay home and have Thanksgiving with just the three of us. Lauren cooked an entirely vegan Thanksgiving and it was amazing. I won't go into the details of what we had but there is a nice Instagram picture below.


As cheesy as it is Thanksgiving really does bring out the "thankfulness" in people. I am one of the luckiest people I know. I have been blesses with a caring family, great friends and many other things in my life. To all the people I love (you know who you are) I can not appreciate you enough and can never repay you for all you've ever done for me.


Like I said I am working from home today for a bit but then we are heading to Providence to hangout with the other 1/2 of The Hipster Dad and his family. Maybe we'll take some cutesey photos and post here tomorrow :-)


Happy Holidays everyone! My early New Years resolution is to keep this blog up to date, promise <3 -Craig

p.s. please take a second and click the banner to give us a vote on Top Baby Blogs? :-)

Happy Thanksgiving + Thursday Tunes!

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late... got some stuff in the works promise! Until then HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!! Today I am thankful for my smart and beautiful daughter Sierra, I am truly blessed. -Craig

p.s. It's thursday so here is my #ThursdayTunes for this week in honor of Thanksgiving:
 

We finally have a notable posts section!

A lot of blogs have "Notable Posts" sections so that if it's your first visit you can easily see some of the blogs best posts and decide if it's a blog you're interested in, or if you are a regular reader and just want to go back and re-read some of the good ones. I've been meaning to do this FOREVER but hadn't had time until this week! So Up in our navigation you see something that says "OUR KIDS" well if you click it it will bring you to our Notable Posts! I will eventually change the navigation too but I'm a busy guy you know! -Craig
Here are the posts we have chosen and CLICK HERE TO GO SEE THE REST.

Thursday Tunes #07 / "Chemicals" & "Never Saw it Coming" by Tigers Jaw

2 Hours until midnight so it still counts as Thursday so here is this weeks edition of "Thursday Tunes". One of my favorite bands of the last year has been Tigers Jaw. They are a young 5 piece band out of Scranton, PA who is currently on Boston based indie label Run For Cover Records. Tiger Jaw's haunting vocals and garagey recordings are reminiscent of 90s emo heavy hitters such as Sunny Day Real Estate, The Promise Ring and Jawbreaker. Band is unreal I highly suggest getting into them if you aren't already. 2 of my fav songs. -C

BUY THIS DONT STEAL IT. 

 

&

   

A walk in the park.

I have been working on a fall fashion shoot with both Hendrix and Sierra for a while now, seems like its not going to happen though. Fall ITSELF seems like its not happening this year. We went apple picking and sweat the whole damn time, thats just not right. I decided to take the footage and photos I took and put them together in a few posts broken down by outfit, so all is not lost. In this first one Hendrix is rocking his American Apparel Piqué Jumper Pant, a thrifted vest, a Carters hoodie we picked up at one of the Swapaholics events we hosted, and good ol' Chuck Taylors we picked up at Journeys. A perfect outfit for stomping around the local park, scaring the hell out of some squirrels and chasing every poor bird in his path!

-M

Guest Dad: Jon Dixon

Hey everyone. My name is Jon Dixon. I'm 25 years old, I've been married for 3 years and have 2 children, Liam, two and a half years old, and Clara, 3 months old. Right now I'm getting my Master's degree in Marriage &amp; Family Therapy and working part-time to pay the bills. I've known Craig since I was a teenager. Back then he was known as Camera Craig because he was always filming us skateboarding around town so we could try to get sponsored. After going to college, getting married and having two kids I have finally given up that dream, haha! When I found out Craig was starting a dad blog I was stoked because I think involved dads need to be in the spotlight to take away from the “deadbeat dad” stereotype. Contrary to our cultural assumptions, recent research has shown that children benefit incredibly from equal exposure to moms and dads.

Much to Craig's dislike, I have been trying to write this post since The Hipster Dad went up, to no avail. Part of the reason for this is that I think too much (downside of a degree in Philosophy!) and I am crazy busy with school, work and my internship. The bigger reason is that whenever I get free time, I spend it with my family. Soooo...what does being a “hip dad” mean to me. This post might just be me rambling on about my ideas but to me, being a “hip dad” is not being afraid to challenge stereotypes in order to pave the way for future generations to have a better family life. Sounds like a lot, right? To me, it's as simple as having fun with my kids and having an equal share in parenting.

Becoming a dad has been the most challenging and rewarding thing that has ever happened to me (although I would say marriage is equally challenging and rewarding). Juggling school, work, marriage and kids isn’t easy but somehow it just happens. Actually, being asked how I do it is probably the dad-question I get the most. I always give the same answer: my wife and I try our best, have fun and trust God will help us out when we need it. The things I love the most are taking the kids to the store with me and having an adventure, waking up early to hang with the kids and cook breakfast for my wife and going on family outings. Most recently, we went down to Rappahannock Cellars in Huntly, VA for a lunch date with Liam’s godmother. The weather was perfect (mid-60s) and the winery is family friendly so bringing the kids was a must. We sat outside, drank some wine and watched Liam run around and play in the grass. I couldn’t help but join him and we ran around and performed for all the other guests! My wife threw Clara in the Ergo and walked around, letting the sun shine gently on her face. After a few hours of grazing and sipping we watched the sun start to set and headed home. A fun trip turned into one of the best family afternoons we’ve ever had. 

I love being a dad. I want all dads to be able to be proud of their title. This could be as simple as not being afraid to throw on the Ergo or BabyBjorn, taking the kids to the park for some fun or just goofing around with them at home. I guess what I’m trying to say is that parenthood is all about bringing who you are into your role as “dad”; kids just want us to be ourselves and spend time with them. #OccupyFatherhood

Thursday Tunes #06 / "Say It Aint So" by Weezer

For this weeks edition of "Thursday Tunes" I decided to go with "Say it Ain't So" by Weezer off their 1994 debut record lovingly referred to as the "Blue Album". For more information, check out online universities to find online music classes that can teach you about Weezer and their significance in the music industry. I chose this song for a variety of reasons:

1. Weezer was my first "favorite band" (and still are to this day!)
2. If I was to have a son his name would have been Rivers (after the lead singer)
3. Rivers is an amazing father of a beautiful little girl! Follow him on twitter here as he posts about her all the time! http://twitter.com/riverscuomo