Category Archives: Parenting

A Watered-Down Splash Pad Outing

07/16/2015 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Hot weather and a toddler too energetic to keep indoors gave me the bright idea of bringing Avery to a nearby splash pad yesterday. It was the same one my wife and I brought her to a few months ago, and I was hoping she’d be more into it this time.

That time, I ran and met my favorite ladies there to play together in the assortment of shooting water structures. We took turns swinging her in the air to go in and out of water streams, but ultimately, she seemed unimpressed with the whole ordeal.

This time, I thought I’d get my workout “fix” in and run the 2+ miles in my Soft Star Shoes again, but also pushing Avery in the stroller. Not surprisingly, the Texas sun and weight of a toddler in a stroller made the run a little more difficult.

By the time we arrived, I was more excited about getting in the water than any of the other kids around. Which, by the way, there were a lot of kids. I saw two daycare vans in the parking lot and would’ve turned right around to go home if I were driving. But, the need to cool down and my determination to see Avery run around having a blast kept me from leaving. I took her out and set her down prepared to watch her run amok.

This picture look familiar? Pretty much the same spot and stance from her first visit to the pad. My heart started slowly sinking…..or maybe it was just slowing down to normal after running. Either way, her non-action was not the reaction I was hoping for. At least she turned around and smiled for the camera when I asked…

I tried running through the water obstacles in hopes she would follow suit, but no luck. She did, however, take a few steps and watch the fountains spit shots of water out.

Meanwhile, kids are running all around her screaming and having fun. Except for one boy who ran around and threw water from a bottle on me and then hit another boy in the face with the empty bottle. Yeah, he went to time-out after that.

The first trip with Going Mom was more fun than this. At least I had a beautiful wife to keep me company and help toss Avery around to get her to do something. I lifted her over my head and ran circles and went through a few sprayers which got her to laugh. Then I set her down thinking that might’ve warmed her up and she would be ready to go, but….

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And that pretty much sums up our lackluster outing to the splash pad. Guess we’ll stick to bounce houses for a bit longer.

I finally gave up with the splash pad and prepared to run back home. Not surprisingly, Avery never made a fuss about getting back in the stroller and she had a fun time shouting out “car” or “tree” at every car or tree we passed. There were a lot of both.

Feeling unsatisfied with our watered down water fun, I thought it best to stop by our neighborhood pool since we know how much she loves that! I guess no one wanted to come outside at that time, so we had the pool all to ourselves.

We “swam” in the big pool for a bit, and then migrated over to the kiddie pool so she could stand all by herself.

Kelley and I will ask if she can do high knees in the water and she does it every time. Pretty cute to watch, obviously. I made the mistake of asking if she can do squats in the water, in which she promptly showed she could, but came close to going under. #ParentingFail

After playing around in the kid pool and snapping a selfie with Avery, we were ready to head home. Hey, she smiled!

Despite the uneventful splash pad experience, I still think we had a good time. Maybe I’m just trying to be optimistic, okay, I am being optimistic, but these make for good memories nonetheless. Plus, the pool was our savior for a fun day!

At what age would you expect kids to be into the splash pad?

What’s better, swimming at the pool or a splash pad? Or both?

Monthly List, Parenting

20 Memories From My 20th Month Since Going Dad

07/15/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Craziness abound! This girl has seriously taken off this month and left us with plenty of memories. Some good , some bad, some extremely frustrating, and some, well, a little gross.

I’ll spare you the small talk since there are 20 memories to go over, so let’s get right to it.

1. Our couch is your new playground and you get very upset when you’re not able to lift yourself up on the cushions. But you’re determination proves that you can get up there and bounce all over as you please. If only we can get you to stop chewing the cushions with your green smoothie mouth.

2. You had a busy morning and afternoon with Mommy and me one day and ended up falling asleep during lunchtime. It was right before nap time, but you just couldn’t wait for that sleep!

3. When Mommy or Daddy drops a piece of food or ice cube or, anything really, you act as our personal narrator by saying “Uh-oh”. It’s cute, but honestly, some days it drives me crazy when I’m in a rush. Don’t worry, still love you lots!

4. “Uh-oh” isn’t the only thing you’re saying, you are getting to complete sentences too! It’s not exactly clear, but you love hiding things you have and saying “Where did it go?” Even when you don’t have anything, you use the sentence after we flush your poop down the toilet.

5. On the topic of toilets and talking, “Bye-bye” is yet another thing you’ve started saying…a lot. When you don’t ask “Where did it go?” when your poop gets flushed, you wave and say “Bye-bye”. It’s cute, of course, but sometimes you get a little too close to the toilet.

6. Bananas have been a favorite of yours for a while, especially with NuttZo, but this month you took eating the fruit into your own hands; literally.

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7. Like most toddlers and probably kids in general, your willingness to eat changes with each new bite we offer or food we put in front of you. But Mommy and me have found that reading a book out loud opens the gates (i.e. your mouth) each and every time. As a result, we’ve honed our tongue twister skills with Dr. Suess’ “Fox in Socks”.

8. You had popcorn for the first time and instantly loved it. After munching down on the air-popped goodness, you were hooked on the crunch and demanded more. Now if only you can understand it doesn’t all have to go in your mouth at once…..

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9. Another “first” for the month was putting your hair in a ponytail. I have yet to try, but Mommy made use of your wacky hair the best she could. I still think you look like a samurai, which isn’t such a bad thing.

10. What is a bad thing is your new attitude that appears on a daily basis where we are locked in a standoff. We spend a cumulative amount of at least an hour a day with me asking you pick something up and you either just staring at me with a blank face or running away crying. Mommy and me are both stubborn, which means a lot of standing and waiting. It’s exhausting, but you usually come around and clap for yourself. Then we give you a hug afterward.

11. One day, while working out, Mommy asked you to do high knees with her and you immediately got right to it! Since then, you’ll stop whatever craziness you are up to just for high knees if we ask you to.

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12. Before you and Mommy even begin, you have caught on to when she’s getting ready for a workout. She’ll come home from work, change into workout clothes, and as she’s putting on socks, you instinctively know to go get her workout shoes for her. No asking required!

13. Reading books is quickly becoming one of your favorite things to do. With or without Mommy and Daddy, you’ll go through several books while simultaneously testing the limits of gravity on the couch. That’s what I call action reading for sure!

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14. This Fourth of July was technically your 2nd, but we don’t count the first since you weren’t too aware of your surroundings yet. Eager to let you witness your official first fireworks, we drove up the road from our neighborhood to let you watch the city’s firework show. They were kind of far, but still very visible. Regardless, you didn’t seem too impressed…

15. I think to get us back for keeping you up late and then waking you up early for our 4th of July 5k, you decided to make spending the night at G-Ma’s a living hell. Three hours of non-stop screaming and rolling around definitely got us back! Next year, you can call the shots!

16. Despite the torturous night, you woke up at G-Ma’s all chipper and chatty. It took several cups of coffee before we became functional as human-beings, but seeing you have fun with G-Ma made it all worthwhile.

17.The same can’t be said for Uncle Preston though, he still has some kid holding practice to do. Maybe then you’ll both bond a little better.

18. I think what would help is if you both farted together. Lately, you will crack up when you hear a fart or if you fart. Sometimes I don’t even hear a toot, but will hear you randomly laugh followed by the resulting smell, and then it all makes sense.

19. To go along with your samurai ponytail, you are working on becoming a true ninja with karate kicks. Right now you need something to hold on to for leverage, but it’s only a matter of time before you’re kicking things off the bookshelf. Wait till I show you the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles now that you understand what you’re seeing!

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20. Another short sentence you say multiple times a day is “All done.” You don’t quite understand its meaning since you say it while eating and then proceed to eat more, but in time, you’ll get it. For example, this was my last memory for the month, so now I’m all done!

With all of her stool, chair, cabinet, and couch climbing, I’m sure next month’s memories will have a few bumps and bruises to mention. I’m also sure there’ll be plenty more full sentences and lots of karate kicking action to share too. Oh, and we just encountered the first “No”. Kelley and I tried to play it off like nothing was said, but…..it’s coming!

Do you have any memories of your kids to share at this time? No matter the age, I’d love to see what you’re experiencing right now. Hopefully all good or at least laughable sometime in the future.

Parenting, Promo

My Happy Pillow: A Fun Way for Kids to Show Emotions

07/14/2015 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

A toddler’s emotions are about as stable as nitroglycerin in a monster truck rally. I’m assuming we all have our days, but for kids, it’s just routine. Lucky us, huh? If only we could get in our kid’s mind to know how they’re feeling when they can’t or won’t say it themselves.

Enter My Happy Pillow! They are a small, family-owned business making fun and adorable animal pillows with dual expressions. One side has the animals in their happy state, and the other has them mad/sad/bored/scared depending on which animal you have.

The pillows allow kids (and adults) to express their feelings without saying a word. Your kids can show their feelings by revealing a certain side of the pillow and then we know if it’s playtime or bedtime/cheer up time/hold close time/keep your distance time!

What makes My Happy Pillow extra special is that these pillows were created by a precious 6 year old girl who wanted a way to express her feelings. It’s like getting inside information for what kids want from a kid! This was something I had to try with Avery, and was ecstatic when they agreed to send me one of their pillows for review. I even had a kind note from Wendy upon opening the package.

And then a not-so-kind Sunny the Bear showed his face….

I quickly flipped him over so we all could be happy though!

Phew! The stitching and fabric is all high quality and soft to touch. Both extremely important for a pillow and for kids who like to “test” the durability of their toys.

If you were wondering, Sunny passed the test. In order to show her acceptance, she brought him to her favorite chair for a big a hug…

….and even let him sit there! Obviously, this made him happy.

Avery still hasn’t caught on to using pillows when sleeping in her crib. Despite our efforts at putting him in there at night, he always ends up on the floor along with anything else we put in there. But when on her blanket pallet, she enjoys cuddling close to her bear pillow.

And, after taking too many pictures and testing her patience, I’d say she learned how to express her feelings without saying a word.

Loud and clear!

Since a lot of my time is spent in the kitchen dealing with food prep, Avery found a wonderful way to keep me company and stay comfortable on the hard floor. Pillows are great for more than just your head!

Of course, as I posted on Instagram, Sunny makes a perfect pillow too.

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As you can see, we’re enjoying our fun and emotional pillow over here, and I’d say it’s worth picking up one (or several) for your family too. I think we all need a wordless way to show our feelings, so why not make it fun with a pillow?

My Happy Pillow currently has Sunny the Bear and Zee the Monkey for purchase, but have a panda, dog, lion, and giraffe you can pre-order now. Check them out here. For a better look, here’s the graphic from their About Us page with all of the animals and story of how they got started.

I have a feeling your kids will love these pillows just like Avery since one of their kind created them. It’s genius! We all like the pillow and Avery has it with her every day now. I can’t find anything bad to say except that I really wish they would come out with a turtle pillow.

So, Isabella, if you’re reading this, please please PLEASE make a turtle pillow! I’ll be your first customer!

Make sure to keep up to date with My Happy Pillow and like them on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram.

Which pillow do you think your kids could use the most?

What about you?

Any other animals you’d like to see created by My Happy Pillow?