Category Archives: Parenting

Our First Night Without Avery – Part 2

02/22/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Everyone survived another “first” in our household! We enjoyed our time together away from home and G-ma handled the night like a pro. I guess she does have some experience with two grown children. If you didn’t read Part 1 of the story, here’s the link.

Kelley and I started our night by picking up Chipotle (I had the salad bowl with black beans and Kelley had the burrito bowl with barbacoa) and buying some beer and gas station nearby. Four dollars for one sub-optimal beer at Chipotle? No Thanks! We had a refreshing Amber brew from a local brewery for less than half the price per bottle. Score!

We then trekked over to the parking lot at the concert to enjoy a romantic, bean-filled, dinner under ~~candle~~ lamp light in the car. The beer was tempting us and we were ready to enjoy a celebratory cheers, but we forgot a bottle opener. Being the smart, college-educated people we are, I utilized my belt buckle and had the beer opened after a few tries.

No funny thoughts..... — No funny thoughts…..

Food and booze finished, we headed inside to see the Imagine Dragons. We arrive over an hour after everything started, so we saw the last of the cover band and waited for the Imagine Dragons’ stage to be setup. To kill time, we obviously took random pictures.

The concert itself was great. We heard all of the songs that turned us into fans and had me thinking back to our puzzle days while trying to get pregnant. Good times. We’re not crazy people and our seats were pretty high, so it was nice just to enjoy the show and listen to the music.

Meanwhile, G-ma, was having a good time playing with Avery who was being better than expected. Go Avery! My mom said after bath time she did her usual loud crying since she apparently hates when it’s over, but it wasn’t too bad.

G-ma tried to keep her up a little longer thinking her bed time was later and said she was just so tired by the time she put her down. Guess we forgot to mention her bed time was actually earlier….oops!

By the time we arrived home at the late hour of 11:30, both G-ma and Avery were asleep. G-ma was on the couch and we woke her and visited while the Olympics were on. I also gather more food to eat, but that’s a given.

Overall, we had a great time, and I think our romantic dinner in the car was really the highlight of the date. I could go for just another “date” night by going to another parking lot for dinner and beer. I’m sure this makes all the ladies jealous!

G-ma said she’s happy to do it again, so I guess I just need to find a good parking lot. Oh, and Avery has to agree too. You think she agrees?

Looks happy here! — I’d say that’s a YES!

Ever find that the little things really make a big difference when enjoyed with someone you love? Any stories to share of your own?

Parenting

Our First Night Without Avery – Part 1

02/21/2014 R.C. Liley 8 Comments

Okay, not the whole night, we just won’t be there to bathe her and put her to sleep. We hardly went out before Avery was born because we detest most restaurants and can’t stand to pay a lot for most things we can enjoy at home. I could go on, but that’s another post. Luckily, my mom, Avery’s “G-ma”, is staying the night to take over. Good luck, mom!

Since day one, Kelley and I have worked together each night to figure out how we’ll get Avery to sleep. Currently, getting her to sleep in her crib has been going pretty well and it will be weird not doing the routine tonight. Notice I said “weird”, but not hard; the freedom will be great! Of course we’ll miss our dear daughter, but mom and dad need time together too.

We are going to see the Imagine Dragons in concert at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Imagine Dragons are a band we came to know and love while trying to get pregnant with Avery. This was a long, hard path and we are ever so grateful to have her healthy and in our lives now.

When we weren’t visiting doctors and going through tests, we’d be at home listening to Pandora Radio and putting together puzzles. This was a great bonding time for Kelley and me, and we’ll never forget it. Pandora played a lot of music that is now mainstream on the radio, including Imagine Dragons. This band won us over as fans and we are more than ecstatic to see them live!

We showed G-ma our nightly routine of bath time, coconut oil on skin, swaddling, and feeding last night since she stayed over then. We’ll probably go over it again before leaving for the concert, just to be the anal parents we are.

I’m so glad my mom is able and willing to watch Avery tonight, and hopefully we come home to quiet home. I can’t blame her if she is fearfully holding Avery close because the crib wasn’t working out though; I do this every now and then too. What is it with these babies anyway? Oh yeah, they’re babies.

Quick story I want to share….

Yesterday I went for a walk with Avery and Abby (our Golden) in the high winds but nice temperature. As we were walking along a home construction area, Abby decided she had to poop. I pulled on her leash to try and stop her, but it was too late, and the stupid collar fell off. Usually Abby is good and will stay, but she decided to run off so I had to yell at her to come back. This woke Avery from her nap and she started crying, plus when I stepped to get Abby I went right in her poop. Awesome. :/

After gathering myself, the dog (as she’ll be referred to now), wiping my shoe, and calming Avery back to her nap, we ended up having a nice hour long walk.

Sleeping in the Ergo at our turnaround point

Thanks for sticking with me if you made it this far, I just wanted to remember that awesome walk by blogging about it.

As the title says, this is part 1 of our first night out, I’ll have a follow up post (part 2, duh) to recapture how the night went for us as well as G-ma.

What was your first night out like and how old was your baby at that time?
Did you come back home or stay somewhere else for the night?
Who babysat?
Am I asking too many questions?

Life, Parenting

6 Miles and Smiles

02/19/2014 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

We are being graced with great weather here in Texas and making the most of it! This Tuesday was my first day back on the job since Going Mom had to Go (ha ha ha, I’m corny) back to work today.

I was hesitant about today since Avery hasn’t been the best the past couple of days and basically had been refusing the to take a bottle. But, to my surprise she did a complete 180 and it ended up being a great day!

The morning started out a little rough, but she finally finished her bottle and, more importantly, pooped! She later pooped again, and then again tonight. Three times in one day? Guess that makes up for the past two days of nothing. Look at me, blogging about my baby pooping…….I’m cool. But seriously, no shame here, I believe babies pooping relieve parents just as much as the baby.

After crying about mommy going back to work, Avery helped console me, and then I returned the favor and put her down for a nap. She slept great and allowed me to get my squat day workout in as well as a good steamed veggie and egg white breakfast. I even made Kelley’s breakfast ahead of time; score!

You know your baby is sleeping good when YOU have to go and wake them from their nap, and this was the case twice today. For the first nap, I came in with camera in hand to try and capture a smile from this sleeping beauty…

But then I startled her with my voice which led to this….

Next time I won't pop the balloon! — Next time I won’t pop the balloon!

Luckily, she was quick to forgive me and then finished another bottle. Things were going pretty good, so I figured a nice ride in the stroller should be attempted. Avery usually gets fussy at first, and I have to start running with the B.O.B. stroller before she’ll calm down. But, she didn’t make any sounds of protest as I strapped her in and put Abby,our Golden Retriever, on the leash.

I started off at a steady run in the nice weather and settled into a good pace. Mind you, a good pace with a dog and stroller creating drag in the stupid wind is nothing fast, but it’s still a run. I kept checking on her as I ran, but she never let out a peep, and I could see she was asleep. How? I have no clue since there were bumps all along the way, but I didn’t want to stop until she had a good nap.

5 miles later and Abby was panting and dragging pretty bad, so I had to bring her inside for water. I let her in, Avery not budging, so I went back at it for some more running. By the time she finally woke up, we had run 6 miles and walked a little extra. Breaking new ground feels great! Avery even awarded me with a smile as we returned home.

Avery finished another bottle as we watched the Nordic Combined Olympics and then had a little play time. Well, I thought it would be play time….

Hey, she holds herself up pretty well though, so that’s something.

I put her down for her afternoon nap and again, I had to wake her up. Something just felt too good about today. I made sure not to abruptly come in with a booming voice like the first time, and I’d say she was happier about that….

Not sure how, but she finished her fourth bottle of the day right as mom walked in. Man was I happy to report on the good day, and even happier that Avery stayed that way for the night. I love having a happy baby for Kelley to come home to and I strive for this every day.

We enjoyed each other’s company for a while and “talked” with Avery until her bath time and then she was down for the night. I can only hope for another successful day tomorrow. Oh please Avery, please!

Do you ever have what seems to be a completely different baby than what you had the day before? Any good stories?