Tag Archives: nana and papa

Cold Water Swimming and A Psychedelic Moose

04/14/2015 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

After taking our obligatory bluebonnet pictures of Avery in a stranger’s front yard, our small family made it to our destination; Nana and Papa’s. We hadn’t seen Kelley’s parents in a while, and they had plenty of hugs and kisses and gifts for Avery.

Steve and Kathy, my wonderful and loving in-laws, had us over for a delicious, healthy lunch of grilled chicken, spaghetti squash, and spring mix salad. Per our request, Kathy left ours unseasoned/marinated and let us add herbs, spices, and other flavorings as we saw fit. Everything was great, and I could’ve had 3 more helpings!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

But right before sitting down to lunch, I had to do some form of quick workout for my mental well-being. Crazy, I know, but it’s me. At first I thought I’d do a quick session of hill sprints since Kelley’s parents have several awesome hills in their neighborhood, but wanted something different since I can do that at home too. Then I got the perfect idea; a cold water swim in their pool!

It’s not quite ideal swim weather in Texas yet, but that was part of the allure. I’ve heard a lot about cold thermogenesis lately, and wanted to give it a shot. I’ve already taken cold showers which suck at first, but you feel ah-mazing afterward. So I borrowed some of Steve’s shorts (thank you, Steve!), and went outside for a quick swim before lunch. I just had to psych myself into jumping first…..

After contemplating, I took the plunge and felt an instant stream of goosebumps flow across my entire body.

Brrrrr! But I acclimated rather quickly and went about doing around 11 back and forth sprints. Not by preference, I had a trio of the family dogs there to ~~cheer me on~~ bark at me, and one of them, Harry, decided to photo “bomb” the picture Kelley took of me during a rest break.

See the bomber there in the background? Yeah, you’re welcome, I enjoy sharing everything with you guys. 🙂

Meanwhile, Avery getting lots of love with gifts from Nana and Papa and tickles from Aunt Steph and Cousin Taylor.

Avery immediately started reading one of the books many books by Sandra Boynton after taking it out of the giant gift bag from her Nana and Papa. Doesn’t she look like she’s really getting into the plot?

But reading material wasn’t the only thing Avery received, she got a few clothing items from boutique shops in Colorado, where Nana and Papa live most of the time now, and even the most psychedelic (Going Mom and I both used this word at different times) stuffed animal moose ever!

It’s hard to see in the pic, but Avery’s face shows just how psychedelic the moose is. With peace signs and flowers all over, I was half-way expecting a guitar and a joint to go along with it, but they never did. Probably for the best! After opening her gifts, it was playtime with her Aunt Stephanie and Cousin Taylor.

Avery took interest in a toy car (yes!!!) and proceeded to venture on her own a little.

She even used the remotes to somehow turn the TV directly on to The Walking Dead. Guess she’s hooked just like Mommy and Daddy!

The weather was cooler than it has been, and clouds kept the sun from harshly beaming down on us, so we took things outside for a while. Taylor worked with Avery on her soccer skills, but Avery made sure to hold on to that toy car.

Before we took off back home, Stephanie snuck in more cuddle time with the car-holding Avery as she adored her cute hat.

The hat didn’t last long, but they had a nice hand-holding walk around the yard with car still in hand.

It was a busy, fun-filled day at Nana and Papa’s, beginning with the bluebonnet photo session. On the way home, Avery took a short nap and then we did a few chores as she ran around like a wild child/any toddler before going to bed.

We had to leave the car with Nana and Papa, but Avery seems to have forgotten the vehicle and is now giving rowing lessons to her psychedelic moose.

I don’t think hippies and rowing mix well, but guess Avery will do her best; she’s a determined kid, that’s for sure!

Have you ever tried subjecting yourself to cold water or air? Ever hear of cold thermogenesis?

Do you have any Sandra Boynton books? We had “The Going to Bed Book” and enjoy reading it every night, so we’re glad to have more in our book arsenal!

Life, Parenting

The Obligatory Texas Kid in Bluebonnet Pictures

04/13/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

It happens every year. Texas families drag their little ones all over to take bluebonnet pictures in patch close by. We see several families stopped on the side of the highway, rain or shine, in hopes of taking a brilliant photo of their kids in our state flower.

I used to laugh at these families, actually, I still do, but now that we have Avery, we too are seeking that perfect patch of bluebonnets to set Avery in. You see, stopping along side a busy highway simply doesn’t sound safe, mainly because it’s not. Plus, there are many fields of bluebonnets located safely away from any busy roads that are much better. Like , for instance, some random strangers’ front yard.

Yeah, so we’re not perfect, but we were in Nana and Papa’s (Going Mom’s parents) very nice and quaint neighborhood this weekend and decided to stop for pictures in one of their neighbors’ bluebonnet patches. We’ve never talked to or even seen these neighbors, and nothing bad happened in the process, so all is okay, right? Hey, still better than off the highway, or in the middle of a lightning storm like we’ve seen plenty of times in the past!

There’s actually a Facebook page dedicated to Texas Bluebonnet Sightings that has plenty of places for those eager to snap photos of their families smack dab in the middle of a patch of flowers.

We didn’t have the best setting on our DSLR for the lightning that day, but Avery makes any photo a trillion (because million is soooo 90’s) times better. But first I had to figure out the best placement of our child…

After Kelley found a good spot, I set Avery down and let me wife go to town with the pictures. Meanwhile, Avery went to town on the bluebonnets. Psssst, Avery, that’s illegal to do to our state flower!

Can’t say I didn’t try to tell her…..

Kelley took as many pics as she could with our difficult (as usual) subject, but I’d say they’re still cute.

I only had to set her down a handful of times and take one quick break to spin her around in hopes of a smile.

After that, Kelley took a few more photos and we called it a wrap.

We had a great time at Nana and Papa’s after the photoshoot, and Avery received a lot of new books by Sandra Boynton (we’ve come to enjoy this author), some cute clothes, and a psychedelic stuffed animal moose.

I’ll share more about our time at Nana and Papa’s soon, but right now I need to get some sleep. The Walking Dead is taking over our lives and keeping us up later than we need to be. But it’s just so good!!

Do you have an annual picture tradition like many Texans do with their bluebonnets?

Are you a fellow Texan who participates every April?

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.