Category Archives: Life

8 Month Photo Session with Snaggletooth and Sleepy Face

07/17/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Every month we have been taking a picture of Avery in the same chair with the same bear; nothing different.

What is different, is the level of difficulty with each passing month as Avery’s mobility only gets better.

Last month, she was on the verge of crawling, and very hard to keep still as she constantly attacked her bear. This month was no different, but she was able to stabilize herself a little better. Yep, Going Mom still needed to stand by to prevent the gravity defying Avery from falling right off the chair.

Notice Mommy’s safety net arm ready to catch our baby as she lunges forward in her crazed state.

Another variable I never considered is the fact that she’ll eventually have more than just a gummy smile, she’ll have teeth! This is the first month where Avery is flashing us a snaggletoothed smile with only her front top right making an appearance.

Hard to see, but it’s there. She also has her two front bottom teeth cutting through, but they’re still hard to see.

Our 8 month photo session was short lived, but we successfully obtained a few good shots. The temperament of a teething baby is grab bag of emotions; you never know what you’ll get from one minute to the next. First, she’s happily hugging her bear-friend….

…..then it’s suddenly hands-to-face….

…..and more hands-to-face, really rubbing those eyes….

……oh, it’s back to happiness and bear hugs…

…..but wait, maybe the bear said something mean…

…..nope, it’s that damn tooth….

……okay, one more hug? for the bear with Mommy’s supervision…

……aaaaaannnndddd, she’s spent…..

…..now it’s all business, the bear is gone.

All of this happened in the span of approximately 4 minutes. I know, it’s a crazy life, huh?

As all parents already know, the randomness of our kids’ temperaments means us adults will also have a varied temperament. Guess that’s why we have our options of beer, wine, or liquor should the “need” arise!

I know, we never actually think we need alcohol to solve our problems, it’s just fun to reference………..and drink. 😉

If you take frequent growth pictures of your kids or used to, what difficulties did you experience as they grew older?

Life, Parenting

Nana and Papa’s Visit and Would You Let Your Wife Cut Your Hair?

07/16/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Seriously, who needs teeth anyway? Can’t we all survive on pureed foods?

We are in full blown teething mode over here, and Avery is constantly reminding us every second…………not kidding.

Poor girl, life is hard.

This past weekend Nana and Papa came over to have dinner at our house. They hadn’t seen Avery since Mother’s Day when we brought her to their house for her 6 month photos.

I’d say she’s changed a little; crawling, “talking”, and sprouting a few teeth.

After everyone ate, Avery provided the entertainment for the evening. She could crawl anywhere (within reason) around the house, but chose to go under the table just to make it difficult to get her. No worries, though, Papa joined her to see what’s so great about her chosen location.

Not sure what is was, but the hung out down there for a while. Eventually, she climbed out and her and Papa had a little peek-a-boo time.

Where is Papa?

There he is!

She wasn’t buying it. Teething can really “take a bite” out of your sense of humor, huh?

Avery actually enjoyed most of the day, but for some reason she just wouldn’t show smiles for the camera. We really have to work for those smiles now!

After Papa had his Avery fix, Nana could hardly resist scooping Avery in her arms for kisses. I’m going to guess Avery isn’t quite ready to return kisses though…

Just a wild guess.

We moved outside to our backyard for a bit and Avery practiced standing in the grass as Kelley held her hands.

The air was stagnant and even with the sun starting to set, it was hot, so we migrated back inside. We played with Avery a little longer until Nana and Papa had to head home. It was great seeing them, and I know Avery enjoyed their company, despite her expressionless face in the pictures!

The next day, Sunday, in an effort to “cut” costs, I agreed to have Going Mom cut my hair. We bought a new hair cutting kit for just less than the price of one haircut, so after just one cut, we’d be in the green!

I normally try to wait a month before getting my hair cut, so it was getting pretty messy and growing over my ears.

Here it is from the side: before

I never fix my hair or do anything with it unless my wife asks me to, which isn’t often thankfully. When I had an office job, just the act of putting something in my hair stressed me out. Yeah, it’s a minor thing, but just what it represented pissed me off.

Anyway, after a few YouTube videos and reading the included instruction manual later, Kelley started her first time attempt to ever cut anyone’s hair. At first, I wasn’t too worried, but as she started laughing and saying “It will get better”, I had an immediate face palm reaction.

But, in the end, I’m pretty happy with the results. It’s a lot shorter than I usually have it, but definitely makes it easy to wash and there’s no way to style this now!

It’s taken some getting used to, for both of us, but I’d say it’s growing on me. Ha ha, get it?

Now I don’t have to wait a month or more before my next hair cut, and hopefully Kelley’s statement, “It will get better” holds true.

So, would you let your spouse/partner cut your hair if they never have before?

Life, Parenting

BYOB with Jellyfish on Date Night

07/14/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Remember my Foodie Facts post on Friday? I mentioned how Going Mom and I went on a much needed date night while G-Ma watched Avery.

Our date took us to a BYOB paint class called Texas U Can Paint where you can drink and snack as an instructor leads the class in painting their own picture. Everyone has the same type of picture depending on what time and day you choose to go.

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This is one of the gifts I gave to Kelley on Mother’s Day, and it turned out to be a fun time with my lovely bride! We chose to go when a Jellyfish was the image to paint. For the BYOB part, Kelley brought red wine and I had Zevia Ginger Ale with bourbon.

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Yep, drinking from a straw. I know how to keep things classy! What I do not know, is how to pour slowly. I enjoy a good whiskey, but hardly every that much, and I still haven’t had dinner! So, I was feeling pretty “artsy” as we painted our jellyfish. Too bad that feeling didn’t transfer onto my painting….

Kelley told me we can still hang mine though. YAY! Buuuutttttt,………….only in the closet. BOO! Meh, guess it’s hard to argue; I just enjoyed the time with my love. And hey, her painting turned out pretty good.

Here’s a side by side comparison just so you can laugh at mine a little more.

Kelley’s Dad, Papa, said mine kind of looks like an octopus, and I’d have to agree. What do you think?

At one point the instructor started to explain the shape of the jellyfish head but paused and said “Oh, there are kids here.” (This was a 12 & up class). Then she just said it’s sort of like a mushroom.

With the help of bourbon, I blurted across the classroom asking her what she was going to say to describe the jellyfish head at first, and she just laughed. After a group of women caught on to my question, they started laughing and said I was bad. Turns out, that’s how I felt afterward.

A young girl who was sitting next to us looked at the woman who had brought her and said “What, I don’t get it?”

Oh man, I could feel the red flush over my face. I later apologized to the woman, but she didn’t mind and just laughed. Phew, dummy me!

Going Mom and I really enjoyed ourselves and the time spent together. It’s not often we get to be alone, so we’re learning to make the most it each time get!

We are extremely thankful to my mom, G-Ma, for coming over on a work night to watch our dear daughter. Avery wasn’t the easiest for G-Ma that night, but my mom still said she enjoyed the time with her. From watching how much she loves watching, playing, and holding Avery, I know this is true, and I love that she’s able to be there for her…..and for us!

Have you ever attended a BYOB paint class? We saw a similar place that does pottery and might have to try that next, but I see another paint class in our future too!