All posts by R.C. Liley

I'm an ex-mutual fund accountant who left the cubicle world to be a stay-at-home dad to my beautiful little girl, Avery, who entered our life on 11/15/13. Also happily married to my wife, Kelley, for 7 years as of 8/17/14. Sorry ladies... :) Fitness and nutrition is of the upmost importance in our family and we strive to reflect this in our daily life. I always prepare our meals at home and only go out if it's a special occasion, and even then I tend to not get much. Food should be fun and a joy to eat, not something quickly consumed from a fast food chain or scarf down before the next meeting. I have come from strictly logging high miles to train for the next marathon to keeping exercise varied and focusing more on strength. I still enjoy going for a run when I can, but nothing crazy, and I prefer hill sprints while pushing my daughter, Avery in the stroller. She loves it and I get a great workout! I want to show the world how to appreciate their body and feed it real, wholesome food while moving more throughout the day. In doing so, everyone would be healthier, happier, and we'd all live in a better place as a result. I blog mainly about my life as a stay-at-home dad and frequently include reviews, participate in campaigns, and share my thoughts on fitness and nutrition. If you ever have any questions or thoughts to share, please reach out as I'm always open to listening or helping others however possible. That is, when I have free time since Avery is and my wife are the number one priorities!

#MySundayPhoto, Parenting, Silent Sunday

Waving to the Airplanes: #MySundayPhoto – 10.04.15

10/04/2015 R.C. Liley 10 Comments

We’re at the stage of toddlerdom (hey, it’s on Wiktionary!) where every new thing/word is repeated somewhere between 10 to 50 million times a day. One of those things is “plane” or “jet” every time she hears one flying overhead.

Oh, I should mention we live between two airports, one being the extremely busy DFW Airport. In other words, there’s a lot of planes that fly over us. We rarely noticed the flying vessels until now, since Avery calls out their presence upon each passing. We’re proud of our girl for everything she’s learning, obviously, but the repeated words can take a toll sometimes. First world problems, I know.

We encourage Avery with supportive words when she acknowledges a color, sound, object, etc, so now we have her waving to the planes as they fly by.

I’m not sure if she understands that she’s waving to people (like we told her), or just the actual jet and/or plane, but it’s cute nonetheless. Speaking of, we also try to explain the difference between jet and plane since she’s been using both words.

Essentially, all jets are planes, but not all planes are jets. The propeller driven planes and in a different category. All of this just goes over her head (ha ha, puntastic!), but I know she’ll eventually catch on.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Do you have a lot planes fly near your home?

Are there things you never or hardly noticed that your kid constantly discovers around your home now?

#MySundayPhoto, Parenting

“Nothing Gold Can Stay” Debunked: #MySundayPhoto – 08.23.15

08/23/2015 R.C. Liley 10 Comments

Other than the pictures from our family vacation in Colorado, we have been eased up on the picture taking as of late. Maybe because we’ve felt it a bit excessive in the past, or just that Avery’s so active that we’d rather spend the time playing with our growing girl.

Whatever the case, I am absolutely in love with this picture and glad I took the time for a few shots (while playing) to get it. This was one of those pictures you don’t even realize you captured until going back and looking at them later. My wife and I were both in awe of this one.

My heart fills warm with love and I turn speechless every time I look at this photo. How much she has grown in just the past few weeks is unreal, exciting, as well as a little depressing. It makes me think of the poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost, and how it’s both right and wrong.

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Right, because obviously so many beautiful things in life come and go every day. A newborn baby is only newborn for so long until they get older and older and older until they’re taking care of the couple that raised them.

Wrong, because, as you can see, pictures will forever capture that one “Gold” moment enabling it to “Stay” or last forever. Plus, that newborn baby will continue to be golden in so many ways throughout life.

Whoa! What happened? I feel like Will Ferrell in the debate scene from Old School where he snaps out of it after his winning debate. Even a pun-loving guy like myself has serious deep thoughts at times.

Anyway, I’ve gone on too long, but just wanted to say how much I love this picture I’m happy to have it for us to enjoy even as she continues to grow.

Do you have a certain photo that totally captivates you?

What do you think about the saying “Nothing gold can stay”?

#MySundayPhoto, Parenting

Red-Hot and Blue-tiful: #MySundayPhoto – 07.26.15

07/26/2015 R.C. Liley 10 Comments

My wife was out in our backyard with Avery following her every move the other day and both were keeping quite busy. It was hot, as usual, but it didn’t seem to slow our little busy toddler down a bit. Kelley brought the camera outside to snap a few shots and ended up capturing this close-up of her red-hot cheeks and beautiful blue eyes.

Another job well done by my wife for getting such a great shot. Maybe I’m a biased parent, okay, I am (aren’t we all?), but her stare goes right through you. Not in a scary “I’m going to haunt you.” kind of way, but more of a “Hi, I’m cute, will you play with me?” way.

I love her deep stare photos, and it never gets old staring right back into her vibrant blue eyes.

Does your kid’s face turn bright red after playing outside?

Do you have a favorite “deep stare” photo of your kids?