Liam, we don't do that

I never thought I'd be telling my child that we don't put our toothbrush in the door jam but now I find myself saying this phrase several times a day.

Put Your Chair Down

Some people push their chairs in when they're done eating, but at our house we lay our chairs down. I know he's going to figure out how to get on top of the table soon but I'm enjoying the couple of weeks I have before he gets it figured out.

Oh So Exciting

What is Liam so intently watching you might ask? The Landscaper who was power washing our disgusting back patio. The guy was hard at work when Mr. Sleepyhead here finally woke up and he was so fascinated that he even ate his breakfast in that exact spot.
We have been bugging our landlords for a while to come and trim the very overgrown bushes in our backyard and to power wash the disgusting patio. Well, they finally sent someone and they decided they didn't want to have to pay to have the bushes trimmed anymore so they pulled the ugly things out! I was so happy and excited I was practically jumping up and down in delight. Sadly, I don't have a before picture or a picture of me jumping up and down in delight but here's the after picture.

One of Those Days

Church was not exactly a pleasant day today (more so for Michael then for me I think). We are so looking forward to this day arriving when we could say goodbye for two blissfull hours every Sunday.

More Parks

Today we went to a park with daddy since it was Saturday and the weather was nice. Liam has gotten the fountains down pat now and had no problem running right in. We didn't get a picture of him playing in them but here's one of him and Michael swimming.

A New Park

I guess this would be one reason not to try out a new park when you don't know that much about it. Today it was in the low 60s and overcast. I decided to take Liam to a new park I'd heard about and they had spray toys and of course they were on. Liam headed straight for them and had no interest in anything else. We did not stay long since it took him maybe about two seconds to look like this and he was shivering and done in about five minutes but not so happy about having to leave.

A Bright Idea?

Do you ever have those ideas that you think sound brilliant in your head and then when you try to execute them you wonder just how sleep deprived you were when you came up with this bright idea? Well, that's what this one was. I was peeling potatos at the sink and Liam was on the chair beside me happily watching so when I moved to the stove I thought well why don't I just plug the sink and fill it with a couple of inches of water to distract him while I'm cooking. Well, it distracted him and by the time he was done my kitchen floor and surrounding counters were soaked and when I was trying to snap these pictures I was probably about five feet away and was still getting wet. So maybe this wasn't the brightest idea. Oh well, at least it did distract him.

Rearranging

After I put Liam down for his nap I went to put away the tupperware away that he had got out earlier and this is what I found. I had heard him opening and closing the cupboard but I didn't think anything of it. he had stashed somewhere between ten to twelve books in here. I have to admit it gave me a good little laugh.

Swimming

Today we went to the pool for the first time this year and Liam loved it. I wasn't able to get any pictures of him since it was just me and him but here's a picture of him afterwards at dinner. He had four helpings of pasta and then I finally cut him off. Then when Michael got home he ate some of his too. I guess swimming made him a wee bit hungry.

Warming Up

We went to the library today and they havea park right next door and they of course had the fountains on. Liam was intrigued and it maybe took him a whole two minutes to get this close to them. He just laughed and laughed and thought they were the greatest thing.

Helping Mommy

Since Liam loves to climb up on chairs I decided to use it in a way that we both could find tolerable. He always wants to see what I'm doing at the counter and if there's enough space for me to do my prep work far enough away from him to not be able to reach I'll bring a chair over for him to stand on. However, this does lead to some messes like dumping all my cake and frosting recipes on the ground but at least I prefer it over the whining, screaming, and shoving that I have to deal with otherwise.

Happy Father's Day

I didn't take a picture of Michael and Liam for Father's Day because things just got too busy and when I thought about it Liam was either sleeping or we were at church. However, I do think Michael had a good day and I just want to express how much Liam and I love our dads. My dad and dad-in-law are wonderful men and I count myself lucky in so many ways to be related to the both of them. I also am so glad that Liam has such a wonderful dad and how much he loves him. I know Michael comes home tired from work but he always finds some time to play with Liam. He also is such a supportive husband and never complains when I have mutual and often additional presidency meetings throughout the week but willingly stays home to watch his little man. I'm so grateful that he makes it possible for me to stay home with our little man and we love you so much Michael.

The picture is unrelated but here's Liam screaming since he's "stuck on the chair". He could get down but what he wants is up and he thinks if he screams long enough the chair will be pulled out and he'll be able to get up on the table. However, he couldn't be more wrong. Half the time I ignore him until he finally gives up and gets down or if my nerves are wearing thin from the screaming the chair is pulled out and he is immediately placed back on the ground and he will usually almost immediately get himself "stuck on the chair" again.

Belt and Garden

Liam is always playing with Michael's belt and this morning I discovered if I wrapped it around him twice it actually fit. I thought he looked pretty cute pantless and with a belt.


Also, here are some of my veggies! Nothing has died yet even with Liam having pulled up two of my cucumber plants. I was able to rescue them soon enough after that I think they'll make it.

Father's Day Preparations

Since Michael and I are really trying to not eat any sweets during the week I of course had to start his cake Friday night so we could enjoy eating it all day Saturday and Sunday. This is a yummy chocolate cake topped with caramel sauce. The next morning I topped it with chocolate pudding and then a layer of whip cream. Yum!

My Mother's Day Gift

Yes, I've had it for a couple weeks now and it's maybe half way full and half of that is just frozen gallons of water. I love it though and it makes me happy whenever I buy something to put in it.

Balloon Flip flops

Aren't these the cutest things ever! Someone told me about these so I found a little tutorial for them online and I thought they turned out darling and they're super easy! I had to make a sample pair so the young women can see them to decide if any of them want to make them for an activity.

I am a Mother

I just have to say this is the best book ever. If you haven't read it, or if it's been more than a year or two since you've read it, or if you're feeling a little weary with the role of being a mother then you need to read this book!
My mom gave this to me and all of my sisters for Mother's Day right after I got married. I read it then and when I was half way through the book I informed Michael that this was an amazing book and that I was ready to start having kids. He inforemd I was no longer allowed to read the book. I finished it and since having Liam I've often thought that I needed to re-read this book. Well, I finally got to it last week and I LOVED it just as much, if not more, this time. I love it because there's no making you feel guilty for all your shortcomings and flaws but it recognizes that what we mothers' do is hard and often mundane but that what we do is so important.
Anyway, there's my little plug for this book and honestly I think I'm going to try reading it at least once a year or everyother year because it seriously got me out of feeling like I was in a rut.

Busy Boy

He figured it out. While Tyson was here with us he was kind enough to show Liam how to get on the kitchen chair to help Liam refresh his memory. Then on Monday I heard a glass cling and I immediately headed for the table thinking I'd just left something too close to the edge and this is what I saw. He was so pleased with himself.

Also, Michael was rehooking a cord up to to the TV and Liam was right in the middle of it. I wish I could have gotten the snapshot of the three of us when I was over with them holding the light. I'm sure it was quite a sight.

Comfort Food

Lately I've decided it's just easier to do something simple for Sunday dinner. Liam likes it since he hates it when I'm cooking dinner and I'd prefer not to spend a ton of time in the kitchen on Sunday anyway.

Man Time

Liam did a great job sharing his mom and dad with Tyson but they were both so funny they either both had to be held by me or they both had to have attention from Michael. Here they are again with their sippees. And if you noticed they had the same sippees otherwise all they did was groan and want the others.

Here they are trying out Tyson's little brother's ride. It was a long couple days having twins and they had their moments where they were REALLY getting sick of each other but overall they got along really well and they even seemed to start enjoying each other.

Drinking Buddies

So, I know I said I was done watching Tyson but we got to watch him again and we even had a sleepover since his little brother decided it was time to join the family and his parents were busy at the hospital. I thought it was so cute how these two always had to drink their sippee if the other one was. This was right after their naps and I think they both completely drained their cups. I guess it was a pretty intense competition.

Chatterbox

Liam pretends to be talking on the phone quite often but today I thought it was pretty funny how long he pretended to chat on the phone. I think he wandered around chatting it up for a good 15 minutes. I really wish I knew who he was pretending to talk to.

Flowers

Today was my friend, Kara's, last class so it was my last day of watching Tyson. She gave me these beautiful flowers as a thank you. I thought it was sweet of her and Liam and I sure did enjoy watching Tyson and becoming better friends with the both of them.

Will I ever learn

Once again I left something a little too close to the edge of the table. I heard Liam playing with something but I just assumed it was the recycling. Why didn't I turn around earlier? oh well, at least I get cereal for cheap and he enjoyed himself.

More Ice

Today was a beautiful warm but muggy day. It ended with a crazy hail storm in our area and I don't know if I've ever seen anything like it. It probably lasted for ten or fifteen minutes and the ground was covered with in minutes.

Ice Cubes

Liam has discovered ice cubes lately and he loves them. He will quite often stand by the fridge and point to the ice dispenser and do his sign for more until I get him one. Luckily he can't reach the dispenser quite yet.

Puddles

While I was gone today the neighbors were washing the car and after Liam kept looking out the window Michael decided to take him outside for a little while. When he discovered the puddle he was trying to figure out how to jump so he could splash. Have I mentioned even though he's only been walking for a couple weeks he's trying his darndest to run.

Garage Sales

I've wanted to get into going to garage sales and after going to a few with Michael's grandparents and dad while we were in Denver I think I just might become addicted. My friend and I went and took both of our kids (wouldn't recommend taking the kids if at all possible) and this was my lucky find. I got all of this for seven dollars and I think there is only one piece missing from both sets. I still can't believe it.

Side note: Liam is becoming quite the little charmer. Today there was a knock on the door and our little neighbor girls (ages 5 and 8) wanted Liam to come out and play. He loves them and thinks they are so entertaining. I thought it was cute that they wanted to play. He's also learned how to say hi so when we do go outside he just walks around saying hi over and over to them.

Taking a Break

Liam loves to have his snack in a bowl lately. He's gotten over always dumping them out and whenever he wants something to eat he always signals more to me or he'll just bring me an empty bowl from his previous snack.

Another Order

I had a small order today. A dozen cupcakes for a little girl to take to preschool for her birthday. I thought they turned out cute and I'm glad to see that all those free cupcakes I took to Michael's work is paying off.