I first wrote about how Annie says “Uppa!” a little more than two years ago. “Uppa!” was one of Annie’s first words, and it has a specific meaning: “Pick me up, Daddy!” In the two plus years since Annie started using this word I’ve carried her a whole heck of a lot in a whole heck of a lot of places:

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minnie mouse

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Annie and Daddy

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I have to say, I love “Uppa!” When Annie runs up to me with her hands outstretched and I swing her into my arms, there are few things in life as awesome. But here’s the thing… Annie is no longer a baby. She’s 38 pounds now, and as much as I enjoy the closeness of carrying her around in my arms, I just don’t think I can handle it anymore. My back – which was bad long before I ever lifted Annie – now is a total mess, and it’s only going to get worse the bigger Annie gets.

In a perfect world I’d just tell Annie that my days of carrying her so much are through, but it’s not as easy as that. Whenever we go out in public Annie shouts “Uppa!” almost the minute she gets out of the car. I try to tell her no (usually saying something like, “You’ve got feet. You can walk!”), but she continues to yell “Uppa!” over and over while cutting in front of me until I finally pick her up.

I’ve talked to Heather about this, and she made the point that when they’re together Annie never asks to be carried. Clearly, Annie is capable of being out and about without being carried, but when Dad’s around she wants “uppa!” I can’t blame her, I guess. Who wouldn’t want to carried from place to place? Still, we’ve got to make a change here.

I realize I’ve created a monster by carrying Annie around so much for so long, but I sure could use some advice on stopping it. As much as I will miss carrying her around in my arms, I’d miss having a functional back a lot more.