Tag Archives: crawling

Our Baby Caught on Video: Standing and Watching Ninja Turtles

10/04/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you might of seen the several posts I made with Avery and Ninja Turtles. Since Going Mom, who I am sad to say despises the shelled mutants, was out of a town for a few days, I took the opportunity to expose Avery to the classic cartoons I grew up with.

Oh man, I can’t explain the awesome wave of nostalgia that overwhelmed me just as the theme song started playing! I’m hooked, again, and from what I’ve seen so far, Avery might be too. Or maybe it’s just the flashy, colors emitting from the TV. Nahhhh

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8wiCd-FrLs]

Now that my wife is back home, we there hasn’t been any TMNT action to watch, but hopefully the egg has been planted in Avery and she’ll look forward to the next time we can watch an episode or two. Of course, play time and getting outside will always be stressed the most and is top priority. I love the turtles, but they won’t help keep us healthy. Unless, for some reason, our lives are suddenly threatened by Shredder and his half-wit minions Bepop and Rocksteady.

Yep, I’m a TMNT nerd, and damn proud!

Anyway, Going Mom has been sick since she came home and I’ve been trying to care for her in hopes she gets well soon. I made the first soups of the season and both were graciously consumed by my weary wife. Crossing my fingers she running at full throttle soon!

I think Avery might help by showing Mommy how she can stand on her own. After several attempts, we finally got her to stand for longer than half a second! Exciting times in our house, I know! Here’s the video, hope you enjoy and have a great Saturday.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkVOMZpnkHU]

Do you and your spouse/partner have disagreements on what to watch and/or show your kids?

How do you or did you work with your kids to get them standing and walking?

Food, Friday Food Facts, Life, Parenting

Learning to Walk and Butt Spins + Friday Foodie Fun Facts: Pears

09/12/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Only 3 days left until my “bet” that Avery would be walking by 10 months will expire. Of course, technically, this counts as walking, right?

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A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

She’s getting very close, just needs to let go and realize she doesn’t need support to stand on her own. It’s hard, but we are trying not to rush it as that will make the task of keeping up with her all that more difficult! A crawling baby is hard enough as it is!!

Although, she does give us a break every now and then just to spin on her butt….

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A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

This is pretty new and took me a while to actually capture on video, but now she does it multiple times a day. Her Aunt Lindsay, Going Mom’s sister, said she just likes a panoramic view, and I fully agree!

But I don’t think she’ll be “grounded” much longer. I’ve been catching her working on her leg strength with squats to prepare for her momentous first steps.

What do you think? Before 11 months for sure or would say even longer? I feel pretty confident she’ll make those steps before her 11 month mark, but only time will tell for sure.

Maybe she’ll be motivated as we start going to meetups with the Dallas Dads Group another stay-at-home dad, David Kepley, and I just started with a lot of help from some great guys at City Dads Group.

Our first official meeting is tomorrow, at nice park with a miniature train to ride! How do you think an almost 10 month old will handle a train ride? I think she’ll love it.

Now, being Friday, that means I have a few fun food facts to share. We’ve been receiving organic, local produce each week from a co-op we just joined, and I’ll start giving facts about one of the items we receive. Today, it’s pears.

I love pears and haven’t had them in a while, so it was a nice treat to see them in our last box. Being organic, I just grabbed one and ate it as is, no need to wash since even organic soil has nutrients. It was delightfully tasty and left me eager to learn more about this sweet treat. Turns out, there’s a lot to know; here’s a few things….

Before tobacco was introduced in Europe, pear leaves were smoked.
Pears are often recommended for weaning babies because they are low in acid and aren’t too harsh on a baby’s digestive system.
Pears have more nutrients per calorie than calories per nutrient which is surprising since they are so sweet. They are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, copper & vitamin K.
Pears don’t float.
Most pears ripen from the inside out, and if left on the tree to ripen, many varieties will turn brown and rot in the middle.
The skin of pears contain at least three to four times as many phytonutrients as the flesh. These phytonutrients include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory flavonoids, and potentially anti-cancer phytonutrients like cinnamic acids. The skin of the pear has also been show to contain about half of the pear’s total dietary fiber.

Wow, I’d say when put against these bell-shaped treats, other fruits just can’t com-pear!

Happy Friday!

Life, Parenting

Baby’s First Ride Down the Slide

08/21/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

Going Mom took the Monday after our 7th wedding anniversary weekend off to spend more time with Avery and me and to adjust back to life as a parent. Just one full day without a baby to watch and we get spoiled!

Don’t get me wrong, we missed our sweet girl tremendously, but any parent can relate to the “freedom” I’m sure. Similar to our inability to decide on things to do while downtown together, we were at a loss back home too. Kelley had to get on to me for spending too much time over the sink and in the kitchen in general and not with my two girls.

I’m glad she called me out, I need to be knocked in the head sometimes. Figuratively, please! So, I left my soapy dishes in the sink and joined my wife and Avery in the baby jail a.ka. play pen. She acts like it’s jail sometimes, and even attempts to escape frequently!

Avery crawled around and played with her toys scattered across the floor as Kelley and I acted as human obstacle courses. Avery grew tired of this after about an hour as we tried to keep her entertained. If there were a game called “Indecision”, we’d win, hands down.

Finally, we decided getting outside for fresh air and movement was the best bet, and walked over to the neighborhood playground not far from our house. I’ve been wanting to let Avery go down a slide since she gets excited when we toss her in the air or play airplane with her. This girl is going to love roller-coasters, I just know it!

The trip to the playground was short, but our goal was achieved; Avery had her first ride down the slide! Kelley and I each took a turn going down with her and she only seemed slightly amused. She did give us some cute smiles though, so it’s a win to us!

Monday was coming to an end and we went back home to get our dog, Abby, to go for a longer walk. I know soon Avery will be more excited for the playground when she is running around on her own, so I’m trying to enjoy this stage while it lasts. But, I’m impatient and want to play!

Here are some of my favorite photos from our sliding experience; enjoy!