Author: Mark

For the past few weeks,  Niko has been waking up around 6:30am; probably because we are transitioning him to one nap and haven’t yet mastered the awake and sleep times. Hopefully soon we will get it perfect and he can go to bed later and get up later.  This really early wake up time is…

On Saturday, we took Niko out twice.  The first was in the morning as instead of taking him for a walk in our neighborhood, we took him to the Canyon Lake Dam to walk and we also took him to the water and got his feet wet.  The temperature was perfect and it was a…

On Saturday, Niko turned 16 months old and Nina turned a year older.  Last year on this day and for the first time, we crib trained Niko.  Basically, we got him out of our bed as he was sleeping on me, and into his crib.  I made a promise to Nina that I will never…

Luckily where we live, we just got rain and wind with no flooding or damage.  We were prepared for the worst and when I arrived home from work Friday, I parked next to Nina’s car.  That way, if we had to leave the house, we would get in her car and leave!  She drives a Pilot…

On Saturday, we took Niko to The Shops at La Cantera; which according to Wikipedia, “is an upscale open-air regional shopping mall in San Antonio.” I know that, but you probably don’t.  When we take him out, we carry him because we don’t like strapping him in a stroller; especially after he has been strapped…

Last Thursday, Nina had more training in Austin for her job as a stylist for Stitch Fix, but unlike the last time on  July 19th when she also had training in Austin for her job, she wasn’t gone all day; she was only gone from 10am to 5pm.  So, basically, it was much easier for…

Last month, I had my annual physical and I passed with flying colors. I have dropped 25 pounds; and still losing weight, since last September. What is my secret? Well, the truth is I have a 15 month old baby and I don’t have time to eat. I would rather starve, suffer, and sleep than…

Something we did on the Saturday before his 1st birthday in May and we didn’t tell anybody till this week was we had a professional photographer take photos of us as a family and of the smash cake.  We exchanged soap for photos.  Nina makes homemade bath and body products.  The photographer wasn’t somebody we…

For the past two weekends, Nina and I have been in and even though it sounded relaxing, it was actually busy.  Busy because we have a 15 month old baby who likes to play and we like to play with him; although sometimes he plays by himself and we just supervise.  It is fun to…

Within the past few weeks, Niko has started to climb things. Climbing the sofa; OK. Climbing the fire place; not OK. Climbing the rocking chair; not OK. Climbing a chair; not OK. Climbing in the toy box; not OK. Climbing in a storage cube; not OK. Climbing on an IKEA 4×4  storage cube; not OK. …

On Thursday, I had a doctors appointment at 11am and around 9am, I noticed a car that wasn’t mine or Nina’s in our driveway; I saw it was a Saturn SUV and I know my parents drive a Saturn SUV, but I didn’t think it was theirs.  So, when I opened the door with my…

You may have noticed that www.theadspeaks.com has been redesigned.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions to make it better.  I can be reached at thedadspeaks@gmail.com. On Wednesday, Nina was in Austin for StitchFix training so that meant I was home alone all day with a 14 month old baby.  But, don’t worry, it…

My wife works from home as a stylist for StitchFix and last Sunday, the three of us went to Woodland Park at River Place in Austin; which is about an hour from us, for a company lunch. Niko slept on the way up, but on the drive home, he was awake; he only cried for…

On Wednesday July 5th, I woke up a few minutes before 1am; what were you doing at that time, and went downstairs to sleep for the rest of morning.  Franklin cat was so happy to see me and really wanted to be on me while I slept which I allowed for a few minutes, then…

On Thursday, the three of us spent the night at my parent’s house because our air conditioning was being fixed. I was going to setup a Kickstarter campaign to help pay for it, but it ended up being less than what they had originally quoted us.  And, no worries, it is nice and cold now….

On Sunday, Niko turned 14 months old and to celebrate that and an early 4th of July, we went to my parents house because why not; actually, my dad is a really good griller and it is always nice to get out of our house and go somewhere else.  Plus, I like my family! Although…

At 4:55 this morning, our baby audio monitor buzzed and I woke up to see what Niko was doing on the baby camera; yes, we have both an audio monitor and baby camera. He was trying so hard to go back to sleep.  He has done it before. He kept putting his head down, but…

No socks on Thursday morning because Niko and I woke up at the same time.  Before I got him from the crib, I had to make sure Nina was ok; her back has been hurting again. She was able to get out of bed and told me she was ok. So, I got Niko and…

This morning, I woke up at 5:55 and Niko was still sleeping.  I grabbed a few things from the bedroom, opened the door, closed the door, and tiptoed down the stairs; but the stairs are not padded and the little creaks must’ve woken Niko up. When I was in the bathroom watching him on camera,…

On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Monday, I was the first person awake in our house.  That means that Niko didn’t wake us up,  But, that also meant I had to be very quiet leaving the bedroom and in the bathroom. So, for the bathroom, I did everything in the dark as I only had my phone…