Baby Steps to Baby’s First Steps

04/23/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

So she hasn’t even started to crawl yet, but it’s never too early to start working on “the walk”. Right? Right.

Avery is great at getting her legs up under her, but she’s still not sure what to do with her arms. So when she’s on her stomach, she’s usually like this….

But she’s figuring things out every day, so it’s only a matter of time. I’m not sure if we should be scared or excited. Both? I guess being a parent pretty much means you’re always scared and excited, huh?

It’s evident that Avery wants to be like Mommy and Daddy and stand on her own legs like us. Every time we stand her on her feet, she cracks a big smile and sometimes lets out a high-pitched bird sound. Not sure what it is, but it’s cute and usually means she’s happy.

On most nights now, our routine will include Avery doing what we call “the cat walk” on our kitchen island to keep her happy. Since naps are becoming scarce, Avery isn’t always the happiest of campers in the evening, but she really gets focused while on her feet.

Apparently, I do too! Depending how tired she is, Avery will either let her feet hang as I hold her…

….or she’ll put on a show and strike a pose as she “walks” back and forth across the island.

I know she has a while before she actually walks, but this fun for Going Mom and me to see our daughter enjoying herself and it’s great exercise! Sometimes exercise can be tiring though, so we’ll let Avery take a break and sit at the island.

I guess she’s not too thrilled about sitting on Mommy and Daddy’s head yet. At what age does that happen? Right now she seems unsure of what’s going on. Probably because she is unsure of what’s going on….hmmmm.

Confused on Dad:

Confused on Mom:

Hey at least we both look cool! No?

Oh well, I wanted to make sure and note how Avery is showing signs of mobility other than rolling and hope to post on her next “first”.

When did your baby first start to crawl? Walk?

Know anyone whose baby skipped crawling and went right to walking?

Parenting

5 Month Vaccinations After Easter!

04/22/2014 R.C. Liley 3 Comments

Yep, we’re that mean, we had our daughter get shots the day after Easter.

Pretty cruel, huh?

We are following the alternative vaccine schedule, so it wasn’t a lot of shots, but we’ll be there again in another month. Sorry, Avery.

Going Mom took the day off to go with us for the shots, and I always appreciate her company. I feel kind of guilty sometimes because when she’s home, I tend to do less of the baby tasks. But, Kelley does enjoy soaking up every extra second she can with Avery, so I don’t think she cares too much.

Once in the car, Avery was flashing us smiles unaware of her pending pricks.

Avery surprised with a hefty poo while waiting in the doctor’s office and we immediately changed once she was in a room. With her diaper off, we put our squirmy baby on the scale to see how much she gained from her 4 month appointment. At 4 months, she was 13 lbs 9oz. and this time she was about 14lbs 13oz. Almost 15lbs!!

I love seeing how much more attentive Avery is with everything and she’ll grab whatever is in reach. We laid her on the patient table and she wasted no time grabbing the paper liner and bringing it to her mouth.

Poor girl, so ignorant of what’s come.

There were 3 shots for the day and one nurse tried to console Avery as the other administered the shots.

So much for the consoling, Avery lit up in tears within seconds. She made sure to hit the high chords so everyone knew she was NOT happy.

With all of her squirming, Avery knocked one of the needles off the table requiring the nurse to prep a new one. No worries, Mommy was there to help soothe her.

Oh, okay, that wasn't too bad.... — Oh, okay, that wasn’t too bad….

With the last needle ready, Going Mom the now somewhat content Avery back down.

Okay, I'm ready to go back in the car n...hey, wait... — Okay, I’m ready to go back in the car n…hey, wait…

The nurse was quick, but Avery let us know she felt the prick (I like rhymes, what can I say?).

And once more, Super Mommy was there to calm our distraught daughter as Daddy just took pictures.

At least she tried to console her. I think Avery lost her trust in us after thinking shots were over the first time. Now that she’s more aware of her surroundings, I wonder if she’ll pick up on the doctor’s office in another month.

Back in the car, I asked Avery if she was looking forward to her 6 month shots, and judging from her look, I’m thinking NO.

We have been meaning to open a savings account for Avery, and decided to go after the appointment. As we sat in the cubicle with one of the bankers, he asked us for her social and we both turned to look at each other.

Crap! Shots after Easter and we can’t remember our daughter’s social security card! Oops, sorry, Avery.

To try and make it up to her, I offered to let her drive back home.

She wasn’t impressed.

So I put her back in her car seat and we made a stop at Sprouts and an auto parts store before heading home.

Going Mom took advantage of being with us and she wore Avery in the Ergobaby Ventus that they sent me free of charge to review. Kelley was able to quickly put it on and get Avery secure before we went inside.

I made my usual zig-zag through the store as Kelley picked out some baby and lavender oils to make our own baby wipe solution. The solution will consist of baby oil, lavender oil, and tea tree oil. Hopefully this will aid in clearing Avery’s rash and we’ll feel better knowing the ingredients are pure and simple.

Going Mom’s extra day off was spent mostly with us just running around and doing errands, so hopefully we’ll be able to slow things down next weekend and enjoy playing with Avery together.

Have you ever followed up a fun day with your kids by having something not fun for them? Sayyyyy, like shots?

Do you make your own baby solutions for wipes, bathing, or general cleaning?

Going Healthy

Going Healthy: How to Cook Fish in Your Dishwasher

04/20/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Hi there!

Happy Easter to those of you that celebrate, and Happy Just-another-Sunday to those of you that don’t!

So, guess what I did yesterday? You give up? I cooked a big batch of wild-caught cod.

Who cares, right? Well, I cooked the fish in our dishwasher if that interests you.

Hi, I cook your food and wash what you eat it on!

No, its not taking the “clean eating” fad literally (hmm, or maybe it is….), its simply as it sounds. Take your fish, put in dishwasher, and run a cycle.

This was my first time to cook with the dishwasher and I was unsure of how things would turn out. So, I obviously had my concerns. Will my washer smell like fish forever, will the fish just get shred to pieces, and will it even be fully cooked?

But, the end result was perfectly cooked fish! Tender, moist, and still intact; awesome! The dishwasher did smell a little like fish, but nothing overwhelming and it went away after a while.

The prep was quick and easy, and cleanup was a wash! Ha ha, I love laughing at my own corny puns!

Anyway, even Going Mom tried and approved of the dishwashed (steamed or poached?) fish. Good thing since it will be in her meals I prepare for her work lunches!

Why cook food in the dishwasher? No good reason, just because you can and it’s fun to say you did. Will I do again? Maybe, but not anytime soon.

That said, give it a shot and join the dishwashed food club. You could cook with a washer full of dirty dishes as long as your tightly seal your foil pouches, but I prefer not to.

You see this compartment to fill with dishwashing fluid?

Don’t!

Here’s what you need:

fish of choice (I used cod but heard salmon works well too)
salt and pepper
herbs and spices (this is optional, but I used paprika, cumin, basil, and dill)
I didn’t use any, but you could add a little olive oil and lemon juice inside the foil.
aluminum foil
a dishwasher

Here’s what you do:

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.
Place your fish on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal tight.
Season fish with salt and pepper and any additional seasonings you prefer.
Turn off your oven since you don’t even need to use it and I just wanted to annoy you. Sorry…
Tightly seal the foil around your fish.
Place foil pouches in the top rack of your dishwasher and run on normal cycle with the sanitize option if you have it.
Sealed tight and ready for a wash!
Let your dishwasher do its thing and do not open until the full cycle, including the drying cycle, is complete.
Remove fish from dishwasher and enjoy your “clean eating” fish with a side of quinoa and roasted Brussels sprouts….or whatever sides you like.