Tag Archives: turtle

Still No Giant Tortoise for Father’s Day

06/22/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Last Father’s Day, the first one I celebrated, I had a tiny idea that my wife and mom teamed up to get me a giant tortoise as a gift. If the title confuses you, last year’s post was No Giant Tortoise for Father’s Day, so adding “Still” to my Father’s Day post this year seemed the only logical thing to do.

Unlike last year, I had no reason to believe I would get a giant tortoise for my 2nd Father’s Day celebration. Honestly, I have no clue what I would do with a giant tortoise in our back yard. I guess I’ll cancel my order for this sign though…*sigh*

Actually, if anything, I’d be happy to have less pets. For whatever reason, our Golden Retriever, Abby, and fat black cat, Lou, get on my nerves and are the main reason I vacuum at least twice a day. But Kelley loves them and as long as they make her happy (for the most part), they stay.

Enough about what I didn’t get for Father’s Day, as it was anything but disappointing. We started with Avery waking up earlier than usual (no surprise) and Going Mom making two big batches of French Press coffee. She could’ve stopped there and I would’ve been set for my gifts. #CoffeeAddict

Even on Father’s Day, I like to keep my kitchen duty, so I had a big bowl of blueberry NuttZo oatmeal made for my girls. As they filled their bellies with goodness, I prepped the slow-cooker with a healthy mix of tomatoes, kidney beans, zucchini from our garden, cubed potatoes, onions, and garlic with wild cod on top.

This lets me make one vegetarian meal with beans only, and then another one with the fish. Love the slow-cooker! As I finished prepping, Avery ran around the home and thought Mommy would like several of her sleep pants brought to her.

So thoughtful.

Afterward, we went to the garage where Kelley cut my hair. It was much needed and I think we both agree was the best job she’s done yet! I never complained about the others though, I’m just happy to have shorter hair. Just like my hair, our lawn needed a cut too, so I took care of that rather quickly thanks to our EGO.

Glad I have Avery to turn on the headlights for me!

Feeling extra itchy from my hair and the grass stuck on me, I ran to our neighborhood pool ahead of Kelley and Avery to swim a few laps until they got there. A “few” turned into 1000 meters until they arrived which was more than I’ve done swimming in a long time. Felt good though.

Then we hung out in the kiddie pool and watched Avery walk around all by herself! She loves having the freedom in the water, but we have to be careful since every now and then she’ll trip up and go under. Hunger set in for all of us, so we took the obligatory pictures of each other holding our kid in the pool and were on our way home.

“Just put me back in the water, Dad!”

“Yeah, Mommy knows how to hold me better!”

Kelley and Avery had their usual weekend lunch of steamed broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower with brown rice and wild salmon as I took forever to make the crazy veggie combo I had for the day. Apparently, waking up early caught up to Avery and she fell asleep right after her last bite of food!

We always give her lunch usually right before naptime, but it’s usually a fight to get her to sleep. Not this time. I was even vacuuming (go figure) and used the extension to tickle her feet and she hardly moved. This, of course, meant I had to post it on Instagram.

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Kelley carried her off to bed where she never woke up, but a carrot did fall from her shirt. At least it wasn’t the salmon like she gets on her most times!

For my gifts this year, besides a loving wife, adorable daughter, the best haircut to date, and no giant tortoise, I got another 3 month subscription to the microbrew beer of the month club. I loved this gift last year for my 30th birthday, and am excited to see what I get this time around.

Going Mom also added to the Dad and Avery photo book she made for me last year which I will always hold dear to my heart. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a sentimental guy, and these things mean so much to me.

A photo book of daddy and Avery from my loving wife!

She was trying to be secretive about adding to the book and was going to use another room, but I noticed that the book was missing from the bookshelf it usually sits on and told her I already knew what she was doing. So, as I write this, she is putting it together in the same room as me, I just agreed not to look. She seems really busy though, and if it’s anything like her previous work, it will be magnificent!

Overall it was another wonderful and successful Father’s Day. Number 2 is in the books (hey, no dirty minds here!) and can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year to celebrate my third Father’s Day. Maybe a giant tortoise?

And, before I go, here is the winner of the PicturesOnGold.Com Photo Dog Tag Giveaway.

Congrats, Marilyn, hope you enjoy giving this special gift to a special someone in your life!

Dads, did you do anything special to celebrate the day?

Do you like celebrations that are low key or prefer something a little more wild?

Life, Parenting

No Giant Tortoise for Father’s Day

06/17/2014 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

The sound of my Vibram-clad feet running on a hiking trail with a light breeze whispering in my ears and the sound of grasshoppers flapping to move out of my path. This is how I spent part of my first Father’s Day; alone and at peace enjoying a sweaty run on a nearby trail.

6.5 miles and 31 pushups, air squats, and burpees later, I was ready to go back to my beautiful girls to celebrate “my” day!

Before I left for my run, Going Mom made me a lot of coffee with the French press and gave me my Father’s Day gift.

Pretty sure I drank a full carafe by myself!

I’m a sentimental kind of guy, and gifts from the heart mean more to me than something that can bought and wrapped up. Don’t get me wrong, there are many things you can buy and wrap that do require thought and care, but I don’t “need” those things and would rather have something made just for me.

Kelley knows this and was spending a lot of time in our front room for the days leading up to Father’s Day. She prohibited me from entering the front room for about a month since it also housed my 30th birthday gift. I was clueless what it could be, but instantly loved it when she gave it to me that morning.

A photo book with picture of just Avery and me starting at day 1 in the hospital and having our skin to skin time.

As I looked through, I relived each moment and joy filled my heart; I love it! Even this picture of me wearing Avery in the Baby Bjorn which I will never do again for the potential hip issues it causes babies, put a giant grin on my face.

Now I wear her in an Onya most of the time as well as an Ergo sometimes. Both are great options and seat the baby with their knees higher than their bottom and supports the hips. They are also more comfortable on you, the babywearer.

The time and thought my loving wife put into this means so much to me and (I’m looking at it now and smiling) makes me grateful for our small family. Even the card had to of taken some time and puts my homemade cards to her to shame!

Yep, I didn’t get a giant toolbox from Sears with all of the coolest Craftsmen tools or a new tablet with a super-ultra-mega-pixel burn-your-eyes-out screen and a faster than lightning processor, I got something better; a gift from the heart of someone I love dearly and can’t be duplicated. Thank you, Kelley/Wife/Wonderful Mom!!

For a while, I played with the idea that maybe her and my mom (G-Ma) had gone in together to get me a giant tortoise for our back yard. Why the hell would I think that? It seems ridiculous to me now, but I had mentioned several times how I want a giant tortoise for our back yard. It was always just laughed off (me included) because that would be crazy and I’m pretty sure illegal here in Texas.

But then, my mom’s boyfriend, Paul, recently showed us a picture of his son’s new back yard tortoise. They kept talking about it and how they put a lot of work into their yard to make a great home for the big guy and it was awesome.

Giant tortoise in back yard with their dog having a peek

For some reason, with the enthusiasm my mom and Kelley were telling me about the tortoise, I had thought they had something up their sleeve. Turns out, nope, nothing up their sleeve at all!

As cool as it would be, I was getting worried when I thought this was a reality; what in the world would I actually do with a giant tortoise in the back yard? We have a small box turtle, Tash, and she’s all we need. Plus, she’s the perfect size for Avery to watch and learn about.

After I returned from my better-than-therapy trail run, we spent the rest of the day together just enjoying each other. We did end up with a giant turtle in our back yard, but in the form of an inflatable pool, not a tortoise.

I didn’t take a shot of the pool alone, but you can see it there behind our happy baby. I promise, she really is a girl, it just doesn’t help when we choose blue and green. Oh well, we refuse to overwhelm her with pink!

I couldn’t get a smiling picture of her and me in the pool, but she flashed her rosy gums with mommy!

After getting enough of the outside, we all gathered back inside for the evening. G-Ma was with us to spend the night and we sat around the kitchen with food and drink just enjoying each other’s company. We even had a good Father’s Day brew from a local brewery, Rahr and Son’s, to share a cheers.

No, she didn’t have any beer, but she was really loving on the cucumber we gave her. This was her first time trying, and I’d say it was a hit!

I had a wonderful first Father’s Day and love our small family. Now that I have something to compare to, next year will be hard to beat! Hopefully there’s not giant tortoise then either!

Did you do anything for Father’s Day? Get anything cool?

What would you do with a giant tortoise as a back yard pet?

Life, Parenting

Another “BLW” Fail and Avery Meets our Turtle

05/19/2014 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

Yep, baby-led weaning was another no-go today. After our first attempt with a fussy baby just the day before, we were sure trying mid-morning the next day would yield success.

I could feel the excitement run through my veins as she grasped the green bean as I thought “This is it!” Is it sad to get so excited over our baby gripping a flimsy green bean? C’mon, I know other parents are the same! But the excitement quickly dissipated as she hastily tossed it aside.

You can see it in the corner just barely hanging on to the tray. We sat and stared with cameras in hand a while longer, but finally gave up as Avery’s mood worsened. Another tasty meal for our box turtle, Tash, was served; compliments of Avery.

At least Tash is enjoying the whole baby-led weaning experience thus far. Thanks to several of you for your comments on your own BLW experiences we will keep trying and have patience with Avery. In time, our girl will “pick up” on what to do with her food and she’ll be eating like a champ in no time. So we hope!!

G-Ma came over in the afternoon to stay with us for the night and she was excited to see and play with Avery. Going Mom and I took care of things around the house while G-Ma kept Avery occupied which was extremely helpful!

All four of us wound up outside and I thought it would be the perfect time to take Tash out of her outside pen and introduce her to Avery. At first, Avery didn’t notice the Terrapene walking under her nose; maybe those puffy cheeks blocked her view!

But it wasn’t long before she noticed Tash trying to distance herself from us humans.

She became very interested in this new hard-shelled creature and tried to reach and feel for herself.

It’s definitely not soft and fluffy like the cat and dog she already knows, and it was great watching her reaction. With Avery’s attention solely on our pet reptile, I explained their unique shell and anatomy to her as if she was taking notes.

Did you know turtles have feelings in their shells? Yep, their shells are a part of their body and they cannot leave them like certain crabs can. There’s a little turtle info for the day; you’re welcome.

Poor Tash kept trying to get away, but we made sure to safely keep her around us. Intrigued, Avery continued to reach for Tash as she walked away and would just miss making contact. Probably for the best because baby fingers look awfully similar to plump grubs or worms!

We all enjoyed watching Avery witness something new in her world and it’s awesome how interested she can get!

I know as Avery gets older, she’ll be able to see and learn more about our turtle and the species as a whole since her dad is such a reptile fanatic. Yep, mainly snakes and turtles, but they all interest me. Maybe the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have something to do with? Hmmmm.

It was a great Sunday that went by too fast, but luckily Going Mom only has a four day work week ahead! Yay, the weekend starts early and lasts longer! Oh, wait, it’s Avery’s 6 month shots and check-up on the first day Kelley is off, but hopefully that won’t dampen Avery’s spirits the whole time!

Do you have any other pets besides a dog and cat that your children loves or hates or is scared of?

Are you a reptile lover or can’t stand the critters?