Tag Archives: growing

10 Memories from My 10th Month Since Going Dad

09/16/2014 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Okay, sh*t just got real, we’re in the double digits for months and never looking back!

What? Oh yeah, at least we have a while before we say the same for years….phew!

Avery is still not walking on her own, but she’s damn close. I am therefore updating my “bet” to her walking before the 11th month rolls around.

The past month has revealed a very active baby, and I can only imagine her activity levels will keep increasing from here. Fine with me; bring on the baby chasing, fort building, coffee craving days looming in the not-so-distant future, I’m ready! I think….

What are the odds that, as I’m pulling Avery out of the litter box after having mastered walking, and, in retrospect, think back to this post wondering why I’d ever wish for such a stressful thing? A super curious baby who can’t quite yet talk or understand most of her parents’ commands, is able to walk/run around the house taking no prisoners in her path. Or, that’s what I imagine sometimes.

Only time will tell for sure, so no reason to sit and contemplate on the “what ifs”. For now, I’ll focus on what is known with the memories we created; or, 10 of them at least.

Avery, I hope you are reading this with mommy and me one day and we are all smiling and laughing at these memories at the ten month mark.

1. Leaving you with G-Ma for the weekend as Mommy and I celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary in downtown Fort Worth.

2. G-ma discovering your first unofficial first word (words?) of “Uh-oh”. When we came back from our weekend away, you were spouting out “Uh oh” several times a day and it is the first word you repeat when we say it out loud.

3. Taking you down the slide at the neighborhood playground for the first time. Nothing crazy, but it was fun to introduce you to something that will surely become a favorite when you start walking.

4. You saw fish in an aquarium for the first time. I couldn’t get over at your intrigued stare as you gazed at the brightly colored fish in awe. Such a wonderful thing to be able to show you so many things the world has to offer!

5. Apparently, you DO NOT enjoy 2+ hours of riding in the car. The first road trip we took with you to see our friends in Norman, Ok proved to be a dread for all of us. You had a few cute moments, but mostly crying/screaming and little sleep. We’re not sure when the next long drive with you will be, but I’m thinking it will be when you are a bit older.

6. Walking around our old college campus, University of Oklahoma, with you while visiting Sean, Erin, and Brooklyn. The time spent out of the car after our road trip was enjoyable, and you got to play with a big girl; Sean and Erin’s 2 year old girl, Brooklyn.

7. Easily using your borrowed walker to go back and forth across the house. The walker our neighborhood friends let you borrow has turned out to be the most used thing in the house. Mommy and I first had to walk along with you and hold it steady, but now you’ll go back and forth all on your own as you look up at us with a proud grin. Each time, we are quick to respond with a proud grin of our own!

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8. Screaming at the highest pitch you possibly can as if it were a contest. Seriously! It’s completely random and this is separate from your crying fits, you just let out loud screams when and where ever you want. This includes as I’m wearing you while shopping in a quite store; I guess it’s too quite for your liking.

9. Taking you to our first dads group outing. Another stay-at-home dad, David Kepley and I have been working with the City Dads Group to start our own Dallas Dads Group and we’re excited for what the future holds. Our first outing was a miniature train ride next to the Fort Worth Zoo. You weren’t sure what to make of the new surroundings at first, but I could see the amazement in your eyes and can’t wait to bring you to many more outings.

10. Kicking the crap out of your crib. The fact that it’s still in one piece speaks wonders about the quality workmanship of your crib, because your kicks are heard throughout the entire house! You’ll kick before falling asleep and soon after waking. Your mom and I will lay in bed sometimes and just listen as you kick and talk to yourself for up to 30 minutes. You aren’t mad or crying, just kicking, rolling, and “talking”.

Going Mom and I love watching our beautiful girl learn and grow, and we can’t get over how fast the time has gone. It’s bittersweet, really, and I must remind myself everyday not to rush things and just enjoy the moment. Sounds simple, but it’s hard.

Who knows what memories will unfold leading up to the 11th month, but one thing’s for sure, they will happen too fast.

Do you participate in any mom/dad/parent groups with your kids?

Random screaming. How do you deal with it?

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!

At what age do you think she’ll be ready to go down by herself?

I’m thinking too far ahead, huh?

Any favorite sliding stories you want to share?

Monthly List, Parenting

8 Memories From My 8th Month Since Going Dad

07/15/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Okay, things are getting interesting around here now! Just as I was hoping, Avery started crawling only a few days into her 7th month and now she’s as mobile as a mouse!

I’ve never heard of or used that saying before, but from what I see, mice can be pretty mobile. True?

Since she’s started crawling, we seem to see less of that demon of hers because now she will simply crawl to us if we walk out of sight. It’s almost been 6th months since I’ve actually left my job and become a full time stay-at-home dad, and I have been impatiently waiting for Avery to do more.

I’d say she’s definitely doing more, and it seems only a matter of time until she’s taking her first steps. Maybe in another month?

Walker in training. — Has anyone seen my other sock?

Once she gets that down, we’ll be doing burpees together in no time!

Lets start, shall we?

1. As I already proclaimed, you’ve become an official crawler, and WOW, you can really get places now! If Mommy or Daddy set you down and there’s a cord, cat, or dog in sight, your face lights up and off you go.

Because of this, we are getting a great lower back workout from having to pick you up and set you back down elsewhere……or it’s just hurting more. We are extremely proud of how far you’ve come, Avery, and you continue to amaze us and steal our hearts every day.

2. Now that you’re mobile, I no longer have to set you in your booster seat while I’m in ~~my office~~ the kitchen. All we need is to setup a couple barriers so you don’t wonder too far, and you just hang out in the kitchen. At times, you’ll get fussy, but as long as you have a toy/wooden spoon, you’re content for a while.

Practicing how to taste test on the spoon.

One thing that scares me is that you gravitate toward our feet and I fear the day we accidentally step on your precious fingers.

I just happened to want to be in this spot, promise.

Hopefully that will never happen, but I apologize in advance if it does. This also makes me realize a major con to having leg hair since you like to practice climbing on anything! Yeah, I might have a few patches on my legs.

3. Mommy and I aren’t sure whether you like or have a personal vendetta out for your bear, but now that you can crawl, you’ve really been handing it to him. First, you “wrote” an instructional post on how to fight a bear, and then you had a rematch where your fight was caught on video.

Maybe you’ve grown tired of seeing him next to you the same time each month as we take pictures of your new monthly age. We’ll never know for sure, but the smile on your face and excitement you show when you make eye contact with your bear is priceless. Mom and I love watching you roll around and play so well!

4. Now that you’re getting better at eating those colorful veggies we put in front of you, we are making it a point to sit down as a family for dinner. I still have my different eating schedule where I eat my main meal after you go to sleep, but I have raw veggies to munch on while sitting down.

You’re also really good at “finishing” everything we give you…..until we lift you from your seat to see you were sitting on everything! This makes the steamed broccoli a blast to clean, and we have a nice trail all the way to the bathtub every night as a result. Fine with us, we’re just happy to see you at least eating some of the healthy veggies so well!

5. I had seen baby activity/busy boards on Pinterest and knew I wanted one for you. One weekend, I brought you with me to the Home Depot to get supplies and a few days later, as you slept in a while, I put it together.

I wasn’t sure how you’d like it, but I guess having door stops made it an automatic win!

6. After seeing you begin to crawl, a light turned on in my head letting me know this meant it was time to build a fort! The Ninja Turtle blanket was a must, and I only hope we can enjoy the classic TMNT movies and cartoons one day soon.

As you grow, I expect we’ll build more intricate fort structures and insist Mommy joins us immediately upon arriving home from work. Obviously, you’re never too old to play in a fort…

7. Even though you had a tiresome day at G-Ma’s on the 4th of July, we were able to keep you up to experience your first Cliff Notes version of a fireworks show. The bright lights and sounds caught your attention, but a half smile was all you had left to give by the end of the day.

The sun seemed to take forever to go down that day, and after we were able to let you see a few of the big blasts, we brought you in to take a bath and get some much needed rest.

8. And finally, after we’ve been thinking you had teeth coming in since you were 4 months, your first tooth has made an appearance!

Your top front right tooth is the most prominent, but we can see your two bottom front teeth emerging as well. That is, when you aren’t hiding them with your tongue and looking like you already had your wisdom teeth removed.

It’s exciting, but you are also very cranky. I know it must hurt though, and we are hoping for the pain to go away fast. It looks like you are too…

I don’t know if one of my memories at 9 months will be of you walking, but you can rest assured we’ll work with you every “step” of the way.

Avery, we love you so much dear and we can’t say it enough. Therefore, we’ll just keep saying it over and over…..and over. We love you and are so proud of everything you do. Even if it’s poop 4 times in a day!

Do you have any favorite memories of your growing child? I’d love to hear other’s stories if want to share.