The weather is starting to warm up here in the South Sound. This means more gardening and yard maintenance for Allison and me. This morning she helped me trim the roses and put some new seed in the birdfeeder. She is curious about what I am curious about and seems to model and mimic my every move and gesture. He language is expanding as she is putting two words together, can count from 1-5 and 8-10 (6 & 7 are tough for her) and can say sing parts of the ABC song. She typically runs and can climb up and sown stairs like a pro.

I clipped one my Christopher Marlow roses this morning, smelled and gave it to her. She put it up to her nose like I had done and gave it back to me with a smile. She was interested in the clippers and when I sad no she protested and pulled them away from me. I showed her another rose and pointed at a bird that had landed nearby and she surrendered. Not sure how long this simple redirect will last but I am taking full advantage of her curiosity and willingness to

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Things are warming up here in the South Sound. The flowers are beginning to bud up, weeds are taking over my Irises, my Koi are much more active and I am spending much more time outside in the garden. Allison has learned the word “owtside” and will point at our back door when she wants to head outdoors. Playing in the garden is a lot of fun for her as there are so many new things for her to see, feel, touch, smell and yes, taste.

A couple of weekends ago she and I were working in the garden. I was pulling weeds and picking out racks from my wife’s vegetable garden in prep for planting while Allison took rocks and weeds from the wheel barrel and put them on the pathway. She learned that dirt is not food and putting weeds on her head and letting them fall down her back is a lot of fun and makes me say “NO”. Gardening is a fun activity and something that I want her to learn and appreciate. My family has always had wonderful gardens and valued eating fresh organic fruits and vegetables.

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Hello all. My name is David Callies, PsyD and I am a Pediatric Psychologist in private practice in Olympia, Washington. I am also the proud parent of a 17 month-old girl named Allison. On top of that, my wife is 12 weeks pregnant with our second. It’s been a wild and wonderful ride so far. I wish I could do more for my wife and wipe away the morning sickness. I just hate to see her feeling so crumby all the time. As I look at my daughter and I find myself looking at her through teh lense of a psychologist as well as from that of a father. This blog will be about all of that; what it’s like to be a father, an expecting father, how my wife and I work through parenting differences, applying real life parenting skills in raising a toddler and other things that come along.

I remember watching Alison growing up and waiting to see all of her developmental milestones surface. I have read and studied them but seeing them emerge right in front of me was fascinating. I would look for eye

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