Big Boy Liam

Changes

2010-02-20T20:30:00.008-05:00

Since Liam is no longer the only kid around here, we decided to change the pace and keep up a family blog. This way you get to know about Livi too (and maybe even Momma and Daddy O). Check it out here.

Too Much

2010-02-17T19:51:00.002-05:00

For some reason, I am absolutely in love with this photo Jordanna took at school today. It is just the sweetest/cutest thing ever and I had to share it.

Just sharin'

2010-02-15T07:44:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share this cute little pic of my two monkeys still basking in the glow from the win last weekend. These faces pretty much sum up the kind of weekend we had. It was fabulous. I made sure we had a fun one since it could potentially be our last weekend together as a family of three. The weather was beautiful, we saw members from both sides of the family, and generally just had a relaxing, pleasant weekend.

If you remember, a few weeks ago I was talking about how I didn't feel particularly ready for the birth. Well, that has all gone away. We've cleaned the house a couple hundred times (although with a two yr old, is your house ever really clean?), the "kids" room is ready, and I have envisioned the birth and even done my meditation tapes a few times.

Today is President's Day which means daycare is closed so I get some alone time with the little guy which I think is great before he has to share us all- out of the blue. Doesn't it sound like I'm ready to you? Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to care much. This thing is gonna happen on her watch and I don't have much say in the matter. And so we wait....

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

WHO DAT say gonna beat them Saints?!?!

2010-02-08T21:32:00.007-05:00

Obviously, Liam has no idea what a big deal it is that the Saints won the Superbowl yesterday. According to Chris, he never will understand because Chris had to endure years of suffering whereas Liam has only been around for 2 years before he "saw" them win. But we still use this opportunity to brainwash him. He knows the fleur-de-lis represents the team and even has a stuffed whale named "Drew Brees". To hear him chant "who dat" is one of the cutest things ever. He may never know the pain that led up to such unexpected exhilaration like his dad, but he will grow up a fan.

Play Date

2010-01-31T21:01:00.003-05:00

The Matherly boys came over for a play date today and oh, what fun was had. My favorite part was seeing Liam and Cameron play together. It's the first time they have really reacted to each other. Before they sort of played independent of one another, but this time they were trying to make each other laugh and man, are those boys silly.

Grossed Out

2010-01-30T21:18:00.002-05:00

It is so disgusting to watch Liam "eat" a pickle. It's one of those things you can't stop watching but your cringing the entire time. I just thought you would all like to see how gross it is for yourself...

Obsession

2010-01-26T21:35:00.002-05:00

I know 2 year olds are supposed to be obsessive about things- I get that. That doesn't change the fact that I think it's awesome. The whole thing started when I was cleaning out his closet. This hat that I bought for a dollar a year ago was in the Goodwill pile. He was drawn to it right away- even though he only wore it occasionally in the beginning.

Lately though, he has been wearing it every waking moment. He asks for it as soon as his eyes open in the morning. He used to say he was Santa Claus until Nana told him he looked like Tony Hawk and now he thinks it makes him a skateboarder.

OMG - I love these boys

2010-01-21T22:13:00.002-05:00

He's a Boob Man

2010-01-21T20:29:00.003-05:00

Liam's always been a boob man. Tonight I heard Liam calling me from upstairs and I went up and he was very excited to show me his new boobies. Not really sure what to think of this.

Baby Sister's Shower

2010-01-17T14:06:00.004-05:00

So the shower is over and that puts us one step closer to the actual event. The shower was held exactly one month before my due date. Like I mentioned in the last post, I haven't thought much about "getting ready", but let me tell you that this shower has boosted me into full on nesting mode. The majority of the gifts were clothes which is mostly what I need so that is great. The problem came once I got home and realized that I am not set up for a second child. Where were these clothes gonna go? Let the nesting begin...

My brain started reeling. I am gonna need to move this dresser, this wall is gonna need a bunch of shelves, I want to set up the crib, I should decorate the kids room... My poor husband is in for it.

But back to the shower- it was exactly what I requested. A small, fun gathering of people that I care about to celebrate my new baby girl. I was quite impressed with everyone's gift. As I said, I got mostly clothes and I have a reputation for being a bit on the picky side when it comes to clothes. Like I told my mom, I don't mind sugar- it's the saccharine that makes me wanna barf. It just seems hard to find girl clothes that don't have big pink cupcakes and hearts with glitter and bows all over it. Not to mention, I got a nice chunk of handmade, one-of-a-kind items from Chris' side of the family that are not only gorgeous but very special to me.

Cold Weather = Time Warp

2010-01-12T09:36:00.005-05:00

This may be the longest amount of time I have gone without putting something new up and it hasn't been for lack of material. Lord knows that little boy comes up with plenty of entertaining things to talk about. It's something about all this cold weather. I don't know whether it makes me lazy/tired or whether it just makes time move really quickly. It is amazing to see how fast time has started to fly by. I thought the holidays would make time fly, but this month seems to be going faster than the last.

And every now and again, I take a deep breath and remember that in just a few weeks we will be greeting a new addition to the family. It's really happening and really soon. I have just now started to think about what I need to prepare for baby sister. It's not much materially, but emotionally it is something I need to start thinking about. Just the birth alone is something I spent weeks preparing for with Liam which is why I was able to do it with no drugs. I would meditate and listen to these tapes to get my mind to drift when I was in labor- learning how to release endorphins that would act as a natural epidural. This time I know what to expect which will make it a little easier to prepare for, but I don't have the free time I did before. So having her at home is a little more comforting because the surroundings are comforting. And from what I hear, the second kid is USUALLY a little faster and less complicated than the first.

Whether I am ready or not, she is coming. And with all the excitement and anticipation comes nervousness and anxiousness. I can't wait to see what she looks like and what kind of baby she will be. I can't wait to hold her and kiss her wrinkly forehead and tell her I adore her. In the meantime, I am trying to "enjoy pregnancy" (whatever that means) because I never know what the future holds and if I will be able to experience it again. So for now- I will get back on track and keep you all updated on the goings on of Liam.

Go Back JoJo

2010-01-01T22:36:00.003-05:00

Being a Beatles fanatic, there is nothing that makes me prouder than having Liam know the words to a Beatles song. It's just icing on the cake that of all the famous Beatles songs out there, the one that Liam has taken to is "Get Back". He is even starting to learn the names of The Beatles and really, what more can I ask for?

Look Mommy- I have baby sister too!

2009-12-26T13:37:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T13:12:00.004-05:00

I have always loved Christmas, but I have never loved it more than now. Having a kid makes it sooo much funner. And it is only going to get better as Liam and baby sister get older. It was so great to hear Liam gasp and proclaim "Christmas!" when he came downstairs yesterday morning and saw the lights on with the presents under the tree. We didn't get him much but we got him enough to open so that he would be excited about it all. The best present he got, according to him, was his ukelele.

We all got one super great present this year. I got the name I wanted for baby sister! Chris and I both had one name that we were particularly fond of, but he gave in and let me have my name for Christmas which made me sooo happy. He made up a little certificate with the name on it, but don't even try and squint at the pic to figure it out because I already doctored the photo so you can't see! Chris got a book with all of the blog entries and photos of Liam from the past 2 years. It came out really nice and he got teary eyed when he opened it.

His Life is a Party

2009-12-22T07:24:00.004-05:00

I must have the most confused child. His birthday party was a couple of weeks ago. Last Friday, Jordanna had a birthday party for him at school. Last Sunday was his actual birthday and we told him we were taking him to Lion Country for his birthday. Then we throw in Kittyama's birthday yesterday and he couldn't understand why he wasn't the one getting a cake. Not to mention, Christmas is on Friday so there are more presents and my side of the family has their own Christmas a week after that where he will inevitably get even MORE presents from my parents. He is not gonna like January... then again we have Evan and Eli's birthday in January so maybe that will ease him into the normal life again.

2 Years Update

2009-12-19T19:58:00.004-05:00

The last 2 years have been the best of my life. I could never have imagined how much fun (and work) having a kid would be. Liam is just the funnest, coolest kid I have ever met. He has a huge personality. His new phrases consist of "Wanna show you something", "Wanna go outside and skateboard", "Go Saints", and "Wanna have it" just to name a few. He has started talking so much in fact that he talks for a good 30 minutes after he goes to bed at night before he quiets down and falls asleep.

He is 28 3/4 lbs which puts him in the 60th percentile. I don't remember his height, but he is in the 80th percentile. The doctor says if he continues at the rate he is going, he will be around 6 feet tall when he grows up!

He already loves his baby sister. He is always kissing my tummy and putting his head on it to go "night night with baby sister". He can spell his name and count to 10 with no assistance. I can see his imagination start to emerge. He will take 2 toys and pretend that they are having a conversation with each other. His favorite game is hiding from daddy and having daddy scare the bejesus out of him. And he insists on doing it over and over again. He loves to sit on the counter in the kitchen and help mommy cook dinner. When we are all done and dinner is served he says, " I made it".

Now I know my ABC's...

2009-12-13T22:10:00.002-05:00

Momma O's Silly Boys

2009-12-11T22:32:00.000-05:00

Potty Training Update

2009-12-10T21:24:00.002-05:00

I am soooo proud of my little boy. Potty training went way smoother than I thought it would and he is basically trained now. He still wears a pull-up for naptime and at night, but he usually wakes up dry after nap anyway. If I am remembering correctly, he hasn't had any accidents this week and only one last week at school. When we go out he wears undies and he even goes on the big toilet when we are at the store.

I know there is a risk of him reverting when baby sister comes along, but for now I want to focus on how awesome he is doing. And I can tell he is proud of himself too. He gets a big smile on his face when I pick him up after work and he tells me that he went "peepee in the potty".

Liam's Birthday Jam

2009-12-07T19:51:00.004-05:00

It's exactly what I wanted it to be. I think the kids had a lot of fun- I KNOW Liam had a lot of fun. Everybody got into the rock-n-roll theme. The kids all played with the instruments and dug the hair dye and tattoos. At the end of the party, they each got to go home with their own backstage pass that had there picture in it from the party. Kittyama made a handmade birthday banner and birthday cape. Papa went out and bought Rock Band 2 for the Wii (no, seriously).

Later that night, when Liam went to bed we could hear him on the monitor talking about all the people he saw that day and naming some of the presents he got. That made me very happy with the way everything turned out.

It Always Turns Into a Skateboard

2009-12-01T22:04:00.003-05:00

Everything. Everything always turns into a skateboard or a ramp for a skateboard. Can you even imagine the cool points Daddy got for showing Liam this? And I frickin love those little fingers guiding the skateboard.

Thanksgiving Getaway

2009-12-01T21:56:00.002-05:00

Wanna know of a great way to spend Thanksgiving vacation? Get your mom and dad to rent a house in Ft Myers right by the beach. That way, you can have a bunch of family get together and hang out by the beach where you can see dolphins and pelicans and walk on the pier and actually get to relax. That's what we did anyway.

HappyThanksgiving Everyone!

2009-11-26T13:33:00.001-05:00

This Morning

2009-11-20T15:26:00.000-05:00

I had the best little moment with Liam. I had to wake him up to get ready and he hates being woken up. It doesn't happen all that often. He usually wakes up at just the right time. But when I do have to wake him up he gets kinda whiny and stretches out his little body with his eyes squinted closed. So I crawled into bed next to him and he scooted back with his back parallel to mine so I could cuddle with him and I put my arm around him and said "Don't you wish we could stay together like this all day".

Liam: "Mommy"
Me:"Yes Baby"
Liam: "Stay together mommy"
Me: "Yea, that would be great"
Liam: "Stay together, go night night mommy"

Heart. melted. Please tell me these years of cuddling will go nice and slow so I can savor them. On second thought, don't tell me anything at all because I already know the answer isn't one I want to hear.

Ladies Shoes

2009-11-19T07:50:00.002-05:00

It started out innocently enough. Liam loves accessories- hats, jackets, shoes. When he sees them, he wants them on. This includes mommy and daddy shoes. When he first put on my shoes we said, "Those aren't Liam's shoes- those are ladies shoes". But he took it more as "Cool- ladies shoes!". And now it is quite common to come home and have Liam take off his shoes (kinda like Mr Rodgers) and slip into the "ladies shoes" as he now refers to them. He even gets upset at me sometimes when I put them on in the morning. And he has mastered walking around in them. He can spin, run and jump and not loose a beat. Good thing I am not one of those crazy moms who gets weird about this kinda thing. I think it's pretty darn cute.

Potty Training in 3 Days?!?

2009-11-15T20:41:00.003-05:00

The idea: 3 days of not leaving the house and wearing nothing from the waste down while awake (that last part applies only to Liam). Once he realizes that when he pees it is making a mess on the floor, he will gain the insight to stop himself and go in the potty.

We just ended the 2nd full day of training and I am shocked to report that it's working. He only had one accident today and that was because we had gone outside for a couple of minutes and I forgot to take his pants off when we got back in. Every other time he has walked HIMSELF over the the potty and gone without any prompting from Chris or I. We have both a potty and a seat that goes onto the toilet because I wasn't sure which one he would be more comfortable with.
Seems the potty has won that battle and I am convinced it's because he doesn't need any help from us to use it. 1 accident and 9 successes all initiated by him!

The first day we focused more on the seat in the toilet and he was scared of the whole process. He cried everytime we put him on. But slowly he saw the method to our madness. Once he started getting the routine and realizing he could do it himself like a big boy, it was pretty smooth sailing. We used a sticker chart as a reward system which also worked better than I thought it would. Now I don't know if this is all a fluke, but it's looking pretty promising and I am really proud of him. Chris took tomorrow off to continue the training. And then we are supposed to keep him out of underwear or diapers for 3 more months. I don't know about that part. I haven't talked to Jordanna yet about how we will tackle training at daycare and I'm not gonna put a time limit on underwear for him. When he seems pretty consistent with going, we'll start underwear.

Coming So Fast

2009-11-12T20:18:00.003-05:00

It crept up on me way too fast. It was something far in the future that I knew I would eventually have to deal with and now it's nearly here. The planning has begun and before I know it we will celebrating the second year of my little pickle's life. I know he won't totally understand why we are celebrating, but I can't help but feel he deserves to have the funnest party ever. He is just such a cool kid who brings us so much happiness that I will do whatever I can to return the favor.

So we have a rockin party since he loves to rock out and we have all his favorite people under one roof- I can't imagine anything better. And disclaimer before I go any further: by no means does anyone need to get him anything, BUT some people have already started asking me what to get him so here is a list of things he loves: Anything that has to do with music, Yo Gabba Gabba, skateboards, books, arts and crafts. For clothes he is a size 2T or bigger on top and 24 month or bigger on bottom. Hope we get to see you all there!

Just 'Cause

2009-11-05T21:59:00.002-05:00

My Little van Gogh (but without the crazies)

2009-11-03T06:23:00.000-05:00

I thought it might be fun to do some artsy fartsy stuff with Liam this weekend since he is a bit of an artsy fartsy kinda guy (or so I force him to be ;). You can tell he has done alot of watercolor painting at Jordanna's because he was obsessed with using the water which was really only there to clean off our brushes. The best part came when he started using his feet to paint which I can only imagine came from watching a Curious George episode where George shows a little girl all the different things that monkeys can do. All in all, a good time was had.

Halloween '09

2009-11-01T21:07:00.002-05:00

I love that Liam has little friends that he is excited to hang out with and that we are able to do kid things with our best friends. This year we went over Renee's house for pizza and trick or treating. She lives in a great neighborhood for that sort of thing- one of those neighborhoods where people sit outside in costume all night in front of their house to pass out candy. I love that kinda atmosphere for Halloween.

Obviously, Liam was a zebra for Halloween. Although, he decided he would rather wear the helmet from Cameron's outfit rather than the hood that came on his. And that was fine with Cameron who was refusing to wear the helmet that actually went with his costume. So Chris decided to tell everyone that Liam was a referee which I found very cute (although technically they don't wear helmets, but you get it...). The outfit itself didn't last for over a half an hour in the humid, hot weather of South Florida, but no one seemed to mind or refused him candy because of it ;)

The Matherlys: Football player, Dora the Explorer, Tootsie Roll, Diego, and Superman!

LOVE Evan's arm around Liam.

Halloween Party at School

2009-10-29T19:46:00.003-04:00

22 Month Update

2009-10-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

New Obsessions: Football, jumping, Curious George, pumpkins, trying to see how much he can get away with, and dipping.

Favorite Words/Phrases: Mine, No, Yea, whas [fill in the blank] doing?, whas that?, want that, go timeout (yes, he tells me when he needs to go to time out), Hi how you? good, Awesome, and Daddy- play football game.

New Skills: Jumping, rolling his eyes, and putting puzzles together like nobodies business.

Best New Game: Liam says "Cry Mommy Cry" and I pretend to cry so he can run over and give me a hug and make me happy to which he proclaims "Happy Mommy".

Other things to note: We will be starting potty training the weekend of November 13th. Keep your fingers crossed that it will all work out because if he doesn't take to it in a couple of weeks, we will have to put it off until after the baby is born and that won't be fun for anyone.

It's Fall, right?

2009-10-24T13:55:00.004-04:00

There is only one reason we know it's Fall in South Florida and that is because of pumpkins. From what I hear, other people get a change in weather and even see the leaves changing colors and falling. We get pumpkins and halloween costumes as an indicator. What would we do without them?

I cannot even begin to describe to you how hot it was this morning at the pumpkin patch. It felt like over 100 and I have to say I am getting sick of it. I would say I can't wait until another cold front comes through, but even those are frustrating. A day or two tops of 65 degree weather and then right back into the 90's. It's cruel I tell you.

But back to the pumpkins. Although Liam loves talking about pumpkins, he didn't love seeing so many congregating together in one place. He is a tad bit under the weather and maybe that had something to do with it, but he did not want to sit on or by a pumpkin the entire time. Thus the lack of Liam plus pumpkin photos. Still got a good family one though.

Football Game

2009-10-19T22:28:00.002-04:00

Much to the excitement of Daddy O, Liam has yet another love. He sees Daddy watching football so he gets excited about football. When we went to the beach with family a couple of weeks ago, Uncle Mike brought a football and he couldn't stop talking about it. Naturally, our next trip to Target meant we wouldn't be leaving without a football. Ever since, he has been taking it everywhere (what's that, you want to take it in the car and throw it at Mommy as she drives? yaaaay).

When he wants to throw the ball around with Chris, he calls it a "football game". And he does fancy moves when he catches the ball as if he has only seen stills of the game, not actual video. He's more likely destined to be the kid on the team that gets the "Most Improved Player" rather than the "Most Valuable Player" as he rarely actually catches the ball, but hey- he's not even 2.

They Never Do What You Ask

2009-10-19T21:01:00.004-04:00

Kids do cute stuff all the time. It's when you ask them to do it in front of the camera, that they stop the cute thing they were doing. Example...

The Big Boy Bed

2009-10-12T22:59:00.004-04:00

We have been in our new place for 3 weeks now and although it doesn't feel like home quite yet there is one thing I can stop worrying about- Liam and the big boy bed. I don't know why I anticipated resilience from him, but I sure didn't get any. From day one, he has been sleeping in it and it's as if he always has been. We left the crib at Kittyama's until the day when the baby will start using it. We figured it will come in handy if we ever need him to stay over.

Obviously, we made a big deal about his "big boy" bed and had him show it off to anyone who came over. And he loves it. The first night he slept in it, I was so sure he was gonna bang his head into the rail or fall out or run around for a while. I must have checked on him about 6 times (that includes twice in the middle of the night). None of that. Nothing. He has gone right to sleep every single night and when he wakes up in the morning he stays in bed until I open the door.

I wish I could say the same for naptime though. He is getting better, but he did take advantage of the first few naps to explore his new room. I don't mind as long as he ends up asleep which he has. Once Chris peeked under the door after putting him down for nap and saw a baseball bounce onto the floor followed by the shadows of little feet running after it. Kinda makes you smile just thinking about it.

Silly Dinners

2009-10-06T09:19:00.003-04:00

We made a vow that when we got our new place we would make a point to have dinners at the table with nothing but music on. It's an easy little thing to do, but what a difference it makes to be forced to slow down and enjoy each others company. Some of the best entertainment has come out of these dinners. For one, Liam has learned how to roll his eyes. His eyes mostly stay up though instead of immediately rolling back down so it's a combination of unnerving and hilarious. To add to this new talent, Chris has gotten him to say "Oh brooother" as he rolls his eyes. It's cute because he doesn't know that action is meant to be obnoxious.

And then the other day, we were eating shrimp and Liam decided to use the shrimp tails as fingernails. Again, a combination of unnerving and hilarious. He was twisting his hand in the air with fascination and laughing at himself. So great. I can't even remember that far back, but dinner must have been so boring before him.

photos by Kittyama

Moving is exhausting

2009-10-05T09:36:00.002-04:00

The only thing worse than moving is moving after the majority of your belongings have been in storage for about a year and a half. Why I packed so much crap that I ended up giving away a year later will always be a mystery to me... but I digress. Because of the chaos at our place lately, I have failed to take a single pic or video in about 2 weeks. It makes a small part of me very sad on the inside. Especially because Liam has been coming up with some silly things lately. So instead I have my cronies taking pics and videos for me. This would be mainly Jordanna and Kittyama! Here is a video of Liam that Jordanna sent to me the day we found out we were having a girl (still sounds weird by the way). I must admit, it made me get teary eyed. The resolution is not great because it was taken on a phone...

Pretty In Pink

2009-09-30T13:20:00.001-04:00

Pretty sure the whole world knows by now that our second child is a girl. Although I was keeping my fingers crossed for a girl, I was trying not to get too ahead of myself because a boy would have been just as big of a blessing. I would hate to be one of those people who is disappointed by the sex of their baby.

Nonetheless, there have been so many boys in these parts that I found myself in a state of shock when the Tech announced the sex. It's still hard to believe. Tina and I were talking about it earlier and we don't know what to do with a girl. I guess it's fundamentally the same thing, but not really. Yea, they poop and pee the same and cry the same. But with a little more elegance? Not sure exactly how the difference in gender will change our family, but I am excited to find out.

Skateboards

2009-09-22T11:20:00.000-04:00

It's a new love for Liam. It makes me a little nervous, but that is just the mom in me. There is a video on Gabba's website where Tony Hawk does some skating and I think that's where it started. Then Chris started showing him more videos. Then we stopped into Ron Jon's the other day and tried some out and he threw a FIT when we left. "My skateboard" "mommy- skateboard"

I asked Athena's aunt when her kids (who are all grown up) started skateboarding and biking and she said around 3! I don't want to be the kind of mom who shields her kids from doing anything that could cause scrapes, but I think I might just ask Chris to take over when it's time in that department and just not watch.

Busy Month

2009-09-20T21:13:00.004-04:00

It's been a crazy and busy month and it's not over yet. Between recovering from vacation, packing for the move next weekend, and being pregnant, I have had zero time/energy to post much. I have stuff to post, but you may want to expect a lag in time for the next couple of weeks. Anywhoooo... here are some more pics that I didn't post on FB from our last day in California. We just had so much fun hanging out with family and getting "reacquainted". Enjoy...

Take It All In Ladies

2009-09-15T21:54:00.003-04:00

You know those funny sized towels that hotels give you- I guess they are meant for your hair or something? Well, Liam pretty much rocked it.

SEALS!

2009-09-12T11:19:00.002-04:00

They stink, they sound like dogs, and they sleep all day. Liam can't get enough of them.

A Recap on the Trip So Far

2009-09-08T11:38:00.006-04:00

So far so good. Liam was incredible on the way here. 9 hours of traveling is never fun, but it went as well as it possibly could. Flights were not only on time, but we arrived early for both flights and Liam seemed completely unaffected by the pressure in cabin.

My favorite thing about the trip is how laid back it has been so far. I really didn't plan on anything except to "go into the city" a few times. But we definitely haven't been bored. Judy threw a fantastic party on Saturday where everyone got to see the "Famous Liam" and I got to meet a lot of people for the first time. Liam has loved all the attention he is getting and despite the complete lack of routine he is getting has been great. Maybe a bit more cranky than usual- but if that is all I have to deal with, I'll take it!

Yesterday we went into Santa Cruz and saw an amazing beach. Liam had a ball playing in the sand at the beach. It was very different from the beaches back home. There were rocks and waves and while other people were in swimsuits, we were in our "winter" clothes. Than we ended the day with a yummy dinner at Jack and Linda's where Jack gave Liam some guitar lessons.

Sing, Sing a Song

2009-09-01T21:51:00.002-04:00

20 Month Update

2009-08-25T21:15:00.002-04:00

What a handful this little guy is. He is getting to that age where I can see traces of the terrible two's creeping in. Listening a little less and being alot more independent. One of his favorite words is "mine" which makes me wince every time I hear it. He knows what he wants and he wants it NOW. Even as I am typing this, I want to veer from the truth and say how perfect he is. The truth is I have to remember that this is just a phase we have to go through like everything else and if I am patient yet firm, the outcome will be a boy who listens and is respectful. That is what I am hoping for anyway.

On the brighter side, he says everything. He may not say it in full sentences, but he knows how to get his point across pretty clearly. And he picks up on EVERYTHING. The other day when we went to meet the couple that we are going to be renting from, we shook hands and greeted each other. When we got in the car, he took my hand and shook it up and down and said, "hiiiii, how are youuuuu?" in a cute high pitch voice.

Dancing Craze

2009-08-21T22:47:00.003-04:00

This boy loves to dance. He bops his head and shakes his grove thing every time he hears music. He also does these weird breakdance freeze moves. We got a couple on tape, but it pales in comparison to seeing it in person.

Another Photo Shoot

2009-08-19T22:06:00.002-04:00

Liam had a photoshoot at just 2 months. The same lady who did those photos was recruiting models to use in her portfolio so Liam posed once again. It was hilarious to see how NOT into it he was. It kinda surprised me how much being the center of attention seemed to make him incredibly uncomfortable. Perhaps modeling is not how he will pay his way through college. Nonetheless, she still got some cute pics. Here is the slide show of his pics. Note: his pics are only going to be online for 3 days, so there is a good possibility this slide show will be gone in 3 days too. :(

Hey Ma!

2009-08-10T21:02:00.003-04:00

I had a big smile on my face this morning. I had to go get some testing done to see if the baby has any signs of down syndrome. I believe last time I did this test with Liam it only consisted of a blood test. This time around I went to a different place where they have updated their methods a little.

At this office, you also get an ultrasound so they can measure the base of the babies neck. I wasn't expecting this step so I was pleasantly surprised when I got to see my little boo and how much he/she has grown. It is amazing what 4 weeks can mean in a pregnancy. I could see fingers and toes, eyes and nose, and most importantly.. movement. I just love seeing them move around and squirm when the tech pokes and prods at them. At one point, Baby O looked liked he/she was using the side of my uterus to push off of.

I got a little teary eyed at one point. It wasn't anything in particular that happened. It's just all so awesome and hard to believe sometimes. In that quiet, dark room time just seems to slow down and reality starts to seep in a little more. And there you are looking at someone that will change your life in just a few short months.

I am just a tad farther along than I thought. I'm 13 weeks which means I have about 7 more weeks before we can find out the sex. Right now the lil one is only about 3 inches long and I won't get to see her/him again until that time. So until we meet again little one, I love you soooo much.

Art Board

2009-08-09T22:05:00.003-04:00

Liam loves to color and he is getting pretty good at it too. By that I mean that he draws with intent even if that means it doesn't look like anything. He rarely just scribbles unless he is feeling silly. I usually give him an oversized coloring pad that we sprawl out on the floor, but that gets ripped and when he gets up he often slip or trips on it. The solution: this super cute and affordable artboard from Ikea. It only cost about $15 (sans accessories such as art supplies) and can fold up easily if you ever want to get it out of the way.

Liam seemed to really like the chalk side. I may wait a few more months before we get into the marker side. And it has a roll of paper on the bottom that can be laid over the board for coloring or painting. We don't need anything new in our house, but I felt like this was something that will last awhile and encourage creativity. And I am all for that.

Welcome Home Jaiden

2009-08-06T22:33:00.005-04:00

My best friend gave birth to her third boy today, Jaidan Matthew Matherly. After two boys that look just like their dad, she finally had one with Loforte features! He has dark, dark hair and dimples and is cute as a button. He came out weighing 7 lb. 13 oz and is 19 inches long. Congratulations Tina and Kevin- he is a beauty!

Special Delivery

2009-07-30T21:40:00.000-04:00

Poop

2009-07-24T21:19:00.003-04:00

We have been contemplating potty training so that we won't have to worry about 2 kids in diapers when the second baby gets here. We decided the best thing to do is wait until after we get back from San Fransisco in September to start. So imagine my surprise when I got a call from Jordanna today. The story is that Liam saw Jordanna's 2 kids going "potty" and then proclaimed "poop". So Jordanna put him on the toilet where he proceeded to poop and pee.

Now normally, I don't get excited about bodily excrement and don't talk so openly about it. But I am hoping this is a glimpse of what the future holds in potty training. There is a good chance this was just a fluke, but I have heard so many horror stories about potty training that I am praying this means it will be a bearable process.

Reminiscing

2009-07-21T20:53:00.003-04:00

Thinking about this new baby has made me remember all sorts of things that have been covered by cobwebs in my head. Like remember when the baby comes out, how small they are and stuff? And how much work it is and how they don't really know much? I thought Liam would never get his first word out and now the kid won't keep quiet. Here is just a little video of Liam when he was a wee lad. It is weird to think we will be going through all this all over again.

A Freakish Bump

2009-07-16T21:34:00.002-04:00

Is it just me or is my belly abnormally large for being only 9 weeks pregnant? I know you tend to pop a little earlier the second time around, but seriously? This pregnancy has been different in a lot of ways than the first. For one, I am not sick. I felt nauseous for maybe a week, but ever since then I have felt completely normal (except for being really tired). That is one of the reasons I was a little hesitant to tell people. It made me nervous- I was soooo sick the first time.

So I waited. We had no idea how far along I was so we had an ultrasound to find out. Once I saw and heard that little heartbeat, I could exhale. It's still hard to believe, but Chris and I are obviously ecstatic. New Baby O's due to come out Februaury 16, the day after my sister's birthday.

Check Out Liam's New Shirt! ;)

2009-07-15T11:00:00.000-04:00

Meredith Back from India

2009-07-12T21:05:00.002-04:00

We are so happy to have Meredith back safely from India! She was gracious enough to bring back presents for the whole family and Liam scored this spiffy top that looks ridiculously cute on him. What do you think? Some white linen pants and flip flops to complete the look?

Nothing Like Watermelon on a Hot Florida Day

2009-07-07T21:54:00.001-04:00

Firetrucks, Kisses, and Crayons

2009-07-04T13:20:00.003-04:00

So far our fourth has been a pleasant, albeit hot day. This morning we attended the Plantation Forth of July parade with The Harrisons. It must have been 100 degrees outside, but the boys still enjoyed watching the countless classic cars, motorcycles, and teenage grunge bands that perused down the street. One thing that Liam did not enjoy so much to my surprise was the fire trucks. He was scared to death of them. I am not sure if it was the noise (they had their sirens blaring and horns honking as they drove by) or the size of them, but he had a death grip on my neck.

Once we got back to the house, the boys enjoyed a little playtime together. For Liam that means spending a good chunk of time trying to get as many kisses in as he can. He does this with all kids. I don't freak out any more because he is almost completely out of the biting phase and he is generally very gentle when it comes to giving hugs and kisses to other little ones. But not all kids have the appreciation for kisses and hugs that Liam does. Quite frankly, it freaks some kids out. But Eli didn't seem to mind.

Where Liam likes to create fine art, Eli is more a collector of fine art. He tried with all his might to hold every single crayon in his hands at one time. I gotta say he got pretty close a few times.

Hot Mama

2009-06-30T21:15:00.001-04:00

Chris: "Liam, say this to mommy, say 'hot mama' "
Liam: "Hot mommy"

Fun with Canoes

2009-06-22T22:15:00.005-04:00

What do you do at the end of the day with 3 tired and overly hyper toddlers? You let them slide, trip, and jump on the back of a canoe. Who knew it could be so much fun?

Err... Happy Father's Day?

2009-06-22T22:03:00.003-04:00

I SUPPOSE I should have written this post on Sunday, but better late than never. This one is obviously dedicated to my one and only baby daddy. I always knew he would make a good friend for my kid, but I think I vastly underestimated how good of a DAD he would be. He calls me every single day to see if I have any updates on Liam from Jordanna and to ask what kind of mood he was in that morning. If I ever have a picture or video of him that I didn't share- I get a little bit scolded.

He is the kind of dad that could talk about his son all day long so you better not ask how Liam is doing unless you really want to know. His favorite work day is Monday because that is the day he gets to leave work an hour earlier and pick Liam up from daycare. I could go on and on, but if you know Chris you already know the story. The guy is infatuated with his son and what a lucky son he is.

18 Month Update

2009-06-20T00:01:00.001-04:00

So Liam is 1 1/2 years old. What a difference six months make. It seems like once he hit the one year mark he was off and running. There is definitely no "baby" left in this kid. He is an impressive mimic and bright as can be. There are random things that he identifies that always make me smile. It just seems weird that my 18 month old knows what a shark or a helicopter is. He has started putting words together now too. When he sees duckling he says "baby ducks" and when Chris leaves the house he says "where 'e go?"

His current obsessions are coloring, Elmo (who he calls LaLa because of Elmo's Song), Word World (which he calls "wor wor"), books and milk. I try to cut his milk in half sometimes with water because he drinks so much of it and he will actually watch me and yell at me if he sees water go into his milk cup! He HATES getting his teeth brushed and has to be physically restrained. But he IS an excellent listener and will mostly do what mommy asks of him.

He is 33 inches long and 26 lbs which puts him right around average. But he will never be average to me ;)

Bubbles!

2009-06-17T22:27:00.003-04:00

If there is ever a cranky little boy in the house, there is one sure way to turn that frown upside down- bubbles!

Sleep Talking

2009-06-15T22:53:00.003-04:00

Every night Liam talks himself to sleep. So this video is just my camera up against the door which means the video is really of blackness. But the video isn't the point- I just wanted to share the cute little sounds I get to hear every night after I put him to sleep.

Coloring with Papa

2009-06-14T22:01:00.002-04:00

Last Weekend

2009-06-10T21:09:00.002-04:00

It has been too long since my last post. These pics were from last weekend. The Matherly's got a crazy cool new pool so Liam and I went over to help break it in. There has been an insane amount of rain lately, but we made it all the way to lunch time with perfect weather.

It is so funny to see how incredibly different these boys are. Evan and Cameron have their differences, but one thing they do share is their roughness. I don't mean that they are rough with other kids, but they do jump and slide and fall and don't give it a second thought. My boy, on the other hand, seems to be more of the sensitive type. I never considered him to be that way until I saw how different he was with Cam and Evan. He stayed on the one end of the pool the entire time and if he got splashed or touched in a way that was not to his liking- he cried. When Evan would bellyflop or jump into the pool, Liam would carefully pick up one foot and start to whine when he realized that the pool wasn't a hard surface that he could balance himself on.

It's All In The Shoes

2009-06-05T21:17:00.003-04:00

You may think the hat has something to do with it, but you would be wrong. Liam is obsessed with his new shoes and has to wear them constantly (even when he is only in his diapers). He even does a little shoe dance...

School Pics

2009-05-27T21:09:00.003-04:00

This one on top shows the new face he is making all the time. He purses his lips together and just walks around like that. Silly, silly boy.

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T22:44:00.001-04:00

We went to Lion Country Safari again for Memorial Day (we have annual passes). Although Liam had a great time checking out all the animals and other small children, his absolute favorite part of the park by far were these stupid photo op cutout thingees. He thought it was hilarious to see Mommy and Daddy's face on a body that was usually painted to seem as though it was facing certain death.

Shear Excitement!

2009-05-26T22:18:00.006-04:00

A ride on a choo-choo train? Seriously? It can't get any better than that for a little boy, can it? I mean just watch the shear excitement on this kids face. He can hardly contain himself...

It's Official

2009-05-20T22:57:00.004-04:00

His first rough and tumble scrape on the knee. I think this makes it official- BIG BOY! And he took it like a big boy too. He cried for a minute, but then it was time to get back to more pressing matters- like sidewalk chalk.

Aye, I'm a Big Boy

2009-05-18T23:09:00.001-04:00

It is so hard to catch certain moments on camera. Those of you who have children can understand this. Liam is always doing something so ridiculous and cute and we are forever running to get the camera only to be disappointed when he stops the minute he sees me recording. But I got this one. Liam and daddy laughing it up. My favorite part about it is that I got the way he says "yes" on camera. Instead of "yes", Liam says "aye" like a pirate. I have no idea where he learned this, but it is darn cute. I almost hopes he never grows out of it. Although that may be awkward for him in his teenage and adult years.. unless he does become a pirate.

A Great Weekend

2009-05-17T23:00:00.002-04:00

At first, I thought this weekend was gonna be a drag. My parents are in Cali and Chris and Nancy were working all weekend. It actually turned out to be one of the best weekends I have had in a while. Nothing against my hubby, but I don't get alot of one on one time with Liam. This was sort of a Mommy and Me weekend and it was so much fun. Saturday was jammed packed. We played and walked to the library and read some books in the morning. After nap time, we met up with Tina and her boys and went to the Young at Art Children's Museum. After that we headed to Volunteer Park and then off to Chili's for dinner where Chris met us.

On Sunday, Liam and I hit the pool. It has been a long time since we have been so he was really scared. He started out with one toe of one foot splashing the water on the first step. After about an hour of VERY gradual progress, his whole body was in. He was still holding on to me for dear life, but we were in. We bounced, spun, and splashed before heading back in. In the midst of all this was lots of cuddling and laughing. He just gets more and more fun.

Yee-Haw

2009-05-13T21:23:00.000-04:00

Masterpiece?

2009-05-12T21:12:00.003-04:00

I guess we'll just leave that up to interpretation...

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T21:19:00.005-04:00

It is my second Mother's Day as an actual mother. I couldn't have asked for a better day- we did absolutely nothing in the morning. Well, scratch that- I did absolutely nothing in the morning. Chris spent the morning making me a Dulce de Leche Banana Cream Pie from scratch that was absolutely delish.

After naptime, we met my side of the family in Ft Lauderdale for a late lunch and after that we went over to Beth's for an early dinner. Yes, those two back to back outings did involve food and yes, I ate at both of them.

Fun Outside with Daddy

2009-05-06T20:56:00.001-04:00

Guitar Hero

2009-05-04T19:09:00.000-04:00

Takin It Down South

2009-05-03T21:28:00.004-04:00

Tia Sofia is always trekking up to Broward to see her boys so she planned a little beach get together in Key Biscayne so we could go visit her! It didn't hurt that we met her at an amazing little park/beach with lots to do for the kids. Liam is more of a watcher than a doer when it comes to the ocean, but he still enjoyed himself.

Uuuhhhhh

2009-04-30T22:19:00.003-04:00

When I was dropping Liam off the other day, I saw something rather disturbing in Jordanna's driveway. Thankfully, she just posted these pics to explain it. Phew, do I feel better!

On Safari- Part Two

2009-04-20T20:52:00.004-04:00

Liam can look at books all day long, but lately he loves to look at books that have actual pictures of animals. He can't be bothered with illustrations- he wants the real deal. So I found it a little funny that he wanted nothing to do with them when he was finally presented the opportunity to touch them. Not even the birds and he loves birds. I can say I agree with him when it comes to giraffes. Those things scared the bejesus out of me. They just get all up in your bizness. You can kinda see Liam and I ducking out of the way in one of the last photos.

On Safari- Part One

2009-04-19T21:16:00.004-04:00

Yea- 2 out of 3 of us were sick within the last 3 days, but that wasn't gonna stop us from taking advantage of a beautiful day. Liam is back to normal and Chris was feeling.... ok... so we decided to go on with our plans to visit Lion Country Safari. It's a great place for kids with one part being a drive-thru "safari" where the animals all roam "free" and the other part being a little park with a bunch more animals and activities for the kiddos to enjoy (more on that later!).

We decided to let our little animal roam free in the car during the safari portion since the speed limit was a whopping 8 mph and it was the only way he could really see the animals.

Sick-o

2009-04-17T08:02:00.003-04:00

My poor little munchkin has been really sick for the last couple of days. He has been throwing up everything inside his little body and it breaks my heart. Kittyama was randomly off of work yesterday which never happens but couldn't have been better timing and I took off of work today. He was fine most of the day yesterday and I thought it was just a one night thing, but then right before bed he threw up again. And then again this morning after I tried to give him some breakfast.

The worst part about it is he is so hungry and thirsty. He keeps wanting to eat and drink, but obviously I can't give him much if anything because it will just come back up. He was crying this morning and through his tears, I could hear a pathetic little voice saying "waaaaffffflllle" and he would reach his pudgy little hand towards the freezer. Heart broken.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-12T23:02:00.003-04:00

Oh what fun was had!

Cheese!

All the Boys- what a miracle!

Egg Hunt!

Kittyama's Easter Present

Grandma's Easter Basket

Muno and Brobie Easter Eggs

Pirates Like Easter Too!

2009-04-12T15:47:00.003-04:00

Note: No children were harmed during the pirate/easter photoshoot.

Easter at School

2009-04-12T15:40:00.002-04:00

What I Get To See From My Rearview Mirror

2009-04-06T22:25:00.000-04:00

Don't worry- I was at a red light!

It's Dancey Dance Time

2009-04-05T13:14:00.007-04:00

Liam loves to dance. Liam loves Yo Gabba Gabba. Put them together and you get some cuteness...

Jack Black teaching the disco roll.

And Liam doing the disco roll.

Naptime

2009-04-03T09:24:00.002-04:00

This video is small and grainy because it came from my cell phone, but I still wanted to share. It's Liam at school sleeping on his big boy mat at naptime (*sigh*).

Boys Will Be Boys

2009-04-01T22:20:00.002-04:00

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago after Liam fell onto one of those sprinklers that sticks out about 2 feet from the ground. He actually is quite tough. He only cried for a minute and then it was business as usual. He is so tough in fact that I have been getting reports of him being a bit of a bully at school. Apparently, when he wants a toy that another child has he will push or bite them if they won't give it up willingly. There hasn't been much biting as Jordanna usually catches him in the act before he actually chomps down.

But now another kid a couple months older is doing the same and has gotten Liam twice! It's like they feed off of each other and Jordanna and I are not really sure how to approach this. The latest thing that she is going to try she got from research and/or advice. Let's say the other boy bites Liam again (or vice versa!), she will tell him he can't play with Liam and then pay extra attention to Liam. When he comes over to join in the fun, he will be told that biters don't get to play with them. The idea is to teach them that biters are losers! Just kidding of course, hopefully this will just reinforce that biting will bring a negative consequence and they will think twice next time. And hopefully their life of crime will end here and not move onto more serious matters... like stealing lunch money!

King of Farts

2009-04-01T22:08:00.004-04:00

Yes, this is supposed to be a dog tag. But I am so tempted to buy it for Liam as it also applies to him.

Scenes in the Sun

2009-03-28T21:41:00.005-04:00

A Boy and His Papa

2009-03-22T14:01:00.003-04:00

Liam loooooves himself some grandpa whom he calls "papa". They have a special little relationship that is quite cute. So of course when papa's birthday came around this weekend, we made sure to visit and spend some time with him. I just love to sit back and watch the two of them interact.

Fun at Grandma and Papa's House

2009-03-22T13:57:00.002-04:00

A Much Happier Little Irish Boy!

2009-03-17T21:04:00.004-04:00

Thank goodness his cranky morning turned into a happier day at school.

Kiss Me- I'm a Knucklehead!

2009-03-17T16:32:00.002-04:00

Liam thought it would be nice to celebrate St Patrick's Day as a sick boy. So here he is in his St Patty's Day outfit being a little brat... angel... no, I meant it... brat.

14 3/4 month update

2009-03-16T22:29:00.003-04:00

I decided to wait to do Liam's update every other month for year 2, but this will be an exception to the rule. Only because we just had Liam's 15 month doctor visit so I have "hot off the presses" stats about weight and height. He weighs 24 pounds (48th percentile) and is 32.5 inches long (88th percentile). That is only 1 pound heavier, but 2 inches longer than a couple of months ago. Which means he is really thinning out and becoming a little boy. And I say that with much hesitation. I stopped nursing him a couple of weeks ago and that was the last little sign of my baby boy that I had left. It was probably harder for me to give up than him. As always, I cannot express how crazy fast he is growing up. He says so many words. His current favorites are "bubbles", "baby" (emphasis on the"y"), "turtle", "car", and "ball". He also says "love you", "waffles", "go", and than all the old favorites like "duck", "dog", "mama", "dada" etc...

He is becoming increasingly sassy and independent. He will sometimes laugh right in my face when I sternly tell him no. I think he may be becoming a little pickier when it comes to food, but I don't want to say that out loud for fear that it may be true. But for all of his little temper tantrums, he has even more love and sweetness oozing out of him. He gives loads of kisses and I am happy to report that he is still a big ole mama's boy. He breaks my heart daily and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Chewable Pampers

2009-03-15T12:23:00.002-04:00

I have always wished that cloth diapers were more of a viable option for us. I hate the fact that every single diaper that Liam uses will end up in a land fill for about 500 years. However, I have never owned my own washer and dryer and I don't know that I would have the time or energy to keep up with it even if I did have one. I used to use g diapers which I am a huge fan on, but they are very expensive. But I think I may have found another option, just take a look at these new diapers.