5 Seconds Flat

The ability that toddlers have to make a mess in no time at all has always astounded me. I will literally walk into the kitchen and walk right back out and find a scene similar to this one when it had previously been clean. Those little brains are constantly in overdrive and even though it seems like half of my house is used to store toys, I always find myself wishing he had more. I am the one that is bored with them. Luckily, he has more of an imagination and seems perfectly happy with what he has to work with.

Strike a Pose

Surprises

It was a hot, hot day when Aunt Beth invited us to hang out on the beach. I was a little worried because Liam can be weird about going into the water and it would be miserable to be covered in sand and not go into the water. And this boy was all about the sand. Running and rolling around in it head first, completely covered. But about a half hour in, the heat must have been getting to him because there he was splashing in the water. Then it became a round trip from the sand to the water and back to the sand again. I think we were all surprised by how much fun he had. And the water certainly made the heat tolerable. We may even go back sometime very soon.

Really Big TV

How do you explain a movie theater to a 2 year old that has never been? We told him we were going to watch the new Toy Story movie on a really big TV in big room with other people. Sounds about right, right? Surprisingly, he did really well. There were a couple of times that he said he wanted to go home (ironically, this was during the scenes when the toddlers where going nuts with the toys), but he got over that quickly and really enjoyed the movie.

When asked what his favorite part of the movie was, he said "popcorn". I take that as a compliment because I made and brought our own popcorn. But he also liked when the baby blew a raspberry and when Buzz started dancing. I concur Liam, both funny parts.

2 1/2 Year Update

I think I have noticed the most development in Liam's speech in the last month or so. He has gone from random sentences to whole conversations. He is also starting to form his own opinions on things. Chris and I daily look at each other and ask, "Did he just say....?"

He also loves his sister. Although he has shown some signs that he is not a fan of less attention, he has never directed that feeling towards Livi. Quite the opposite. He showers her with kisses and when she starts to cry he says, "It's ok baby girl" or "I know little Mama, I know". Just yesterday when she started to whimper he told her that "Daddy was gonna take of you- he a good daddy". Obviously, that made Chris' day.

He finally knows his colors and although he can sing his abc's perfectly, he doesn't quite get what letters are what yet. We are working on that. He weighs 31 pounds and is 38 inches tall.

Happy Daddy's Day

photos by Jordanna

4 Month Update

Isn't it funny that for Liam I was still counting by weeks at this point. Now, I am lucky if I can remember what day of the week it is or even what time of day it is for that matter. But this isn't about me and the haze that is called time. This is about the development of my Livi Lu as we call her, for no real reason other than it suits her.

She fits right into our nutty crew. She thinks Liam is hilarious and is starting to laugh at him. She is the biggest flirt you will ever meet. She likes to bat her eyelashes and flash her dimples to anyone who will look. She already has daddy wrapped around her little finger. This one is gonna be trouble, alright!

She sleeps 10-12 hours a night and for that I am grateful. She weighs 15.5 pounds and is 26 inches long. Didn't gain too much, but still in the 90th percentile for both. She is grabbing onto toys and even putting them in her mouth at times. I put her in her bumbo last night and was amazed at how well she is holding her head up. It will be just a month or two before we start giving her food and as always, I can't believe how fast it's all going.

Oh- and by the way

Teething SUCKS

Legs!

Remember how I was so proud of my little boy for drawing that face with all it's cute little, appropriately placed parts? Well, now.... BODY parts! You would think I would have taken a better picture of the actual artwork, but look closely and you can see a body, arms, and legs. This is suppose to be a portrait of me and the bottom in black is the ocean where the fish flip. And check out those little crossed feet of his as he colors... so dang delicious!

Movie Night!

We don't let Liam watch alot of TV at home. He gets to watch an episode of Gabba in the morning while I get ready for work and that's it. Otherwise, if he is awake, the TV is off. At the same time though, Chris and I felt like maybe he is at the age where he might benefit from a movie once in a while. It a great way to connect with other kids and I know I have fond memories of watching movies with my family. So we started movie night.

Every other Sunday night, we watch a movie and we make a big deal out of it. I air-pop my popcorn, we turn the lights off, and the lot of us sit down on the couch and watch a movie together. Liam loves it. We tell him throughout the day what is going to be happening that night and when the time comes, he runs around the house with excitement yelling, "Movie Niiiight". Chris and I even bought a couple of new movies from Target that we thought Liam would like. But we have had movie night about 5 or 6 times now and we have watched one movie 5 or 6 times now. Every time movie night rolls around, we try to play up Madagascar or Finding Nemo. We ALWAYS end up watching Toy Story 2. Liam is so familiar with it that it seems like we are watching the commentary on the DVD. He talks through the whole thing and lets you know what is happening. Super Cute.

So needless to say, Toy Story 3 is coming out in a couple of weeks and that will be his first movie in a movie theater. By the way, a little fact that will blow your mind- Toy Story 2 came out 11 years ago!

It's Summer, It's Summer Time

Awesome Things Liam Says

Me: Super Mommmmyyyy to the rescue!
Liam: I super Liam, and Livi super, and Daddy super. We super hero family.

**Couldn't agree more, kid**