Category Archives: Life

A Baby Timeline On My Samsung Galaxy

04/12/2016 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

I’m going back 2 April’s ago when I posted this baby timeline using pics on my Samsung Galaxy. It’s been long enough and I enjoy looking back to see how small our growing girl used to be. Enjoy!

So, we have been without internet for two days now. I am writing this from my phone using data I hardly ever use; stupid AT&T…

What’s even cooler is they are finally building on the empty lot next to our house. …. right next to the nursery. Please sense my sarcasm. I guess the silver lining I’d that the workers talk loud enough that Avery might pick up a second language without us doing anything.

Since I wanted to have a post for Sunday, I figured I would just share the timeline of pics I have on my phone. Lucky you, I know!

And lucky me gets to enjoy this steamed organic broccoli with nutritional yeast, cayenne, and mustard. Seriously, I love this stuff!

Of course I’m having more of something else after, and even more after that. And yes, that’s a spork I’m using.

I’ll start with a picture of us before leaving to go to the hospital.

Here’s Kelley’s belly. .

At the hospital, I was excited about being coach.

Kelley, on the other hand, wasn’t too thrilled.

But she did great and brought us our sweet little Avery.

The deepest love we have ever known was now in front of us living and breathing as a healthy baby.

Once home, I immediately tried out the Baby Bjorn.

And Going Mom held her close with loving care as much as possible.

At four weeks we had her newborn pics taken, and I was even part of the props!

Within a few weeks, I successfully made it through a workout with Avery in the garage.

Then I grew bold enough to go on our first run.

We’ve been on many runs since the first and loving each one. The weather was nice that day, but then a major winter storm hit. No worries, Avery got to try on her bear suit!

I guess she has some growing to do. I attempted to cut her fingernails and got her finger instead, but friends of the Facebook world let me know all parents have been there.

Swaddling was a huge part of our daily lives and keeping her arms from moving was vital to sleep!

Yeah, she wasn’t a fan. I continued wearing her in the Bjorn before realizing I needed another carrier.

G-ma got to enjoy holding a happy baby fitting one of her visits.

Going Mom and I had our first date while G-ma watched Avery.

We saw Imagine Dragons in concert and had Chipotle and beer in the parking lot.

Once again, I tried cutting Avery’s nails, and once again, I failed.

I made a visit to my old workplace, Kelley’s current employer, with Avery.

Kelley was happy to see us both.

We bought a jumper for Avery, but she was a little confused at first.

Avery had her four month shots and I don’t think she enjoyed it; what do you think?

Finally, thanks to Onya Baby, I got a better baby carrier and was in love at first wear.

After she mastered rolling over, we “unwrapped” the swaddle and put her in a Zippy from Zipadee-Zip. We all like it much better!

Now that she’s stronger, she also does better in her jumper.

But the best seat is her infant positioner from Mamas & Papas.

We go everywhere together with the help of Onya, even in the rain.

And Going Mom is still holding her close and giving her all the love she can. Together, we are a happy family of three.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and hopefully I’ll have internet soon again!

Edit: the internet came back late at night, but I’m leaving this post. It’s hard work to write a post on phone!!

What do you do when the internet is down? It’s sad how much we rely on it sometimes.

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Life, Parenting

What Counts as Exercise?

03/19/2016 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Many parents, at-home and working alike, succumb to the “I don’t have time” mantra when it comes to exercise, but it’s an important part of life and is worth making time to do.

You might think exercise is something that requires special equipment or is only done at a gym, but you might already be “exercising” without even knowing it. Exercise falls under several definitions, and one way it is defined is that it’s a regular or repeated use of a faculty or bodily organ. Knowing this, I’m positive we all have a long list of things we do every day that count as “exercise” and we never thought of it as such.

Carrying your kid around the house or grabbing them before they grab the cat’s tail would definitely count. And teaching them to perform different exercises like push-ups or yoga (maybe a combination?) proves beneficial too.

exercise, fitness, kids, toddler, parenting, workout, yoga

Chores and daily tasks like going for a walk, mowing the lawn, vacuuming, mopping, doing laundry, and engaging in playtime with your kids are all great ways to fit in exercise and accomplish your laundry list (pun intended) of things you need to get done.

In a nutshell, movement of any form is, in and of itself, exercise. An important thing to remember is to be consistent with your movement and make sure it’s something you enjoy. If your stomach churns just thinking of going for a run, don’t do it, you’ll never stick with it. Ride a bike, walk, swim, row, hike, or……clean house. The point I’m trying to make is, keeping active, however you so choose, helps to make a better you.

As parents, we need to be excellent role models and should let our children see us being active and living a healthy lifestyle so they will hopefully follow suit and WANT to be like mommy and daddy. Note I said “healthy lifestyle”; this means exercise and good nutrition! If you are trying to lose weight, you can workout all you want, but without good nutrition, your results will be minimal at best. Sleep is vital too!

Finishing a great workout session is NOT a pass to go pig out on packaged, processed junk or order takeout without thinking of what you’re actually putting in your mouth. Trust me, I’m guilty of this and know firsthand. Read the ingredients or, better yet, choose food that doesn’t even need a label.

No matter your fitness goal; lose weight, gain strength, maintain current level, etc., we will all benefit from moving more and practicing good nutrition for the quality of life it provides. If you are already a conscious eater and get a good dose of daily movement, good for you, keep it up and hopefully you are inspiring others!

I’m on my feet most of the day and rarely sit down until night (I stand at the counter to use my computer) and move around a lot with Avery. She’s usually really good at “working out” with mommy or daddy and has her own equipment to use too.

Upper body day. She’s progressed from a thin wood #barbell to the big PVC pipe! #softstarshoes #strength #healthykid #workout #fitness @softstarshoes

A photo posted by RC Liley (@going_dad) on Mar 14, 2016 at 3:51pm PDT

She is well aware of my upper/lower body split, but she ends up doing full body every day. Then we keep active by playing or doing anything outdoors, weather permitting. Lately, it’s all about her WOOM 1 Balance Bike. We named it Rocket, just like on Little Einsteins.

playing, daddy, kids, parenting, woom 1, balance bike

Whatever you choose to do, try to do it with your family as much as possible. Kids mimic and idolize parents more than we realize, so being a great role model with ensure they grow up to make better decisions on their own.

Do you struggle with motivation or have no issue with exercising or nutrition?

If you have kids, do they join you when exercising?

Avery Talk, Life, Parenting, Vlog

What Happens When You Ask Your Toddler Not To Whine?

02/24/2016 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Just had to share this with you today. Our toddler daughter has a habit of honing in on us and asking to be picked up. Daddy doesn’t get the whiny request as much as mommy, but it’s usually when my wife and I are trying to have a discussion. Such is life with a toddler, huh?

toddler, funny, humor, cute, parenting — Helllllloooooo, is anybody paying attention to me?!

Lately, we’ve been telling her not to whine when asking for “Please mommy, up.” and trying to teach her to say please and thank you. She’s usually good at using manners, but we happened to catch a different response that, technically, isn’t wrong.

Now that she knows it’s cute and sees mommy and daddy getting a kick out of it, she does it all the time. And, well, it’s hard not to just laugh and accept our deep-voiced daughter.

If we could manage, I’d love to share her request for more goat cheese, green smoothie, or anything else in this low tone. Maybe we shouldn’t feed her sarcastic tendencies, but it’s just so hard to resist!

Have you ever had your kid respond in a way you weren’t meaning but was still correct as a technicality?