When Will the Pictures Stop?

02/16/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

We made a trip to Nana and Papa’s (Kelley’s parents) house yesterday to visit, well, Nana and Papa. It was Avery’s official crossing into being a 3 month old and obviously that’s huge! Maybe I’m a little biased as her parent, but isn’t that just a part of being a parent?

It was a pleasant time at Avery’s Nana and Papa’s house and her Nana got to hold her, feed her, and even got her to nap a little. Kelley and I took advantage and went for a nice walk together. The little things are so much bigger now!

Before the trip, we had a photo session with Avery sitting in her nursery chair next to a stuffed animal bear. We did this for her first and second month on earth too, and will probably do it for several more months.

As Kelley and I sat there waving our hands and making weird noises trying to get a smile out of our “big” girl, I had to ask, “When is this too much?” I know Avery is only a baby, but I feel even she was getting annoyed with our silly cackles and coos used in an effort for a smile. Maybe she’d just like to see mom’s or dad’s face not behind a camera.

After I considered this for a minute, I then continued to make stupid sounding noises and take multiple shots in hopes that one of them will capture a smile. We were able to get several good ones out of our marathon photo session, so in the end, it was worth it to us.

Looking forward, I can only imagine our photo frenzy will become greater as more lifetime events happen. This is great and I hope we are able to capture all of her big experiences via pictures and video to relive them as much as we’d like for years to come. But, I also hope we don’t get so wrapped up into “getting the shot” that we totally miss out on the real life experience.

I don’t want to be “the guy” behind the camera as Avery takes her first steps, I want to be Daddy holding her hand and standing by her side for assistance and encouragement. It might sound easy enough to do this if that’s what I want, but constantly find myself pushing my limits with a camera in Avery’s face. I have to keep myself in check and make sure to just enjoy the moment, sans cameras.

Having said that, I’ll still be taking plenty of pictures, just not getting too pushy about having her smile for everyone and making the session last forever.

One reason why it's hard to stop taking pictures. — One reason why it’s hard to stop taking pictures.

Avery, if you’re reading this one day, I hope you have many wonderful memories of mom and dad being there and enjoying life with you. In the end, memories will always beat what’s on film….or, I guess memory card now.

Any other parents find themselves getting caught up in trying to take a great picture instead of just living in the moment?

Parenting

A Note to Avery’s Bottom Lip

02/15/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Today marks Avery’s 3rd month in this world and our 3rd month as parents. I still have a long road ahead as Going Dad, but I’m more excited than ever before!

Lately, Avery has developed a keen use of her bottom lip which is usually a tell-tale sign that an outburst of tears is fast approaching. Sometimes we can act fast and just do something random which will prevent the floodgates from opening, but we’re usually not that lucky.

One thing’s for sure, that lip is trouble, so I’d like to write a little note…..

Dear Avery’s Bottom Lip,

I don’t know who you think you are, but you are making our irresistibly cute baby girl even MORE irresistibly cute. This might sound like a good thing we should thank you for, but on the contrary, I sense the problems you will cause in the future.

As Avery grows older and gets into trouble, I fear you will be there to bail her out.

Messy room? No problem, just flip the lip over and daddy will surely forgive her and pick up the mess himself. Talking back to teacher at school? Easy fix, roll out the lip and it’s obviously a mistake because she didn’t know calling someone stupid was a bad thing and hurtful.

Then in the later years as boys enter the picture and she gets caught sneaking out, you’ll come to the rescue convincing Kelley and me that she was simply trying to get some fresh air by opening her window and no one else was there.

You can see where I’m going, you’re going to cause us trouble for quite some time, aren’t you? How about we have a truce?

Since it’s just so cute to see Avery with you flipped down so much a bird could sit on you, you are welcome to stay. But, if, and only if, you stay up for the major offenses and don’t make it any harder for us to discipline when needed.

Deal? I’m counting on you to work with us here, so please, do as I ask.

Sincerely,

Avery’s Dad

Hopefully this note will help and Avery’s bottom lip won’t “turn” against us. But, I know some lips can be really cold and crack, so I’ll be on constant alert.

Avery, we love you and hope you never have to use that evil, but so freakin’ cute bottom lip of yours to get out of trouble! Hope you’ve had a great 3 months so far and enjoy the many years to come with us!

Do your kids have a certain quality that you fear will get them out of trouble or it already does?

Life

Happy 1st Valentine’s Day, Avery, and Kelley Too!

02/14/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

red-heart — **Yep, I went with the corny heart. #noshame**

I know I complain about Avery not playing and being impatient, but I can’t believe she’ll be three months tomorrow, February 15th. And today is her first Valentine’s.

Avery with Mommy at less than 2 weeks old.

Yeah, not really a big deal, but as I’m sure all parents know, a first anything is a landmark we MUST get excited about.

I’m running short on time today, but I wanted to post my V-day wishes to Avery and hope we can have a great one. Tomorrow we’ll be visiting her grandparents from her mom’s side, and it’s supposed to be beautiful weather. Hoping for some nice sunshine and a great visit. I am always a little hesitant to throw her off of her routine since that makes nap time and therefore nighttime harder. Sometimes it’s not a big deal though, we’ll see.

Speaking of sleep, instead of the normal swaddle with snaps that we have been using, we tried the Woombie we bought a while back. I also used the advice from this video on YouTube for the inside layer to keep her arms down. This is a perfect combo! No more snaps coming undone either since the Woombie zips up!

Keeping those crazy arms down is a chore, and so far so good. Avery even slept in her crib from 9pm to 5am, that’s the longest yet! High five us! But I won’t get too excited until it’s consistent.

Crazy arms in action. So freakin' cute though! — Crazy arms in action. So freakin’ cute though!

Well, that’s it for today, I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine’s Day and great weekend ahead. I’m excited we’ll have Kelley at home for an extra day, we sure do miss mommy around here!

Do you get overexcited about counting 1st’s for your baby? What’s the most random first you can remember?