Happy New Year

 Happy new year to you and yours! May your year be full of delight and wishes come true!

See you again in the new year!

photo: Depositphotos

Why a parenting blog?

I'm not sure if I've ever answered this before, but now I'm thinking about my why a lot more and wanted to put it out there!

Why a parenting blog? Why take the time to write a blog that is going into a market very saturated with all types of opinions? 

Representation. 

I follow a ton of parenting blogs. Follow along on different social media platforms as well. And even follow a ton of their podcasts! I love to hear people chat about parenting and raising a family and existing in the world as a parent. Parenting is so unique to each family on how they do it and our family is no different. I just love hearing about how others do it too! 

But they are all writing for moms. I don't ever see or hear of a parenting blog for all parents. It's all "For moms by moms", which is valuable! And so much needed. Moms absolutely need community and to hear others describe their experience. 

I also think there needs to be a parenting blog that represents parents other than moms. Not seeing this anywhere, I decided to create it. And years ago, this wasn't exactly why I started blogging. And it's not totally my reason today. It's part of my reasoning. 

I also really like writing. And talking about my kid. And all the kids who come through our household. And the experiences we have as gay parents. And so much more. 

So why a parenting blog? That's a hard question to answer specifically. Why not a parenting blog? Why not write about what I love writing, so that I'm writing again? That's the goal, just write! 

I don't expect this to be anything more than my ramblings about my existence with my children. And that's exactly what I want it to be, and for that I'm excited to get back to writing. I'm excited to start putting my thoughts on paper again and enjoying doing it all. 

I hope you all enjoy the blog. If you do, great! If you don't, that's also great! I'm not for everyone and everyone is not for me. Overall, I am happy to be doing what I'm doing, how I'm doing it and existing in this space. I look forward to writing more and in the end, that's what matters to me! 

Baby girl update

Since the last time we wrote, baby girl has turned into big girl. At 8 years old, she is growing up extremely fast and it has me all in my feelings. I am so grateful she gets the chance to grow up and I am loving watching her so much. So what has this big girl been up to? Sooooo much!

Big girl is rocking out at this big sister routine. She understands the assignment heavily and is mostly enjoying the experience. That's not to say she doesn't have her moments, that would be dishonest to state. However, she continues to want to be the best big sister to whomever is in our household. 

Another big change for her this year is the fact that she's chosen to attend a brick school vs continuing to homeschool. We've been a homeschooling family for the last 3 years of her education, and while it's been amazing, she wanted to try something else this year. She is adjusting and we are learning a whole new side to the school world! 

She is also still rocking out the gymnastics life! She continues to excel here in ways we both knew she would and that are completely unexpected. We cannot believe how amazing she is doing. She's continuing to move up every year and as long as she's happy, we are happy to see her continue! 

What other interests does she have? She's taken to reading graphic novels as her choice of entertainment. This has been fun to explore with her and she continues to read everything she can! We are so excited seeing her jump into reading after a bit of a rocky start. 

She also loves Pokemon. It is very interesting seeing my kiddos get into something that I remember from my childhood. Of course she doesn't believe that I knew what Pokemon was at her age! She can't think that her beloved card game is THAT old. 

She is also reminding us daily that she is full of sugar, spice, and sass. It's a challenge at times, but we absolutely wouldn't have it any other way! Each one of those traits is a leadership requirement and we absolutely want her to be a leader! 

What else is there to talk about with the kiddo! A lot of our parenting is learning with each new stage she's in! We are exhausted and fulfilled at the same time.