Author: Nick

Nick https://papabrownie.wordpress.com I am first time parent and played the role of SAHD for the first six-months as a parent. From this point forward, I will be known as Papa Brownie.

Fall Fun: Orchards, Pumpkins, Apple Slingshots, and Corn Mazes

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IMG_5602Fall–when the air starts to turn crisp, sweater weather officially arrives, and everything pumpkin spiced invades EVERYTHING. It’s also the perfect time to take your kids out to local orchards and take in all the fun that comes along with them. Pick out a pumpkin or 12? Check. Saunter/get lost in a corn maze? Check and check. Use an apple slingshot? You know it. Let the kids run all their energy out on a huge playground? Absolutely. Hay rides? Check, please. Pony rides? Not this year, but we could have. Consume awesome food made at said orchard? OH YOU KNOW WE DID THAT. Apple cider for the win, my friends. FOR.THE.WIN.

This year we took trips to different places over two weekends. First, we hit up Oregon Dairy in Lancaster County. Our plan was to do the corn maze, but we didn’t have a chance to. So, we ate at their restaurant and the food was fresh and awesome! And, we let Sophia and Maddie pick out some pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. Later that night, Sophia begged to go to a pumpkin patch again. That trend repeated for about 56 consecutive days, roughly.

IMG_5603And then, this past weekend, we went to one of our favorite local orchards, Linvilla Orchards. It’s a blast–and packed with people–every time we’ve gone. Last year, we did apple picking for the first time, and it was fun and tasty, of course. Not only did we bring home some awesome apples, but we picked some peppers and tomatoes, to boot.

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IMG_5599This year, we did as much as we could handle. The corn maze was huge. To be totally honest, I’ve never been in a corn maze before–so this was a first for me. And it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Why? Oh, come on, you know I got lost! This was a pure free-for-all-find-your-way-we-will-give-you-no-help-type of corn maze. It made it more interesting, to say the least. Especially once Sophia decided she was the line leader and that she would lead us out. Did she walk out first? Yes…

Before we hit the corn maze, though, we launched some apples as far as the eye could see. Apple slingshots are AWESOME. Seriously. Stuffing an apple in a slingshot and just letting that puppy fly as far as possible is really fun. I had no idea it would be as fun as it was. Linvilla really does offer so much to do with your family. If we wanted to make it through everything and really give each thing the time it deserves, we’d have to go for two days straight. Two full days.

IMG_5607The last thing we did was let the girls pick out some pumpkins. We chose the smaller-sized pumpkins, because we just don’t have the room for GIANT pumpkins. We took so many pictures while we were there, that I could have done an entire post of nothing but photos and videos.

IMG_5611Sarah and I talk a lot about family traditions and what things we want to make traditions with our family. Both our families growing up had a lot of traditions, and we don’t just want to pass on those ones–we want to create some of our own. If going to orchards and pumpkin patches and dairy farms every October is one we can turn into an every year thing, then I am all for that. I’ll admit, I don’t always do well in crowds, they drive me insane. But, I’m realizing that for my kids to get the chance to really see all there is out in the world and to experience a lot of the same fun things I experienced as a kid–then I have to suck it up and deal with crowds. And that’s just what I’m going to do. Just don’t expect to ever see me out on Black Friday. I’m not that crazy!

IMG_5598If you really want to have a blast doing Fall-type activities, I highly suggest you check out both Oregon Dairy in Lancaster and Linvilla Orchards in Media. And no, they didn’t ask me to write about them or pay me to write about them. We just loved our experience there so much that it felt like it needed to be said. One thing I want to do in the future is a night hay ride, which they also offer for groups. Hay rides are awesome, so why not do it at night?!

Next up is Halloween and that’s going to be a whole other story!

What activities do you do with your family and kids in the Fall? What have your experiences been like, good and bad? Share in the comments below, on Facebook, and Twitter!

 

Tyrant – Living Under the Reign of a Toddler

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She’s turning three, the terrible twos are over, we thought. The threes are worse, they said. We didn’t believe them. Perhaps, we were mistaken… Sophia is as sharp as a tack. She’s far smarter than I thought she would be as a three-year old. She’s more advanced than I thought she would be at this point. It amazes me every day. You know what doesn’t amaze me? Living under the tyrannical reign of a toddler. Continue reading →

Wedding Season: Kids Edition

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Ahhh weddings. A beautiful occasion filled with love and fun. We’ve had our fair-share of weddings recently. First, my sister got married back in April. Then in back-to-back weeks, we had weddings for friends and then family. The one common theme that tied them all together? They were all kid-friendly. And our kids were with us!

I’m gonna be honest with you, attending weddings with a 3- and 1-year old is such an insanely different experience than going to one without your kids.

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Discipline, Kids, and You: My Reaction to the Adrian Peterson Story

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APUnless you’re living under a rock, you’ve heard, seen, or talked about the Adrian Peterson story. How he used a switch–a tree branch with no leaves–to give his 4-year old son a “whooping”. Why did his toddler son deserve to get beaten, bruised, cut, and scarred with a branch? He pushed one of Peterson’s other children. He was indicted in Texas by a grand jury on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child.

You are also probably aware that the Minnesota Vikings deactivated Peterson from Sunday’s game against the Patriots. And then on Monday, decided it was the right thing to do to activate him again, stating ” they will let the legal process play out before deciding on further action.” Continue reading →

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The Parenting How-Tos You Never Thought You’d Need – Episode 1: The Great Crib Escape

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Note: This post originally appeared on PoppinBottlesDadCast.com

We’ve talked about it for a while and teased you enough. Without further ado, we reveal the debut of The Parenting How-Tos You Never Thought You’d Need. Episode one features Nick getting in–and out–of the crib.

If you’ve ever had a screaming baby that you just couldn’t soothe, this is for you. We at the Poppin’ Bottles Dad-Cast take you through a step-by-step on sleeping–and escaping from–your child’s crib. The Great Crib Escape, ladies and gentlemen.

If you liked that, subscribe to the YouTube channel for more in the future! Go like the podcast on Facebook and follow on Twitter

Siblings Teach Your Kids the Best Things…

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Having siblings is awesome. Growing up with a brother and two sisters, we always managed to have fun, drive each other crazy, drive our parents crazy, and get in plenty of trouble. Now that we’re all grown-up? The hijinx don’t stop–especially when we get together for an extended period of time. Now, I don’t mean we just bust each others balls, crack jokes, pull pranks, or hide mannequin heads in creepy places–although, yes that ALL happens. Every time. What I’m talking about is all the super-cool-awesome-amazing-hilarious things they teach my kids. And by super-cool-awesome-amazing-hilarious, I, of course, mean all the things that I’ll have to un-teach them, or pray they don’t get in trouble for at daycare.

While learning how to whistle a technical foul, and pretty much every other foul or penalty or card in other sports was hilarious–and thoroghly enjoyed by all of us–there were many other things taught to Sophia. Maddie? She’s only one, they have time to get to her. Continue reading →

My Kid Said What?!

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my kid said whatI wish I had a video camera recording at all times when Sophia speaks. Seriously, the girl says some of the most out of this world things. I’d also like to have a camera trained on mine and Sarah’s faces when we hear the things she says. Half amusement, half confusion, half concentration. One too many halves? Three halves make a whole, right? No? Oh well. I’ve written and “illustrated” some of the gems Sophia has come up with before, but there are far too many other times that I haven’t written down the stuff she says. Continue reading →

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We Got The Moves, We Got The Dance Moves

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I’ll be the first to admit it, when it comes to dancing, this guy doesn’t have the moves. Somehow, those gifts bypassed me, but not my siblings. Not cool, mom and dad. NOT COOL. But, what didn’t bypass me was my lack of shame. You see me on a dance floor at a wedding or when I get a couple drinks in me, and I’m gonna be dancing. Most likely terribly. And most likely I’m not gonna be caring. Being averse to shame will do that to you.

"Daddy should NOT be dancing:

“Daddy should NOT be dancing”

You know the saying: “Dance like no one is watching”? Yeah, I’ve taken that to heart. I love the looks of horror when I hit the dance floor. Typically they come from Sarah. One day, I’ll get those looks from Sophia and Maddie. The look on Sophia’s face in that picture over there? Yeah, that is one she’ll be making A LOT when she’s older. For now, though? She just wants me to dance and be silly. And I’m good with that. And I hope it continues forever. I don’t want her to be embarrassed by me ever, but I’m sure it’ll happen. After all, I’m her dad and it’s kind of in my job description. Continue reading →

Review: evenflo Advanced+ Bottle and Triple-Flo Tumbler

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I was sent a couple of products from the fine folks at evenflo Feeding to try out with the girls. I took them for a test-drive, so to speak. The first of the products we tested out was the Advanced+ baby bottle. The other was their new Triple-Flo tumbler. I’ll start with the Advanced+ bottle.

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Uncomfortable Positions In Parenting

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You want me to be real? As a parent, you find yourself in the most uncomfortable positions known to man. Seriously, man, I’m not kidding. From the moment you bring your screaming bundle of joy home from the hospital for the first time, you need to condition your body to get into some insane positions–all for the comforting of your little ones. Contorting my body is a daily occurrence ’round these parts. It honestly doesn’t matter what it is that I’m doing, my body is going to have contort in ways that I didn’t know were possible.

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