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!

Life, Parenting

Active at G-Ma’s and I Almost Forgot Something!

04/14/2014 R.C. Liley 12 Comments

For the past few times we made the trip to my mom’s, Avery’s G-ma, to stay the night, Avery didn’t do much. I mean, the hightlight of our last trip was doing Ninja Turtle puzzles…..without her! Then again, she didn’t do much anywhere because she’s under six months! But, for our trip this past weekend, Avery was more active and full of smiles. For the most part, she’s still a baby and she still cried.

Before leaving on Saturday, we had our usual routine of coffee and protein pancakes while Avery played with her Skwish Stix from the Manhattan Toy Co. Kelley put Avery down for a nap before our drive, and then we did a workout together in the garage.

The Skwish Stix are meant to help introduce the concept of cause and effect as your baby pulls the beads and watches them spring back. They are meant for ages 6 months and up, so I’m giving it awhile before a full review. But, Avery is interested and will grab at them when nearby.

Once at G-Ma’s, we sat Avery in the middle of the kitchen counter to let her read a recent magazine article.

We asked if it was an interesting story, but she just flashed smiles.

I figured it couldn’t be bad with those smiles, but then she just ripped the pages out and tried to eat them.

Hmmm, time to go roll on the floor with Mommy and G-ma!

We spent a lot of time with Avery rolling around and trying to keep her on the blanket. She’s not even crawling yet and she can really get “around”! Too cheesy? Good, the more cheesy the better! Anyway, you could tell Avery was enjoying her time playing with G-Ma, and they both loved every second of it.

Avery has been laughing a little bit, but we’re still waiting for a real outburst coming deep within her stomach. I’ve been able to get the little laughs by crawling around and “attacking” her belly, but she won’t do it for many others yet. That didn’t stop G-ma from trying though…

Avery was going strong and moving around for quite a while when all of the sudden, I think tiredness set in.

Even Abby, not allowed in the room but as close as possible to the “boundary”, seemed worn out.

When a baby is tired, fussiness is sure to follow, and it did. Nothing too bad, but it was time for a little power nap. I brought along our new Ergobaby Ventus carrier that Ergobaby kindly sent me to review, so I figured we’d go for a walk/nap to test it out.

The wind was gusting at high speeds so I utilized the built-in hood for Avery. She didn’t fuss for the whole hour we walked and I know she slept at least 40 minutes. When we returned, I asked Avery how she liked the walk, but she was still too sleepy to answer.

The Ergo was pretty nice and it is smaller than the Onya that we have, but you have to expect a carrier with a built-in child seat will be bigger. I will be wearing the Ergo more before a full review, but one thing I wish it had were extra storage pockets. These are very handy for carrying a phone, keys, wallet, or a doggie bag for our walks with the dog.

Sleep is always up in the air with a baby, and she didn’t do the best at G-Ma’s. Going Mom was up several times trying to feed and console her while my lazy self just laid in bed. Sorry, Kelley. Kelley was exhausted and Avery was still wide awake and very active, so I finally did something took Avery to the recliner in the living room. I rocked and reclined her and she eventually fell asleep on me. She’s not as small as last time we slept together, and it wasn’t the most comfortable, but I know I should still cherish it while I can.

The next day we sipped multiple cups of coffee and Avery rolled around more. My little brother, Uncle Preston, worked late the night before but was home now and he got to hold a happy Avery for bit.

It was good to see, and hopefully they’ll get to hang out more as she gets older. I can see these two becoming best buds, besides her and her Daddy, of course.

The day drew on and it was time for us to head home. Ugh, time goes too fast! G-Ma spent a little longer with Avery showing her some window ornaments and then said our goodbyes.

It usually takes us a month or more before making our next trip to G-Ma’s; I wonder what Avery will be doing then. Maybe crawling?

Oh yeah, I almost forget to say what I almost forgot. It’s nothing big to you I’m sure, but being self-motivated and anal-retentive about fitness (amongst other things in life), this would’ve bothered me had I forgot. What was it? 30 burpees!

Since the day we brought Avery home on 11/17/13, I have committed to doing 30 burpees a day and haven’t missed a day yet. Sunday night, as I had the water and was about to step in the shower, I suddenly realized I forgot. So, what’s an OCD guy to do? I knocked them out right there before getting in the shower!

Phew, close call, and sorry for sharing the details. Now you all know me a little bit better.

Do you have anything that you have to do every day? Every week?

How was your weekend?

Disclosure: The Manhattan Toy Co. and Ergobaby sent me the products I mentioned free of charge to be reviewed on my blog. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

Avery Talk, Parenting

How to Survive the First 5 Months of Your Life

04/12/2014 R.C. Liley 3 Comments

Well, hello there, earth newbs. Want to know how to make it through the first 5 months of your life?

If so, then I’ve got some important information you need to hear. Now, first things first; see this mouth? Listen to it!

I’ve learned a few things about those giant babies hovering around us like we depend on them or something. Little do they know, I’ve been pretty sneaky in my 5 months sans womb.

I mean, reaaalllly sneaky….

I’ve been pretending not to understand things, but I get it all….up to 5 months, that is. So, if you learn nothing else from me today, just remember one thing.

Most of you will mainly have two giant babies around you, one calls themselves “Mommy” and the other “Daddy”. Now look at my mouth……..your MUST remember these two.

Your mommy will probably hold you to the middle of her giant baby body in front of these two dark and odd-shaped pacifiers; just latch on and drink until your stomach feels better. Now, your daddy, he doesn’t do this….I know, confusing, right? Instead, he will usually hold you higher and only have one clear pacifier that is more uniform in shape. Just do the same, latch and drink. See, kinda like this….

And DON’T, I mean DON’T latch on like this…

Mommy just screams and daddy gets frustrated. Hmmm, or wait….unless you want to make them mad.

Yeah, in that case do that, but not very often, just enough to keep them confused and at your mercy. You see, what they are giving you is what keeps your tummy full and gives you more energy to cry. But it also makes you mess up your diaper.

But don’t worry, mommy and daddy will take it off and give you a nice and clean diaper. This will make you very happy!

Speaking of diapers, mommy and daddy call mine cloth and they’re always putting them in some basket and when it’s full. Once the basket is full, they put them in some loud machine and after a few hours, I see the same ones again! When I can, I always wait until right after they put a full basket in the machine to make a poop. Hmmmm, I wonder if they like that or not.

Oh well, just remember, latch on, drink, dirty your diaper, then cry so they know to change you. Trust me, you want them to change you! These little tips will help you grow and stay clean. Another important piece of advice is getting some sleep. Yep, when you are like this…

Only your eyes will be fully shut and you could be in a number of other positions. Plus, I’m not wrapped like a burrito but you most likely will be. The sooner you accept having your arms strapped down, the better off you’ll be. I accepted, for a while, and l usually slept well. Here’ me pretending to be happy when I had no control of my arms or legs.

And once you wake up, if your mommy and/or daddy are there, flash them a smile. It’ll get you places and they seem to like this.

Eat, sleep, poop, and pee; that’s basically what you do these first few months. I’m still figuring out the rest and will keep you updated as I go. Oh yeah, you might start what the big babies call “teething” which really hurts and makes you slobber more than you already do.

I find it helps to chew on my hands……like all the time. Just try it, it feels soooo good.

If you eat and sleep well, then you might be able to roll over on your own after a few months. You can find my thoughts about rolling over in another post.

So, follow my simple advice and you’re sure to survive your first five months of existence. Make sure to throw your parents a few curveballs by acting excited about something, and then like you could care less.

Also, you get extra bonus points for being nice to other giant babies called “Grandma” or “Grandpa”.

Speaking of, I’m at my “G-ma’s” right now, so I’m going to go play now. Or maybe eat my hands and act uninterested…

Life, Parenting

Our First Trail Hike with the Onya and a Trip to Whole Foods

04/10/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Hiking can be something as simple as just walking out your door and going around the neighborhood. It’s easy, healthy, and fun! I’ve been hiking with Avery in our Onya Baby Outback around our neighborhood almost daily, and even mowed the lawn, but getting off the paved road is always more exciting!

I had this bright idea to drive to Whole Foods Market which is 30 miles away on Tuesday, and knew of some trails in the area. I’ve been running on them before and Going Mom and I raced a few 5k’s there as well. So, if I’m making the trek to Whole Foods, why not stop at the trails and show Avery something other than the houses in our neighborhood?

We had a late start from Avery taking her time but not refusing the bottle (of course), and then there was a little poop mishap (not pointing any fingers) which resulted in us both changing clothes. Fun. But, finally, we took off in the early afternoon.

For a little background, I worked at this Whole Foods Market right out of college for just less than a year. I had my bachelor’s in Finance, but with a passion for healthy food, I planned on working my way up from a grocery stocker to corporate in no time.

Well, the plan was a bust. I had a manager holding me back most likely because he felt threatened. He kept letting me know he only made it through high school and blah, blah. So, I moved on and went to work at a major financial company with Going Mom. It is a great company, but now I’m a proud stay-at-home dad! And back to the trail trip……

A small dose of adrenaline rushed through my veins as we entered the trailhead. It’s been a long time since I have been able to venture anywhere other than the grocery store, and I was excited to have my daughter along for the experience.

I opened the door to get Avery secured in the Onya and she greeted me with excitement.

It was there, trust me! Maybe she was questioning my choice of slip-on New Balance minimalist shoes for hiking in tall grass?

Anyway, we were all set and ready for adventure in no time.

See? Avery is trying to hide her face because she’s so excited. Okay, well she wasn’t crying! I think being in a new place just kept her quiet. We started on the paved road until we found the trail.

Beautiful! I was giving Avery an earful of how thrilled I was to be there, on a trail, with my little girl. As we walked past the trees and plants and I would point and show her anything I could explain. I’m no botanist or anything close, but she seemed interested in our surroundings.

We eventually came to a split in the trail where one part was a steep descent that would put you close to the river.

I’m always tempted to take the more challenging route, so I crept closer to evaluate my options. But, no, too risky with Avery, so we continued straight ahead until Bart Simpson greeted us.

Avery received a quick description of “The Simpsons” and then we took advantage of the sewer foundation for a father-daughter picture.

As we progressed, we were treated to an opening that exposed a great view of the river and we stopped to enjoy.

Not the clearest river around, but with the nice weather and my daughter content in the Onya, I didn’t mind a bit.

I tried to show Avery the river, and she might’ve took a glance, but seemed more interested in my red shirt.

Still showing no signs of disapproval from Avery, we forged on our surrounds grew more dense and difficult to navigate. It really wouldn’t be that bad, but I had to do a lot of backwards walking to keep Avery out of harm’s way.

Eventually, the grass was up to my waist, but I wanted to go a little further. After a few more steps, I looked up to see a shirtless guy buttoning his pants. Hmmm, that’s our cue to turn around now! I let Avery know he was just changing his diaper and we began to head back.

On the way, I saw another split in the trail, and this time it was a steep ascent. Okay, I can do this one with Avery for sure!

I mapped out my short course and made the climb. Things just look worse than they really are sometimes; I was at the top in two minutes.

It still felt awesome to do as I love climbing anything on a trail. Yep, my inner boy always comes out when trail hiking!

We finally made it back to where we started and I happily proclaimed to Avery she just finished her first trail hike!

Don’t mind the giant nose in the way….please.

Hmmm, okay, I’ll just have to remind her when she wakes up. I spotted a bench and figured she could use a break, so we sat down for a minute and took in the fresh air.

After our short break, it was time for Whole Foods! The last time I was there was when Kelley was pregnant with Avery. I always love perusing the aisles and chatting with any old co-workers that are left.

We arrived within minutes from the trails and I loaded Avery back in the Onya once more. Excitement started emanating from my body again, but not like at the trails.

The store changed since last time I was there and looked a lot better. Oh boy, more things to look at. I walked around showing Avery the various types of fresh, organic produce and explained how we’ll cook with them when she’s older.

I spent about 90 minutes in there mainly because Avery fell asleep and I didn’t want to disturb her. Plus, it’s not like I see the store very often. But in the end, it really wasn’t worth the drive for the store.

I will happily go back to the trails with Avery, but there are closer stores that offer the same things our family wants/needs. So, I’m glad Avery got to see a lot of new things, but Whole Foods just isn’t as exciting as it used to me. Is this what being a dad does? Oh well, I love it!

Do you enjoy taking your little ones on trail hikes?

Any fun or scary stories?