The Vendal Family
The McKinney, TX
What is your favorite family tradition?
Books! Every night before Ryder goes to bed we read her favorite books and she gets so excited! Then we rock her right to sleep. It's such a sweet little time for our little family that we cherish
Tell us about your favorite family story.
We took Ryder to the Dallas world aquarium which also has penguins, sloths, monkeys, flamingos and sea otters. She was absolutely mesmerized by all the animals! I have never seen this girl smile as big as she did that day. She babbled at all the animals and had such a great time. Her little personality came out and shined that day.
What is your family's motto?
Always be present, the days are long but the years are short!
Share Your Parenting Wisdom
What's your number one tip for new parents?
Cherish every single moment of the first year of your baby's life because it FLIES by. I remember being so stressed or upset sometimes in the middle of the night when she was just born because I could get her to go back to sleep but now I miss her wanting me to hold and rock her in the middle of the night. I know it sounds crazy but you will miss those long days/nights! Oh and always keep extra clothes with you!
What has been the most surprising thing you've learned as a parent?
I thought I would without a doubt be a crazy helicopter mom that worries about everything and Davis would be the calm and cool dad but we are completely opposite! He worries about every little thing and I just got with the flow and neither of us expected that. He totally knows he earned the title of helicopter dad !
Tell us about your funniest parenting story (we all have them!)
We were out to dinner and ryder was about 9 months old and pretty much out of the blow out poopy diaper phase. We only brought her bottle, diapers, and some puffs with us which was a huge mistake because this girl had the biggest blow out I had ever seen right as our appetizer arrived. So she sat in her high chair with a beanie on and her swaddle around her for the rest of dinner while other people stared at us wondering why our child was half naked in the middle of winter ! We had a good laugh about it and still do, we just pack extra clothes now when we go out !
