Category Archives: Life

Baby’s First Road Trip, Chasing a Dog, and a Stress Fracture

09/03/2014 R.C. Liley 8 Comments

Most weekend recaps occur on Monday, but I prefer to mimic the “muscle confusion” ideology of P90X and confuse anyone reading. You know, to keep your brain more alert by throwing it off every now and then. Stupid analogy? Yeah, sorry….

This past weekend, we drove up to our old college town, Norman, Oklahoma, to visit our friends, Sean, Erin, and their little 2.5 year old girl, Brooklyn. Remember when they came down to visit us last February?

Brooklyn is growing so fast and is such a pretty girl!

Both of our little girls have grown so much in just 6 months and it was fun watching them kind of play together.

I say kind of, because Brooklyn, is in the stage of not wanting to share things, so when Avery would go to a toy, she sometimes tried to push her away.

I guess this was a good foreshadow for what’s to come! No big deal though, she was quick to allow Avery access to her toys and even say sorry.

The 2.5 hour drive was full of Avery’s pleasant, and not-so-pleasant screams. I thought she’d take a nap since the 10 minute drive to Costco usually has her asleep within minutes, but she slept not once the entire drive. Instead, she’d make her presence known with coos and yells followed by crying fits for no reason.

Kelley eventually climbed in the back to soothe her the rest of the way to our friend’s house. This worked for almost the remainder of the drive, but even Mommy couldn’t qualm our upset baby. But alas, we arrived, exchanged hugs, and brought everything inside to the room we’d be staying in for two nights……with Avery!

We shared the same room with Avery once before at G-ma’s for the 4th of July weekend, but this setup was different, she’d be right beside Kelley instead of at the foot of the bed.

It was weird, but really not as bad as I expected. We were able to sneak into bed without waking Avery fairly easily, but she did wake more often versus when at home. Oh well, just part of parenthood, right?

The past few times we’ve come up to stay with Sean and Erin was for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April. This always meant my nerves were high and I wasn’t a fun person to be around, so it was nice being there without a major race to prepare for. This time, we were there for Erin’s baby shower. Yes, this beautiful family of three is about to have a little boy in a few weeks which will even out the genders.

They have yet to decide on a name, but have a few one their mind like Ian or Barrett. Care to offer a suggestion?

We had zero plans for Saturday, so we played everything by ear. Going Mom, Avery, and I drove to local coffee shop we enjoyed before in hopes of enjoying again. This time, we were not impressed and a little sorry we didn’t just go to Starbucks.

While in town, we picked up a few groceries for breakfast and since there was a liquor store nearby, I figured I’d bring a few craft beers back. Kelley was trying to eat her long overdue breakfast, so I carried Avery inside with me. Or, at least I made it to the front door with her, but then I was stopped by the owner who let me know no one under 21 is allowed!

This seemed ridiculous since obviously, a baby isn’t going to run around drinking their stock, but the law is law. As I wore a frustrated frown on my face, the owner kindly offered to hold Avery as I perused their beer selection. Ha, a stranger holding my baby while I bought beer? I accepted…

But only because she was non-threatening, gentle woman who obviously worked at the store and I wouldn’t expect to run off. Yeah, yeah, “it’s the least suspecting”, I know, so sue me. Please, not really.

Meanwhile, as I shopped for beer, Kelley was trying to have breakfast in the car when she noticed a woman holding Avery. At first she thought maybe we knew the woman, but after a few minutes, she realized the lady was a stranger and quickly walked out to get our daughter. Luckily only kind, understanding words and a few laughs were shared as Kelley brought Avery back to the car.

Sorry, my dear wife and daughter….Daddy did bad. But, we did get some good beer! Silver lining?

As we returned to Sean and Erin’s, Sean was jumping in his car to search for one of their dogs that escaped. They have a Great Dane, Hudson, and a 100lb mutt, Polly; the latter being the escapee. I changed vehicles to help search and left Kelley with Avery.

I'm not escaping anywhere... — I’m not escaping anywhere…

Our search by car yielded nothing, so Sean hopped on his bike and I took to going for a run around their neighborhood. My foot was hurting from a run I did with Avery before leaving the day before, but I planned on doing some running anyway, so this worked out okay in my mind.

Thirty minutes of running and several hill sprints later (plus my daily dose of “must do” 31 burpees, push-ups, and squats), I was limping with severe pain in my left foot. The pain hasn’t subsided yet, and I have concluded it is a metatarsal stress fracture with the pain and swelling to go along with it.

As a guy who can’t stand sitting (ha, I love that saying), this drives me crazy! As I write this, I’m still standing on one leg with the other propped up on a stool. #stubborn

Sean and Erin continued their search driving to and calling neighbors with no luck. Polly was a stray dog in poor health that Erin nursed (just so happens she is a nurse!) back to health almost 8 years ago. I remember seeing Polly as a pup, and she didn’t look good. But now, well, she’s a sweet, giant, dog in good health.

Polly competing with Avery for attention from Kelley

Needless to say, Erin was distraught at the thought of having lost Polly, and Sean wanted so bad to make his wife happy by finding her. Having exhausted himself with several hours of searching, he was inside trying to recoup when someone knocked on their door.

Yes! It was a neighbor who found Polly and was generous enough to bring the 100+ pound dog back to their house! The mood was instantly lightened in the house, and a very happy yet still pretty pissed Erin, took Polly out back to wash the burr-covered mutt.

With more action than expected on our “no plans” Saturday, we kept it calm the rest of the day and just hung out engaging in conversation. Plus, we kept tabs on the pay-per-view OU vs Louisiana Tech game where the Sooners ruled the game with a final score of 48 – 16! Hopefully they’ll have the same luck with ranked teams this season too!

Kelley and I made it a late night and took over the TV to watch an episode of Orange is the New Black on Netflix after Sean and Erin went to bed. We just started this season after not having our TV on for a few months, and now we’re hooked.

Our Saturday with good friends had come to a close, but we still had most of Sunday before heading back home. Look out for my next post with our Sunday events including a coffee shop win and another long drive fail.

Do you have any road trip with baby stories or tips to share?

Ever inure yourself and go crazy being limited in what you can do? I’ve still found ways to lift weights in the garage and reel mowed as I limped across the lawn. Now my daily 31 burpees are done on one leg which definitely makes it harder!

This post is part of the following link-ups:

Life, Parenting

Having a Daughter: Learning to Conquer the Fear of Fatherhood

08/26/2014 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

Me: So are you able to tell the sex yet?

Nurse: *Pointing to a little spec on the screen of Kelley’s sonogram* See that there? You’re going to have a boy.

Kelley and Me: *gasp* *enormous grins follow*

Kelley: This early and you can tell, how certain are you?

Nurse: I’ve been doing this for a while and I’m pretty sure that’s a boy.

This was part of the conversation during Kelley’s scheduled sonogram at 13 weeks pregnant. I had always imagined us having a boy, and now it was just “confirmed”.

I wasted no time filling our Amazon baby registry with various boy items from mini kettlebells for kids (yep, there’s such thing) to a multitude of blue themed onesies our boy just had to have. Little Richard Charles Liley III (I’m the Jr/II), was on his way! But then, Kelley had her 18 week sono…

Nurse: …and right here we can see you’re having a girl.

Kelley and Me: *gasp* *no grins, just a look of pure, utter confusion across our faces* “But you told us you were sure we were having a boy!”

Nurse: *calmly* Oh, really? Well, nope, it’s definitely a girl.

Still excited for the fact that we were even having a baby, we walked out of the room with puzzled looks on our faces. Everything we had planned up to this point felt as if it were lost in a deep, meaningless abyss. Before the news, I was pushing to name our future boy after me, but Kelley was reluctant to give in without further discussion first. Clearly, my name was out of the question now that our boy “bump” was actually a girl, and we needed to rewire our thoughts to choose a name!

The name ended up being the easiest decision we made as parents. While walking down the hall of the doctor’s office that day, I was reading baby names hung on the wall from parents that sent the staff pictures of their newborns. Near the end, right before checking out, I read “Avery” out loud and the choice was made; we loved it! Too bad making the changes to our Amazon registry wasn’t as easy.

Since I couldn’t keep my mouth shut after the 13 week “boy sono”, (in Ricky Ricardo voice) I had some splainin to do. Damn you, social media, for making it so easy to spread the word!! Following my announcement that Kelley was actually pregnant with a girl, not a boy, I received many of the “Oh man, you’re in trouble!” and “Just wait until this or that happens.” comments just as Jeff Bogle from OWTK.com recently wrote about on his blog.

I would nod in agreement thinking of how much harder a girl will be since they seemed far more terrifying than raising boys. But, as Jeff explains in his post….

“Yeah, it gets challenging. No shit, Sherlock. Parenting isn’t always Pinterest-perfect cupcakes and Instagram-worthy rainbows, but why would you want it that way anyway?”

He then explains the various reasons people give on why being a father to a daughter is so scary along with his rebuttal on why it actually gets better. According to Jeff, the only thing worth fearing as a dad to a daughter is not being there for her to console, mentor, laugh, cry, and just be a dad as she experiences all that life has to offer. I completely agree with Jeff, and although I feel more confident about being an awesome father to Avery, I still get that worried, “must protect from everything” feeling for so many aspects of her future.

Why is it that so many feel it’s more terrifying for a father to raise a little girl instead of a boy? If I had a boy, I know I’d be less wary of what’s to come and would feel less terrified about the day he goes off on his own. But for Avery, so many things speed through my mind about what could happen as she ventures off into the scary world.

Tony, from DisillusionedDad.com, also read Jeff’s post and then wrote about his own feelings as a father to a daughter and a son. Similar to what I just described, Tony has many fears for his daughter that he does not share for his son. He loves them both to the moon and back, but, just as I feel about Avery, is reluctant to loosen the reigns for his little princess. At the end of his post, Tony mentions how he hopes he is not alone in this feeling of fear for his daughter, and I’m here to say he’s not alone at all.

I think part of the reason, a big part, is that as a guy, we know how guys think. Sure, love and romance is a part of life, that’s how I am married to a beautiful woman/mom, but it’s hard to accept this for our daughter. Do mothers with boys have similar feelings since they know how women view men? I can’t answer that, but if you are a mother with one or more sons, please leave a comment with your thoughts.

I can’t imagine what it’d be like with a son instead of my beautiful daughter, Avery, as my love for her is everlasting and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Similar to Tony’s assessment, I need to fight my natural tendencies to always try and protect Avery from everything, and learn to simply be there for her, as a father, sharing all of life’s experiences.

This post is part of the following awesome parenting link-ups:
<img title=”Welcome Party Wednesday Link-Up”

Life, Parenting

Baby’s First Ride Down the Slide

08/21/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

Going Mom took the Monday after our 7th wedding anniversary weekend off to spend more time with Avery and me and to adjust back to life as a parent. Just one full day without a baby to watch and we get spoiled!

Don’t get me wrong, we missed our sweet girl tremendously, but any parent can relate to the “freedom” I’m sure. Similar to our inability to decide on things to do while downtown together, we were at a loss back home too. Kelley had to get on to me for spending too much time over the sink and in the kitchen in general and not with my two girls.

I’m glad she called me out, I need to be knocked in the head sometimes. Figuratively, please! So, I left my soapy dishes in the sink and joined my wife and Avery in the baby jail a.ka. play pen. She acts like it’s jail sometimes, and even attempts to escape frequently!

Avery crawled around and played with her toys scattered across the floor as Kelley and I acted as human obstacle courses. Avery grew tired of this after about an hour as we tried to keep her entertained. If there were a game called “Indecision”, we’d win, hands down.

Finally, we decided getting outside for fresh air and movement was the best bet, and walked over to the neighborhood playground not far from our house. I’ve been wanting to let Avery go down a slide since she gets excited when we toss her in the air or play airplane with her. This girl is going to love roller-coasters, I just know it!

The trip to the playground was short, but our goal was achieved; Avery had her first ride down the slide! Kelley and I each took a turn going down with her and she only seemed slightly amused. She did give us some cute smiles though, so it’s a win to us!

Monday was coming to an end and we went back home to get our dog, Abby, to go for a longer walk. I know soon Avery will be more excited for the playground when she is running around on her own, so I’m trying to enjoy this stage while it lasts. But, I’m impatient and want to play!

Here are some of my favorite photos from our sliding experience; enjoy!