Category Archives: Parenting

Personal Training From Our 1 Year Old

01/21/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Gone are the days of Avery sitting idle as Going Mom and I workout. From sitting in a swing, to bouncing in her jumper, our baby turned toddler has transformed into our personal trainer.

Not long ago, we used to only be concerned with keeping Avery entertained as we worked through an exercise routine either inside or in the garage, but now she’s part of the action and helping to increase intensity! I still remember having her watch us from her swing as we sweat it out with a workout video.

Or bringing her to the garage for first time and how worried I was to do anything.

And for the longest time, she’s been happily (for the most part) bouncing in her jumper as we lift in the garage.

babies, parenting, family, workout, fitness — Eager to workout with Daddy!

But now, with her walking and wondering all over, she prefers to get in on the action when and where ever possible. My wife and I were doing a quick body-weight routine consisting of 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off working through squats, push-ups, lunges, and planks for a total of 4 rounds; making it 16 minutes total. Short but intense and perfect for those with limited access to equipment.

Apparently, Avery didn’t think it was intense enough and she made sure to let her Mommy know to work harder!

push-ups, workout, fitness, parenting — C’mon, faster, Mommy!!!

And I guess Kelley looked like she needed a little extra weight as she doing push-ups, so Avery helped increase the intensity by adding her own weight.

fitness, workout — I’d say this isn’t fun, but I”d be lying.

Of course, I think Avery went a little too far with the intensity at one point. I’m not sure, but something tells me Kelley would agree….

What? Having trouble, Mommy? Can I have milk soon?

This happened with the plank hold too, and Avery would venture over to me every now and then to check in. I think my wife got the worst of it though, but she ripped through the 16 minutes; “baby weight” and all!

In the garage, we just hit a milestone by removing the jumper to make room for a play yard/pen (really looks like a place for a dog) that Avery can move around in as we lift weights.

I even had a second of feeling sad since it’s bittersweet to take it out. Our little girl is growing too much! Common saying from parents, and I completely understand! But there wasn’t much time to sit and ponder on the past, Avery let me know it was dead lift day and I needed to take my weight belt (she advocates lifting safely) and get to it.

Here, dad, you'll need this. — Here, dad, you’ll need this.

She looks pretty content in her new ~~cage~~ play yard, right? She seriously loves playing with the weight belt, so I know as soon as I’m done, she gets it back. It’s a good relationship though, she behaves and helps motivate me to lift heavy and keep focused, and I give her my belt once I’m done. Instant happiness….

I’ve had this mini kettlebell for kids in my Amazon cart for too long, and now I have motivation to finally buy it. Soon, you’ll see our daughter swinging her very own kettlebell with mommy and daddy!

How cool is that?

Whether inside or out, Avery’s keeping her Mommy and Daddy in tip top shape around here. And why not? Shouldn’t all kids want to have their parents be healthy so they are healthy enough to go play and run around with them?

I might joke about Avery being our personal trainer, but in a way, all parents should have their children act as personal trainers in the sense that they should want to get and stay healthy for themselves and their kids. I don’t want to be one of the parents sitting on a bench as my kid runs around playing on the playground, I want to be out there playing too!

Please, if you can’t find being healthy and fit for yourself being reason enough, do it for your kids’ sake. From chasing them on the playground as toddlers, to playing sports when they’re older, to helping them move out of the house when they’re fully grown, parents need to be there for their kids, physically and mentally.

Going Mom and I choose a healthy, active lifestyle, and I hope you do or will too. As and aspiring personal trainer (when Avery is older), I’d love to offer tips/advice to anyone who is serious, free of charge. In fact, if just one person reaches out to me, I would do my best to help you achieve whatever goal it is you have in mind.

Don’t limit yourself by thinking you can’t do something. Stay positive, set your goal, and get to it! Just like you are what you eat, you are what you think too!

Do you workout with your kids?

Any fun exercises or stories you care to share?

What goals do you have for yourself and how are you working to get there?

Contest, Parenting

Vote for Our Baby in the Metroplex Baby & Kids Photo Contest

01/19/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Hey there! Hope you’re having a great Monday! Are you off for MLK Day? Going Mom is and we’re keeping it low key just staying at home with lots of coffee!

I just wanted to make a quick post asking for your help. We’ve had great help from other friends, family, and even other bloggers (also considered friends!). Thank you, Tony! Check out his awesome dad blog, Papa Tont, for a vast source of knowledge on fitness and nutrition as well as being a great dad!

A local parenting site/magazine, Metroplex Baby & Kids, holds a monthly photo contest for the “Cutest Kid” and Avery is a finalist this month! I’m posting this pretty late since the voting ends tomorrow, January 20th, but hopefully you can vote in time to keep her in the lead.

Please go to their Facebook page at this link (or click the picture below) and vote for Avery. Let me know if you did in the comments and I’ll send you virtual hugs and high fives!

photo contest, baby, cute, babies, parenting — Look into Avery’s eyes…..”Please vote for me” is what they’re saying. Hear it?

Thank you in advance and hope your week is off to a great start! By the way, it’s almost 70 degrees here in Texas. Beautiful!

Life, Parenting

Popular at Papa’s Party and Giving the Finger

01/19/2015 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

This past Saturday, January 17, Going Mom, Avery, and I met friends and family at Kona Grill to celebrate Papa’s (Kelley’s dad) 60th birthday. Nana had two large tables reserved and arranged the get-together for her loving husband’s big “Six-Oh”.

The party started at 4pm, which meant something all parents to babies and toddlers fear the most…..Nap Time Disruption! Despite this fear, Avery had a somewhat good nap before we made the drive down to Papa’s celebration.

We were the last ones to show, no thanks to a wreck on the highway and our own non-punctuality (c’mon, we have a baby!), but we weren’t that late.

The two tables were lined with family and friends along with a variety of appetizers to choose from. Kona Grill serves a mix of American fare along with sushi. Weird mix if you ask me, but the do serve quality food and cook from scratch. Then menu was set, but the servers kindly had a lobster sushi roll made just for me with no creamy sauce on top.

One of the pros of family gatherings is that everyone has to hold the baby, Avery, and it gives Going Mom and I a short break. The moment we arrived, before we could take our seats, Taylor and Ashlee, Avery’s cousins, rushed over to take her away.

Just hangin' with the girls — Just hangin’ with the girls

We enjoy a little free-from-baby time, family gets to hold our precious baby, and we all win! The infatuation with holding other peoples’ babies, I don’t totally understand, but our baby, it’s a no brainer, she’s the prettiest one EVER! Biased Parenting, we all do it, right?

Avery behaved better than expected for getting passed around all over the restaurant and also running around all over the restaurant as everyone took turns chasing after her. Well, there was one moment when I think Avery got a little annoyed with the constant too close for comfort attention. She didn’t say it, but in this case pictures really do speak louder than words!

Cute, huh? How's this for "cute"?! — Cute, huh? How’s this for “cute”?!

It was great to see my mom (G-Ma) there, and despite Avery flipping the bird, she took part in the baby holding/chasing experience.

Two beautiful ladies!

Speaking of, Nana and Aunt Lindsay along with a good friend all got the memo to wear white and looked fabulous as usual.

Left to Right: Friend, Nana, Aunt Lindsay

I was lucky enough to have my picture taken with two beautiful ladies as well. One with my wonderful mom….

….and another with Going Mom/my stunning wife!

Everyone complimented Avery on how precious she was and repeatedly told us how they adored her. We love hearing compliments about our awesome baby, and we couldn’t agree more with each bit of praise she receives. There was one instance, when someone tried to tell us Avery doesn’t have baby fat and that we need to give her sugar. I laughed for a second, then put my serious face on to get ready for battle!

Luckily, they finally gave up and Going Mom and I were able to contain ourselves (kinda) as we clenched our teeth. Phew, never challenge our parenting, especially when it comes to what we feed our daughter!!

Anyway, as the party neared the end, Papa was presented with a big carrot cake as we all sang “Happy Birthday” to him. Nana made sure to cheer him on as he drew in a big breath to blow out the candles. Luckily she didn’t have a candle for each year, he’d need a big breath and fire extinguisher to put those out! Sorry, Steve, just had a give you a good ole son-in-law jab at your age! Will you still let me keep your daughter as my wife? Okay, just one picture with her, but seriously, I want her back! 🙂

After opening gifts and the cake presentation, Avery had made several rounds with everyone holding and playing with her and we were still proud at how well she held up. But, she finally started getting cranky and wound up back with us.

It didn’t take long for us to catch on to Avery’s cues of being tired and ready to leave, so we said our goodbyes and made the trek back home.

Since we didn’t have much of the appetizers, we were hungry, and despite it being late, we still went for our evening (fast) walk before dinner. Avery slept well that night, and for that, so did we.